Innocent barber Benjamin Barker is unjustly transported to Australia by evil Judge Turpin and his henchman Beadle Bamford so Turpin can try to seduce his wife. Barker returns in the guise of Sweeney Todd, setting up a barbershop in Fleet Street, above the premises of the worst pie shop in London, owned by Mrs Lovett. Sweeney vows revenge not only for the unjust punishment meted out to him but also the devastating consequences visited on his wife and young daughter. With the aid of the amorous Mrs Lovett, he cooks up a diabolical business as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street “[shaving] the heads of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard of again”. In the meantime Mrs Lovett’s business takes off with her unusual meat pies…

The director fosters an almost pantomime style of acting; there’s nothing here you could consider subtle. But there are some issues with casting. You would have thought the director would have gone with actors that had a proven track record in musicals instead of big names who then have to be trained in singing techniques. The leads get by on attitude rather than aptitude and it’s down to the supporting players to show them how it’s done. However, the heightened style works in the context of the musical genre where dialogue is often sung and characters frequently burst into song. The film is relatively pacy and Burton makes the most of theatrical conventions to glide from one event to another. So the scene shifts from day to night in a single shot and victims pile up in record time. Consequently the movie doesn’t feel a-hundred-and-seventeen minutes long.

There is quite a lot of comedy to be had but most of it is macabre, revolving around how close Sweeney comes to being caught. The character comedy is limited to Todd’s ridiculous rival Adolfo Pirelli and even that is tempered with gallows humour. The dialogue is a little odd because much of it is sung, so there are lots of rhyming couplets and little realism.

As Mrs Lovett, Helena Bonham-Carter showcases good comic timing and a reedy singing voice that isn’t quite up to the task. However, her brand of lovelorn longing more than outweighs any shortcomings in her singing, making her far more human than the script suggests. Alan Rickman is vulpine, sinister and slimy as the villainous Judge Turpin. He focuses on the cruelty of the role and is distressingly convincing as a pervy old man in his tight breeches with his claw-like nails. He is ably supported by Timothy Spall as his unctuous henchman Beadle Bamford.

Many people laud the work of composer Stephen Sondheim for its apparent complexity but also the way his songs can be acted as well as sung. Personally I’m not a fan; his compositions often come across as self-satisfied. However, he can write a cracking song with surprisingly dark sentiments as in the festive “God, That’s Good!” and “A Little Priest” prove and he gets under the skin of his characters, as with Judge Turpin’s creepy “Pretty Women”. He also has a flair for patter songs such as “Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir”. But he’s a little too fond of minor keys such as those found in “Not While I’m Around” and “Johanna (Parts 1 and 2)” are self-consciously theatrical, as is “My Friends”. The arrangements often feel florid and there is an excess of threatening kettle drums and dark strings. But as far as soundtrack recordings go, it’s consistent.