Tim Burton’s adaption of Sweeney Todd, though full of cannibalistic
murder and corruption, is a strangely happy movie. While I was watching the film, I actually
forgot that the acts that Todd and Lovett were immoral. I was too wrapped up
into the music and the characters.
Firstly,
the score was incredible. The songs are
often cheerful and bouncy, unlike the twisted plot that goes with it. This creates a clash between happy and gloomy
that helps us begin to dissolve our conceptions of good and bad. Their crimes seem almost innocent due to the
joy that goes into the act, the prosperity that they gain, and the inclusion of
a young kid as a waiter.
Furthermore,
the issue of revenge is strong with us.
We can empathize with Mr. Todd because of the absolutely horrendous
crimes that have been done to him. By
the time he goes AWOL we are already so invested in his bloodshed that we are
still rooting for him. His revenge is
taken in his murders, even if those murders are unjust, and we must see him
take that revenge.
Another reason that the film gets around the question of
morality is by simply not mentioning it.
Most movies with so much murder have characters with an internal
struggle. Often, the murderers are
either full of guilt, or at least do not like what they do. In Sweeny
Todd, Sweeny only talks of the positives of killing, singing that we “all
deserve to die.” Mrs. Lovett especially
takes up the deed with leisure. She
doesn’t say anything but that it is a “downright shame” to waste Mr. Perelli’s
body. Both of these characters’ detachment leads us to believe that this is the
only option, totally reasonable, given their circumstances in “desperate times”
Hi Taylor! Dude I love how you brought up the music. I think I'm going to comment on your post, but I'm going to focus on thinking about how the music in Sweeney Todd makes us forgive Sweeney as well as feel empathy for him.
ReplyDeleteThe first musical motif I want to bring up is in the beginning of the overture "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" we here the strings just playing furiously back and forth. This back and forth motion gives the sense of cutting like a razor through flesh or a meat pie grinder. So already we are set up for what should be a gruesome tale. The thing is this foreboding string theme is quickly forgotten when we get to say "The Worst Pies in London." Here we get a sting melody that is lilting and legato. This is in stark contrast to the motif we here in "The Ballad." This coupled with the pizzicato "bounce, bounce" that also appears in "The Worst Pies in London" The listeners quickly forget all the macabre undertones of the overture.
What is even more telling is how the score utilizes a fast merry waltz at the end of the first act. “A Little Priest.” It starts out with a harsh dissonance in the strings as to not forget what this story is all about; murder. This dissonance quickly disappears and is replaced by merry staccato playing coupled with a lilting waltz accompaniment in the orchestra. The strings scoop into notes and really dance. So now what we have is a murder story that climaxes with a jaunting waltz. Sondheim’s score is so brilliant because it is always switching from dark and foreboding dissonances to bouncy dance like music. This constant switching is what keeps the audience empathetic with Sweeney.
As an ending thought, isn’t it interesting that Sondheim’s music has intense contrast in it the same way Burton’s filmography has intense contrast in lighting key. I think Sondheim’s score for Sweeney Todd is perfect for the way Burton likes to direct. This is just another example of how Burton needs to feel a connection to his films before he directs them.
I agree that the music was strangely happy and bouncy as they spoke of murdering people who we see as innocent, but Todd sees as deserving scum. Todd's musical number really made me ask myself, "Do we all deserve to die?" Have we all done something so bad the only compensation is our life? Sweeny Todd and Mrs. Lovett show us it is literally a dog eat dog world out there. Todd and Mrs. Lovett become just as bad as the judge if not worse. They are giving unnecessary death sentences; they are killing people with no probable cause and without a care in the world. He doesn't realize the error in his hasty ways until he took down someone he loved. Mrs. Lovett doesn't see her errors until she is thrown into the blazing fire.
ReplyDelete~Chrishell Lennox