The musical Sweeney Todd has been described as not only a musical, but a comedy as well. Although I did not laugh audibly at any point, I could call it a comedy also, keeping in mind its wryness and quirky sardonic take on life.

Quirky.

Did I just say Johnny Depp?

Perhaps the defiining characteristic of this skilled and accomplished actor is his unfailing selection of quirky characters. Sweeney Todd is anything but an exception. Scarred by banishment and therefore forced separation from his beautiful wife and infant daughter, the unjustly accused Mr. Barker returns to London as the soon-to-be infamous Sweeney Todd, a crazed barber who boasts of having the skill of delivering "the closest shave you'll ever get." Helena Bonham Carter plays his adoring partner in crime as he slits throats of customers and gives her the bodies with which she makes the best meat pies in London.

Thirsting for revenge, Sweeney sings and slits his way through day after night, working toward the moment where he will be faced with the man who is responsible for all of the terrors of his past (Alan Rickman).

Alan Rickman as always does an excellent job, playing the villian but putting some humanity into the bad guy, so that even while we know we should be rooting against him, the viewer cannot help but wonder whose character is the greater villian in his heart of hearts: Johnny Depp's or Alan Rickman's? After all, which is the demon barber of Fleet Street?

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter provide a breathtaking canvas for the blood they shed to be painted upon as the plot thickens but never weighs you down. For a musical, it is very understanding of the average moviegoer's irritation at characters breaking into song as the most unrealistic moments. In other words, if you are like me and hate musicals, this is a musical for you.

All in all, the character development is satisfactory, as well as the music (although the instrumentals far outdo the vocals), and a surprisingly good ending awaits the patient and attentive viewer. My only real criticism is that the blood was a ridiculously light shade of red. I didn't realize that DARK red dye and corn syrup is so damned hard to come by these days.