Sweeney Todd

Tim Burton's most recent film follows the story of a murderous barber named Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) who slices the throats of his customers. Wanting revenge for his wife and daughter being taken away from his by the evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), Todd works with Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) to turn his victims into meat pies and lure the Judge to his death.
As seen in the above synopsis, this is definetly Burton's darkest film. The darkness is intensified even more through haunting musical numbers by Stephen Sondheim and a very desaturated color pallete. Despite this, Sweeney Todd still has very much in common with Burton's other films; it features very detailed production design (it won an oscar for its art direction), and its characters are reminiscent of those in his other films. One such character is Sweeney Todd, who's self-isolation is very similar to that of Edward Scissorhand (also played by Depp). Much like Edward, Todd pushes those who love him away in order to protect them.
Another similar aspect of the film that is characteristic with other Tim Burton films is its over-exaggeration of reality. This is shown not only in the killing scenes, where victims lose gallons of blood from a slit throat, but also during a scene where Mrs. Lovett fantasizes about her future with Sweeney Todd. Instead of the usual dull colors, their would-be life is shown in colors that are more luminescent than in real life. It looks like a picture in a story book.


This scene pretty much sums up the whole move: fancy costumes and set, amazing performances by all of the actors and actresses and sick, twisted humor, all topped with a helping of blood.