Tim Burton was always known to be a director that didn't attend to the Academy's personal taste. His movies were true auteur works, always with a Gothic stunning visual and stories there weren't always what it seemed. It was as if Burton were filming every movie on Halloween. Now, however, it's going to be hard for the Academy to ignore Burton's new film- definitely his best one. Sweeney Todd offers the unlikely pairing of musical and horror. And, man, it works splendidly.
The story begins with Benjamin Barker's arrest by Judge Turpin, a true personification of evil, a man who doesn't think twice in convicting Barker for a crime he did not commit. Sent away of London, he returns with a new facet: Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Until this moment on, his barbershop is scenery to grim assassination- through which the evidences of murder are kept hidden thanks to the help of Mrs. Lovett, the baker. Sweeney vows revenge against the judge.
Burton's direction is truly fantastic, exploring his already trademark visuals with bravura. This time, the dark pictures really suit the story, in a way that they both contrast each other; for no matter how dark the city is, it can't compare to the citizens that live within it. Sweeney, once a pure man, becomes the darkest of them all. And there is no better actor in the world that could portray this like Johnny Depp does. His performance is a defining one, one that goes far beyond the Jack Sparrows, Edward Scissorhands, or J.M Barries that Depp portrayed with perfection. Sweeney Todd is a man torn apart by vengeance, a man that answers only to the call of death. Depp illustrates the psychological factors of the character in subtle nuances, giving one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema. A true achievement that lives up to the excellence of the entire movie.