The SONSOFBITCHES snubbed/Performances I Love: Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd

In the week that will most likely end with Anne Hathaway winning undeserved Oscar for Les Mis, I'm reminded of female performance in musical that was actually snubbed by the dearest Academy - Helena Bonham Carter's splendid work as Mrs. Lovett in Tim Burton's last great picture - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Though both Johnny Depp and Carter were nominated for Golden Globes that year,  it was only Depp who won the Globe and received Academy Award nomination. Furthermore Carter was snubbed by both SAG and BAFTA, which is astonishing since she is one of their most well known and revered English Roses.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

96/100 (116 min, 2007)
Plot: The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical.
Director: Tim Burton
Writers: John Logan (screenplay), Stephen Sondheim (musical)
Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman

"No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks."
— Mary Shelley

“These are desperate times, Mrs. Lovett and desperate measures are called for... “

(spoilers!)

London, Victorian times. Rain falling from the sky, the drops changing into blood, falling into sewage surrounded by filth and rats. That is how Tim Burton's last true masterpiece “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” opens. After 25 years in development, constant casting changes, passing the material from one director to another, Burton finally managed to shot the movie that is both fascinating and horrifying. Opening titles present the message of the story – the evil, the poison, the filth spreads, infects everything it touches. It is unavoidable and once pure is corrupted there simply is no going back.

The tale is that of Benjamin Barker, the talented barbed who once had beloved wife Lucy and their little daughter Johanna. But there was an evil man – judge Turpin, who desired Lucy. He thought of a devious plot, put Barker in jail, raped Lucy and kidnapped Johanna and was raising her ever since. But one day Barker escapes jail and gets back to London, seeking his revenge. He stays in his old apartment over Mrs. Lovett's pie shop. Mrs. Lovett soon becomes his accomplice in his murderous proceedings...

Scene of the Week: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

directed by Tim Burton

The scene: In the film's most clever and one of the most memorable musical numbers, Mrs Lovett, owner of the pie store and Sweeney Todd, man immersed in the vengeance and killing spree, think of a way to get rid of the body of the man he has just killed. As Todd sits down drinking gin, Lovett has a diabolical idea - using the meat from the body to make pies. They both start to sing and gaze through the window, looking for potential victims and thinking about how their meat would taste like. Then they both dance waltz, with Todd holding a chopper and Lovett with roller pin - the "tools" for their successful business. The scene is special because it is the moment in the movie that best shows the affection both people have for each other and their devotion to the cause - Todd to practicing his kills before he kills his enemy and Lovett in supporting Todd - with whom she is hopelessly in love with. Both willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.