Sunday, January 06, 2008

Saw Sweeney Todd Last Night...


Knowing full well that Mike would not sit through Sweeney Todd if I paid him, I went with Stacey and Piera last night. After a lovely Pumpkin Spice latte at Panera across the street, and braving the insanity of movie lines out the door, a series of downed ABOs and a Fandango bugger-up, we sat back and enjoyed Johnny Depp do his worst as the vengeful Sweeney Todd, Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
I had wanted to see this since I was a kid; I remember the commercials for the Broadway show to this day (of course, not really wanting to explain murder and cannibalism to a first grader, my mom opted wisely to say, "you're a little young to go to a Broadway show, honey"). And while I would liked to have heard "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," as I believe that song, sampled in the commercials of my youth is called, it was still a great time. Johnny Depp carried off the role very well; I've heard that the role of Sweeney Todd calls for a major baritone and that Mrs. Lovett needed a 'big voice,' but I think Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp brought a new perspective. Maybe not having seen the original, I'm not really informed - but hey, I loved it. I thought Sascha Baren Cohen was hilarious, and Alan Rickman is always good to watch. While I won't be taking Will to it any time soon (much to his chagrin) because it is horrifically violent (although cartoonishly so), I did tell my mom I'd gladly go check it out with her.
And because I am who I am, I happened to notice the great knitwear throughout the movie. Johnny Depp had these great, fingerless gloves on that moved me to lean over to Stacey and say, "I could totally knit those." Helena Bonham-Carter had several great lacy cuffs and knit pieces throughout the movie. It was knitpr0n at its finest moment.
And lo and behold, I am not the only one who obsessed. The knit-net is buzzing. I've found one blogger who's on it, gauntlet-wise and even my knitting muse Vickie Howell is in on it, talking about the scarves and gloves and knitty goodness all around. Who knows? This could end up being the start of a movement like the Harry Potter knitmania has grown into.
What am I working on? Super secret stuff, that will be revealed this coming weekend.

5 comments:

Linda said...

Yeah, I took Amanda to see it right before Christmas and then we went and did our nails, a nice mother daughter day (before we both got food poisoning that night from a slice of pizza, but I digress.) I remember as a little kid wanting to see Sweeney Todd too, although frightened by the images of Angela Lansbury and the guy that played Sweeney Todd. And since I had never seen Sweeney before, I was a little shocked/saddened. The blood looked like bright red paint. The Burton/Depp collaborations continue to satisfy, last night we watched Edward Scissorhands, which still gets me misty.

Roe said...

Stacey and I discussed the blood - we both agreed it was a) to avoid an NC-17 rating, and b) to keep it a Tim Burton film, if that makes sense. You know, rather than have viewers say, "So Tim Burton's become a slasher-flick guy, then?"

"Not While I'm Around" made me positively misty. All I could see is Will and I cuddled on the couch singing that, to sound completely corny.

Linda said...

I agree, because at his core, all of his stories have an element of sweetness and innocence (if buried under premises of twisted evil minds and bloodshed!) Yeah, that song is really sweet!

Stacey said...

The sick part is that the warm fuzzy feeling is instantly stripped away during the events that follow...

Roe said...

Well yes, the whole after-events may detract slightly from the song...

I told Piera that I envision dancing with Will to "Not While I'm Around" at his wedding, which will also send a message to his intended that if she does chance to hurt my son, I will make her a leather jacket and knit her hair into a hat.