The answer seems like "yes" by the looks of Frankenweenie, but I digress.
This dog is also confused as to where Johnny Depp is.
What I'm worried about is that people seem to love the Sweeney Todd movie; sure, the style is beautifully executed, but for me, it's too broody and dark. If you've seen or listened to any production of the actual stage musical, you'd hear that, despite its grim concept, it is actually a very fun and darkly hilarious show.
I did not find the movie to capture any of this humour in an enjoyable way. My argument also goes along with the gradual dread of the idea of another Tim Burton movie coming out, because it all seems the same, even though there are different characters, and different stories, but still, to me, it's getting to be overly repetitive.
I want to be excited for his movies; I really do! I loved his versions of Batman, and Beetlejuice was hilarious! I felt that Edward Scissorhands was extraordinarily beautiful, too. Nowadays, I feel like I know what to expect out of his newer movies, and I just hesitate to even consider seeing any.
What I'm wondering is how he didn't capture my heart with any of the Sweeney Todd characters I had come to know and love from the stage musical when he had done so many darkly comical films in the past. Again I felt that it was overly broody, like a teenager who is depressed because he or she are "misunderstood."
No one understands me. Not even people who are just like me.
I came across a forum post with the topic question asking "Why do you think some people don't like Tim Burton?" An answer I came across by someone with the screen name "i_luv_JDepp" who says, "I think a lot of people really just don't get him. People who don't understand what it feels like to be alone, people who don't stand out, or people who are just normal probably don't understand the depth of his work. I mean, most of his fans are his fans because they can relate to his work, right?"
I think this post is bull on a lot of levels. First, "people just don't get him"? When I was younger, I was fascinated with his work. I loved everything about his dark take on life, and that everything was broody and anything that was optimistic was stupid. I understand, even now, what he's all about. But what bugs me is this: Why can't you just move on from being broody and depressed? Considering that life is a wonderful and fantastic thing, why does it always have to come off as dull and pointless? Is it because he thinks that it is and can't move on to thinking otherwise? If that's what he has in mind, I don't think his work will remain relevant to most people as they grow older.
My second complaint about this post is that the author says that "People don't understand what it feels like to be alone". Really? I'm not going off of statistics, or anything, but I'm pretty sure most people do know what it's like to be alone. Generally, though, most people don't brood about it. I think that may be a good reason why I don't understand Tim Burton, anymore; what good is it to complain about how lonely you are? Sure, people are different and have different tastes, and they could even be outcast. That is lonely. But are people like that forever? I wouldn't hope so... If that's the case, then I'm sorry to them; let them have their Tim Burton movies. But I think people mostly move on. Am I wrong?
For my third complaint, I want to know if I'm "just normal," and that's why I don't understand the "depth" of his work. Honestly, I feel like if I was at either end, I wouldn't feel any depth anyway with most of his new work. I liked Dark Shadows, to be honest, but it was because it felt different. It had an emphasis on family resolving loneliness, and I understood that and its depth. It bothers me that people make these assumptions regarding people who just don't care for Burton's recent work.
My fourth complaint is a minor one, but it is something I constantly see with Tim Burton's fanbase; the girls like his work because Johnny Depp is in it. Now, I try to be tolerant of fanboys and fangirls, but in this case, it has just gotten annoying. I mean, look at her screen name! I feel that people who watch Tim Burton's movies aren't really in it for the art, nowadays, because I feel like they are just in a shallow and weird obsession with Johnny Depp in broody, weird roles.
"Johnny Depp is so hot when he looks sad," said the fangirl in the back, an alleged Tim Burton fan.
I may be wrong in most of my arguments, but I can make one conjecture that I am at least somewhat adamant about:
When Tim Burton had just started, he didn't know exactly who is audience was, most likely. He made his films to appeal to a more general audience so he could try and generate a loyal demographic, and eventually, he did. Now that he's aware of this fanbase, he's tailoring almost all of his films to appeal mostly to them, alienating me and an array of other people who dislike his work, now. I can't connect to them, anymore. Maybe it's because my personality changed, but I still like the older movies he made. I even like his short animation, "Vincent," because it has charm that a lot of his newer movies do not. So that's why don't I like his newer movies, especially Sweeney Todd. There are more in-depth reasons for that, too.
I honestly feel like he's sold out, especially because he may have found himself a solid audience. I think it's irritating how he constantly uses Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in predictable roles, and I think his new films lack the charm his older ones did. Excluding Dark Shadows (but wishing it had been cast differently just for variety's sake) and possibly Frankenweenie (when I see it), it feels like he's using the same themes and ideas constantly.
