clock … watching time, the only true currency

Last weekend, we joined friends for the movie version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Last year, we saw the play, which gave me an (ahem) appetite for the film. The leads aren’t wonderful singers in this musical, but the tone of the story comes through. Tim Burton as director means you recognize a style and a setting throughout. Like the Coen brothers, Burton marks his films with his vision. This story is bloody, gory, visceral and Burton spares you not a spurt of blood. Gun violence is, I admit, somewhat common on screen. Here, as Johnny Depp sings and slices, you have to keep your eyes open almost a la Clockwork Orange to watch every murder. With all that, wow… quite a movie. Big-screen worthy. Metacritic delivered an appropriate score: 83.