Craig’s Movie Analyseees

“Mr. Todd……”

“At your service. An honor to received your patronage my lord”

“You know me sir?”

“No one in this wide world does not know the great Judge Turpin”

Okay just as a disclaimer i had to close my eyes on several parts of this movie. It’s not for the faint of heart, but the music is simply irresistable, and of course, because it’s based off of a play, there is much analysis one can make.

The major question in this movie: “is there room for family?” We’ll take it on a case by case basis.

Case 1: Sweeney Todd. Obvious to the viewer, Todd has no heart, he has his wife and daughter stolen from him by Judge Turpin. He believes he’ll never get them back. Only to find out that they’re still alive in the end (well, sort of). But is family granted? Todd murders his own wife, and never actually realizes that he has made contact with his daughter. He sings, “i think we shall not meet again my little dove… my sweet, Johanna” effectively saying goodbye to his daughter. Upon meeting her again in the end, he doesn’t recognize her face. Todd is clearly not granted the wife he longs for, nor his daughter, by a simple case of coincidence.

this is an obvious case…. lets look at the other characters

Case 2: Mrs. Lovett. Lovett (although she’s technically an accomplice to murder), one can argue that she’s still only guilty of loving Todd too much. Granted she lies to him about his wife, but states, “yes i lied cause i love you!”…. only to be repaid this kindness by being thrown into the furnace. No family for Mrs. Lovett either.

Case 3: Toby. Toby can be argued that he never had a family in the first place, however, there is a significant moment in “down by the sea” where the viewer just for a moment believes that Todd, Lovett and Toby might, just might be a happy family, and if not all three of them, at least Toby and Mrs. Lovett. Toby claims that he wants nothing to harm Lovett because he views her as a motherly figure. However, Toby is also not granted his family in the end as just explained previously.

now lets get to the more obscure charaters…

Case 4: Judge Turpin. Even though the Judge is clearly evil, and one can say, gets his poetic justice in the end. He is still not granted his family either! Turpin fell in love with Todd’s wife, who subsequently poisoned herself and then fell in love with the daughter Johanna who also felt not affection for the “great judge Turpin” but instead fell in love with some poor kid.

and finally

Case 5: Anthony (the poor kid), Johanna. Although one can argue that these two get the happiest of all the endings becuase they have each other. A very key phrase is said at the end. Anthony says “once we leave her all of the nightmares will go away,” to which she responds “no anthony, they never go away.” It appears that Johanna has been scarred to some sort by her stay with Judge Turpin, a scar that she claims will never go away.

So in the end, our characters don’t get the family they long for in the end. With good music, the movie/play is clearly a tragic play with no character getting their deepest sense of need in the end.

There is of course the obvious that comes to mind when you watch Casino Royale:

“James Bond is more rugged, he’s less polished that the usual James Bond we’re used to”

“The love story is different, it’s not about bond the womanizer but Bond falling in love pledging that ‘whatever shreds of humanity are left within him he will give to Vesper.’ “

and then of course “Bond doesn’t have the usual gadgets, just a machine to prevent cardiac arrest and of course a nifty automobile.”

but what else? What else do i feel puts this movie in a category that’s simply more classy than the other Bond’s?

The Villian

Le Chiffre and Mr. White are both different villains than any previous Bond movie for the simple reason of vulnerability. When you think of villains like Trevlyn, and Elliot Carver they’re all virtually invincible villains. But the charm of Bond to the viewer is that he would always think of a way to outwit his enemies showing that no matter the brains, or the class, or the money of the opponent he was always a class above.

But not in this movie. First obvious observation is that Bond can hardly be a class above when he’s stripped naked and repeatedly hit in the genitals, that’s infact demasculinizing and dehumanizing. But most importantly, Le Chiffre is a weak villain. He’s not only attacked by people who he initially places himself superior to he also killed not by bond but by Mr. White. The main villain has never been killed by anyone other than bond before!!! This is clearly a different breed of Bond film.

In addition to that, Mr. White himself who would be the “senior” of all villains in the movie (due to the fact that his organization employs Le Chiffre, and he’s the one to eventually kill him) is shot in the knee at the end and weeps at the bottom of the steps as Bond introduces himself. This is a key moment of vulnerability that isn’t really present in the other films.

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