I couldn't suppress a smirk when I heard the news that people are walking out of theatres showing this movie. Is it because of its controversial nature? Perhaps the 18th century manners are too impenetrable? No, it is because nobody warned them it is a musical.
Now, I would have thought the name 'Stephen Sondheim' would have been a bit of a warning but a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse, apparently. There may have been a chance that Sondheim was trying out an new genre (he wasn't). And in any case, we all know that it is the legal duty of the film trailer to show us everything we need to know about a movie in order for us to avoid having to think about it. "Irritable Teenagers Walk Out in Protest" shouts the tabloid headline. Thus we culture-vultures get to feel just a little bit more smug and superior while the box office has a bonanza despite the protesting plebs. Har! Har!
So, boo hoo, a lot of Sondheim fans are disappointed that his new thing isn't doing as well as expected. Well let me tell you, a lot of us Sweeney Todd fans are pretty damned disappointed too. Sadly, this movie sits uncomfortably in the shadow of the, far more substantial, 2006 BBC television production featuring the very substantial Ray Winstone in the title role. Equally overshadowed was the 1971 Queens School, Bushey, production in which I played Victim number Three. (Exit stage left in the light of a blood-red jelly)
Fortunately for us, the subjects of serial killing and anthropophagy hold endless fascination so I don't doubt there will be plenty more productions for us to slaver over. Meanwhile a piece of advice to Johnny Depp: Keep working on the British accent. You'll get there one day.
-- Edited by AWOL at 14:30, 2008-02-06
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"What may seem depressing or even tragic to one person may seem like an absolute scream to another person, especially if he has had between four and seven beers."
Dave Barry
