Nearly everyone has seen one of the wacky films by Tim Burton, one of the most well-known contemporary directors. With the arrival on DVD of arguably his most acclaimed film, “Sweeney Todd,” I decided to compare it to one of his lesser-known works from the ’90s, “Ed Wood.”
Ed Wood (1994)
Half biopic, half fictional comedy, “Ed Wood” tells the story of the infamously bad movie director Edward D. Wood Jr., who brought the screen such wonderfully horrible gems as “Plan 9 from Outer Space” and “Bride of the Monster.” However, Burton’s pastiche suffers some of the same pitfalls, perhaps even intentionally.
While largely centering on the completely self-assured, angora-sweater-loving visionary Ed Wood (Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”), the film also introduces his whole cast of oddball friends, including his high-tempered girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker), a transgender friend (Bill Murray) and Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), star of the 1931 “Dracula,” who Wood met by accident and convinced him to let him star in his monstrosities of films.
Unfortunately, like the life of Ed Wood himself, “Ed Wood” is a wandering non-event. Moving sluggishly through two solid hours, it’s fueled only by the stellar performance of Landau as the disgruntled and aged has-been, Bela Lugosi, victim of his former fame. Landau’s uninhibited grumpiness and obsession with his legacy as Dracula overshadows Wood’s delusions of greatness. The comedy is only funny insofar as it’s an expose of the pathetic, with only a handful of scenes that are truly witty or satirical. Burton’s departure from his usual approaches results in more of a drama about a deluded, yet impossibly optimistic man.
The film ultimately feels more like Tim Burton just wanted to play Ed Wood himself rather than make a movie about him. Burton clearly wanted to imitate the style of Wood and the 1950s, but he didn’t have to imitate the kitsch and shallowness of them, too. It’s more of an homage to Wood’s films, even when the true story lies inside Wood’s head.
Although mildly entertaining in its nostalgic portrayal of the dregs of cinema, “Ed Wood” is too slow, too drab and too impersonal to merit a high score or a second viewing. Considering the absurd subject matter, this comedy should have had a lot more laughs. Cutting it down to 100 minutes, better editing and the inclusion of half of the deleted scenes might have saved “Ed Wood” from itself. Maybe.
3 stars out of 5
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Thirteen years and three more collaborations later, Depp and Burton came back in one of their best accomplishments yet: the musical revenge tale of a barber turned demon. The classic story of “Sweeney Todd” is right up Burton’s macabre alley, as it transports the viewer to a beautiful, dark fantasy realm not seen from Burton since the early ’90s’ “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
In an age-old revenge plot template, partly inspired by “The Count of Monte Cristo,” Depp plays Sweeney Todd, a man ravaged by fifteen years of wrongful imprisonment, who upon finding out that his wife killed herself, lusts only for the blood of his wrongdoer, Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman, “Perfume.”) So he reopens his barbershop above the pie shop of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,”) who helps Todd exact his revenge, while secretly biding her love for him.
However, the plot is second fiddle in “Sweeney Todd” to aesthetics — the adapted musical score tweaked by original composer Stephen Sondheim is enchanting and surprisingly well-performed, while the dark aesthetic flair of Burton has never been more appropriate. The effect “Sweeny Todd” has on the senses is nothing short of mesmerizing. As the madness intensifies, so does the hypnotic grip of the music and ambience, leading into a final scene nearly unrivaled in its weaving of the beautiful and the unnerving.
Although Depp does well embodying the hollow shell of a man fully consumed with a desire for vengeance, the real show-stealer is Carter as the crude yet idealistic, bosomy wench, enslaved by her heart just as Todd is by his hate. Her subtle affection and persistent, painful struggle expose the human element much more than Depp’s one-note role.
The music, while witty, lively and hauntingly melodic, is at times not lip-synched as well as expected. Also irksome are the at-times slurred lyrics, which frequently become nearly unintelligible.
One of Burton’s best, “Sweeney Todd” largely succeeds because Burton acknowledged his limited role as an adaptor, perhaps a lesson learned from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Burton conjures an elegantly gothic London scene and maintains the grim stylishness while the actors play out the Sondheim classic with potency and allure.
4 1/2 stars out of 5
I don’t blame Burton for diversifying his works beyond bizarre fantasy tales, but it can’t be denied that dreamlike imagination is his strong suit. I can hardly wait to see what he does with “Alice in Wonderland,” slated for release in 2010.
Got a favorite Burton flick? Can’t get the song “Johanna” out of your head either? I can relate: [email protected].
