Reflections
on “Sweeney Todd: the demon barber of Fleet Street” (2007)
Directed
by Tim Burton
Script
by John Logan
Music
and book by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler
Starring
Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall
Musicals can unfold at a
somewhat leisurely pace and can be rather self-indulgent, but here director Tim
Burton has created a cinematic version of Stephen Sondheim’s famous musical
that keeps things tight and compact, advancing storyline or characterisation
with every scene while building emotional understanding and tension where
appropriate.
Fundamentally, this tale
of Sweeney Todd is an exercise in existential amorality involving the implementation
of an obsessive and vengeful agenda. It suggests there can be no U-turns on the
road to amorality and there are tragic consequences for all concerned. However,
and quite remarkably, this is all achieved with a degree of sympathy,
understanding and even humour.
In 1831, naïve and
idealistic London barber Benjamin Barker is found guilty of a trumped-up charge
and is transported so that guileful and Machiavellian Judge Turpin may have his
abusive way with Barker’s wife. Now returning some fifteen years later as
Sweeney Todd, disillusioned and cynical as the result of his experience, he
seeks revenge on those who did him and his family wrong in order to further
their own agenda. His profound sense of injustice and his obsessive desire for
vengeance have affected his perception so that he focuses on the negative in
people and he takes a dim view of what people are able and willing to do to one
another to gain their way or even just to survive.
When this pessimistic
world view is confirmed by an encounter with fellow barber Pirelli who tries to
blackmail him, Sweeney Todd is driven mad and is propelled down the path of
amorality to become the renowned serial killer of myth and legend.
The audience is cleverly made
to feel quite conflicted as we sympathise with Benjamin Barker due to the
injustice done to him, and we understand Sweeney Todd’s lust for vengeance, yet
we are repelled by (if also fascinated by and perhaps vaguely envious of) his
extreme reaction and direct actions, even if we recognise and condemn Pirelli’s
amoral motives. We want Sweeney Todd to have justice and revenge on Judge
Turpin and his acolytes but we are left to wonder at what price this will come…
There is no such conflict
with regard to Judge Turpin and his bailiff (or enforcer), Beadle Bamford, who
are the irredeemable antagonists of the piece. Turpin is a perverted hypocrite who
hides his disdain for morality and his willingness to use and abuse others for
his personal gratification behind a façade of law and order. He is unconcerned
by any injustice in his judgements as, undoubtedly reflecting his own amoral
outlook, he declares quite casually that no-one is innocent – everyone is
guilty to some degree, even him… So, in an amoral world, he is merely asserting
himself as he also protects himself by way of high position in society.
Bamford is equally
grotesque as he uses and abuses his position to serve himself and his master
without challenge or thought, effectively operating as Turpin’s enabler.
Mrs Lovett is a survivor
willing to do what it takes to get by, but she is a realist. She will bend the
law and cheat a little but does nothing serious enough to put herself in
danger. At least, not until she meets Sweeney Todd to whom she is drawn quite implacably.
She balances amorality with conformity and, swayed by her feelings for Todd,
she directs him away from excess and protects him from himself until Pirelli
pushes him overboard. In a way, she becomes Todd’s enabler just as he then becomes
hers – he opens her eyes to what is possible through the lens of amorality and they
encourage and support one another to their mutual advantage, but she also wants
Todd for herself and manipulates him by omission, an act she will come to
regret…
Through brilliant
crafting of plot and character, Stephen Sondheim produced a highly engaging but
blood-soaked horror story that warns of the dangers of conceding to dark
thoughts of revenge and the consequences of selfish and blinkered amorality, but
above all invites us to see that our actions have consequences for others and
we should perhaps consider the consequences of these actions before undertaking
them.
The stroke of genius, of
course, is in appealing to our emotions and our sense of fairness and justice.
Benjamin Barker, his wife Lucy and daughter Johanna are all maltreated and we
want to see justice done, but what if there is no recourse to justice in terms
of the law of the land? What if there can be no appeal to humanity or compassion?
What if there is no alternative but to take matters into your own hands, if you
seek some form of retribution?
This is the situation
faced by Sweeney Todd and we explore his reactions to it. We witness how easily
we can go from targeted and justified anger to frustration, to self-absorbed
tunnel vision, and then to cynical hatred of all mankind. Hatred overwhelms and
will not allow you to see the bigger picture as you lose sight of values and
principles, indeed any alternative to your hate-filled course.
Even the audience is
swept up in Todd’s madness as the outrage at the original injustice, the humour
and the casual blood-letting have their effect, though the turning point comes
when Todd is willing to kill the pure and principled young Toby. That leads to
loss of sympathy and compassion, and a realisation of just how far Todd has
gone.
In the end, his blind
rage and devotion to revenge cost him the very thing that drove him to these
acts. He has lost his humanity and his capacity for love. Even Sweeney
recognises what he has become and what he has lost, and he is willing to die,
rather poetically, at the hand of principle.
I thoroughly enjoyed all
the performances and all credit to the cast members not known for their singing
prowess but who proved application and determination can go a long way.
So often, especially in
the musical genre, indulgence can overtake the storytelling, with padding or
showboating as a result. Here, however, it seems to me that Mr Sondheim’s music
ebbs and flows quite magisterially as it conveys the narrative. The songs are
used to advance the story or understanding of a character in an entertaining
but concise and economical way, and not without considerable humour – a remarkable
feat given the subject matter!
My thanks for taking the
time to read this article. I hope you found it of some value.
Stuart Fernie (stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk)
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