Yes, the characters are lonely and desperate, and if you haven't seen people who try to cover their loneliness and desperation with cheerful chatter then you've either spent your life hanging out with Goths, or you're so lacking in perception that you've never been able to see what's underneath the cheerful chatter of the lonely and desperate people you know. The world is full of Mrs.-Lovett-lites, people who think that showing their true feelings will make matters even worse, who think that if they're cheerful and friendly they'll attract friends, allies, lovers, anyone who might be useful, or who at least think that if they're friendly they'll be able to get away with more.
So yes, in most productions Mrs. Lovett is played as inappropriately cheerful, and Bonham Carter played her as bored, which was no fun at all. And Todd is usually played as being on a bit of an emotional roller coaster, furiously angry underneath, and anything from gleeful to psychotic to heartbroken to murderous as events dictate... while Depp was just sulky.
The play is very much a dark comedy, the absolute darkest of dark comedies, where murders and cannibalism are played for laughs up until the last act. If you've ever seen a live performance, you'll hear the audience laughing their heads off for the first 3/4 of the show, because it's hilarious! And I really thought that the show would have been in Tim Burton's wheelhouse, and rarely have I been so disappointed by a film adaptation of a show I love. It turns out that Burton didn't have the nerve to let the show's comedic, tragic, and melodramatic elements shine, he pulled back at every turn, trying to make an overwhelming story merely whimsical, with as much emotional depth as "A Nightmare Before Christmas". Someone should have sat him down, and forced him to watch good dark comedies, like "Doctor Strangeglove", "Bad Santa", "The Ruling Class" or "Kind Hearts and Coronets", to see how it's done. And whimsy is NOT how it's done.
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filmgeek99 (671)
3 years ago
Uh, no. It's common knowledge that those who are suffering from depression tend to lock themselves in and withdraw themselves from social interactions. Not many people will go out of their way to crack jokes and be social if they're incredibly sad deep down, and the ones that do, are usually aided by the use of stimulants. Why you're trying your best to argue against this well known aspect of human psychology is way beyond me.
Helena Bonham Carter didn't play her as bored, she played her like a real person. It may not be as fun, but for a film adaptation, it makes sense to dial back on the whimsical humor and place more emphasis on drama, as the cheerful, upbeat Mrs. Lovett wouldn't read nearly as well on film as it did in the play. Had if it been a straight up farce, it may have worked but since Sweeney Todd had always been a dramatic tragedy first and a dark comedy second, this more subdued approach to the character was what's needed for film. If it made use of the same broad, tongue-in-cheek humor the original play did, it would've made for a tonally awkward and disjointed experience, as it would suck the audience out of the drama in a way it wouldn't on stage.
If you paid attention, though, you'd see that much of the humor in Sondheim's original play has remained intact in Burton's adaptation. It was just dryer and more subdued, as what was needed for a film version. If you honestly expect to receive the exact same viewing experience across two completely different mediums of storytelling, then that just shows how little of an understanding you have of film vs. theatre.
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Otter (24464)
3 years ago
Depressed? I don't think either of those characters are depressed, and neither should be played that way. Sure, they're both deeply unhappy, but that's not the same thing as being depressed. I think that deep down Todd is psychotically angry, I mean he has cause, but the anger is still enough to completely destabilize his psyche. And Mrs. Lovett is a straight-up sociopath.
You really don't seem to understand much about these characters. Or comedy. Or acting. Or humans.
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filmgeek99 (671)
3 years ago
In the original play, they weren't but in the film, they are clearly much more dour and melancholy. Like I said earlier, the point of an adaptation is to swap things out that may not work from one medium to another and replace it with something that does. In this case, having Sweeney go through those rapid, sudden mood swings purely for the sake of adhering to the original play's humor, would've created a disconnect between him and the audience as he wouldn't feel like a real person. In real life, a person who just experienced the amount of shock and psychotic anger upon losing his chance to commit vengeance, wouldn't suddenly act so giddy and peppy just 'cause their partner gave them some nefarious plans to work with. A person who's experienced as much loss and sadness as Sweeney has, would likely be much more dour and psychologically depressed than maniacally insane in real life.
Mrs. Lovett too, would likely be more cynical and sarcastic than overly peppy and upbeat if she were a real person. Someone who has to work tirelessly to support herself without a single friend or companion by her side, would likely not be the most jovial of people. Again, like I said earlier, the fact that HBC portrays her as a much sadder, more depressed looking person, makes her quick and sudden romantic feelings for Todd all the more believable, as she sees him as a chance at happiness she hasn't had in a long time. The fact that she grows to have more genuine feelings for Toby in this version and shows visible sadness upon having to lock him in the basement, is an added depth that wasn't in the original. That's why I started this post in the first place, as I felt the character was better BECAUSE she was different to the play, not because she was exactly the same.
It's clear that you never understood my overarching points at all and just decided to cling to your preference to the original without having considered what I wrote. I feel sorry for your ignorance.
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Otter (24464)
3 years ago
There's nothing less entertaining to watch than depression!
And that's the problem with the film that most people have with the film, including myself - it just wasn't entertaining. Not comedically, not musically, not dramatically. I've seen the stage show live, constant audience laughter or gasps of horror! Film audience... few laughs, no gasps.
If you like the film as it is... well. It's nice that one person likes it.
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filmgeek99 (671)
3 years ago
Yeah, for a film with a score of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, an 83 on Metacritic, and a 7.4 on IMDB, I'm the only one in the world who liked it, apparently. I suppose the fact that Stephen Sondheim himself liked it means nothing.
Good God, are you stubborn.
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