The Tale of Sweeney Todd

I suppose I should not be too harsh, since this is an American TV movie, and neither a quality British product nor a feature film. But Sweeney Todd was ultimately a disappointment.

On the plus side, the film was enthusiastic about the cannibalism and murder at the heart of the story. These subjects certainly weren't skirted around. Nor were the central characters made into heroes. There was never any doubt that the villainous Mr Todd and his butcher accomplice would pay for their crimes. There was only a faint echo of the modern idea that a criminal is the product of society, and that Todd's crimes were the product of a negligent military. But this was only hinted at.

The major problem was lack of authenticity and a period feel. The Irish street scenes were physically right for early nineteenth century London, but the people were wrong. They were exaggerated characters, caricatures. Everything over over-acted, over directed, over-blown! Basically the director tried too hard to create a period feel.

A good effort, but not good enough. A waste of acting talent