This video explains everything I feel.
Look at Christopher Nolan and how he uses his small pool of actors; in Inception, he uses Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as very intriguing secondary characters with likeable personalities, and in The Dark Knight Rises, he uses the same two actors in quite different ways, the former as Bane, a dreadful nemesis who breaks Batman's back, and the latter as the no-nonsense loose-cannon Robin guy (executed superbly for the tone of the film). I feel that, if you're going to use the same actors, use them with versatility. Don't cast them as predictable tin-types of former characters.
Okay, so let's get to the point; I apologize for ranting so much. I did not like Sweeney Todd mainly because of the casting. Being a purist, having seen the show before the movie, I think Sweeney should have been played by an actor with a powerful baritone who could brood, but not in an overdone manner (any picture I find of Sweeney Todd happens to be one of Johnny Depp scowling or looking hesitantly crazy).
George Hearn (on the top with Angela Lansbury) has much more depth on his face. If you know the story, you can feel the anguish of his character. The picture of Johnny Depp on the bottom is a proper depiction of the only face he has in most of the stills from the movie I've found. It's the same scowl. If you look up "Sweeney Todd George Hearn," you'll find so much variation in all of the faces he makes for the role. Hearn is subtle and relaxed as Sweeney, making "Epiphany" all the more jarring, and "A Little Priest" to be all the more hilarious (because you can see that he's lost his sanity). Depp, on the other hand, mumbles through every song and sounds nasally as he sings "Epiphany." "A Little Priest" was too subtle in the film. I wasn't laughing as much as I was for the stage production with George Hearn. Depp just doesn't come off as vengeful to me. He doesn't seem like he craves justice. Hearn had all of my favourite qualities as Sweeney, too. It may be because he was the first actor I saw to play the character, and made Sweeney Todd out to be a deeply-wronged individual I could feel sympathy for, from his bitter acknowledgement of the world around him to the absolute bliss he exudes whilst preparing to murder Judge Turpin, to his frightening epiphany to kill pretty much anyone who comes to his shop, to his utter horror of murdering his own wife. I can remember clearly all of his emotions, and to this day, his performances as Sweeney Todd is one of my favourites because of all of the depth he gave to the role. Johnny Depp was not memorable to me in any way whatsoever, and I honestly had to listen to both renditions of "Pretty Women" and "Epiphany" to get an opinion of Depp's once more. I did not care for Depp's characterization. It was boring, overly depressed, and just didn't display the best parts of Sweeney Todd I had become familiar with.
The same goes for Helena Bonham Carter as compared to almost any actress who has played Mrs. Lovett. She didn't sing as well as I was expecting, but people praise her for "singing fantastically." I know this was a movie and not theatre, but mumbling is still not a technique I would praise when someone is singing. It's like someone who was forced to go up and sing at karaoke by one of her friends and, being embarrassed, mumbled the song. Mrs. Lovett is a domineering and powerful character, who is the one who coins the idea of cooking the people Sweeney kills into meat pies. I'd expect for her voice to be as powerful as her character. Usually, a musical singer's voice reflects what type of character he or she is, regardless of whether the singer is on Broadway or in a film. I was very disappointed with the singing direction of the film, as a whole, and was deeply disappointed at how weak Bonham Carter's performance was in terms of vocalization.
Compare these two women. In all honesty, tell me which one is more attractive.
Another thing that bothered me, too, was that Mrs. Lovett has always been seen by me as a homely or even grotesque-looking woman, and Bonham Carter is gorgeous. I feel like the character was cast all wrong, despite how "good" Depp and Bonham Carter look next to each other. I'd even go as far as to say that Depp was poorly cast, as well. He wasn't strong. Sweeney may have had some crappy things happen in his life, but he isn't weak in constitution. Depp is too much of a "pretty-boy" in my opinion for this part. Sure, Sweeney's supposed to be a somewhat attractive guy (how else would Mrs. Lovett be unrequitedly in love with him?), but Depp just looks like he's too young for the role, or just not powerful enough to impact anything for me.
To those of you who are fans of Tim Burton's, as well as fans of his awfully predictable casting, keep in mind that this is my opinion. I liked Tim Burton films. I thought he was very talented, and he still has his moments. I'm not trying to change anyone's opinion, and I'm not looking for anyone to try and change my own. I just want to get my thoughts across. This is what ranting is about.
So leave some comments; tell me what you think, and if you're defending Tim Burton, please support it with more than just "He's brilliant! His movies are art!" Go into detailed reasons as to why you think that. If you dislike him, give me your detailed reasons, as well.
Krennthief
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