By Katey Rich
There's been a downright funny back-and-forth happening on a series of Oscar blogs in the last few days, after the Los Angeles Times' Tom O'Neil predicted, sight-unseen, that Sweeney Todd would walk away with Best Picture come Oscar time. A number of bloggers, remembering O'Neil's hosannas of praise for Dreamgirls last winter, immediately called him crazy, with New York magazine's Culture Vulture blog laughing off O'Neil's comparison to the merry-murderesses of Chicago: "We think it's a little silly to compare the glossy, glitzy, cartoony babes in Chicago with the pale, Victorian, Burtonized Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd." Hollywood Elsewhere compares him to Network's Howard Beale, who was crazy, but hey, ahead of his time.
I, like O'Neil, haven't seen Sweeney Todd, and I also never saw the musical. I know many of its prophets, however-- my friend Jess described it as "a really spectacular, well-told revenge tale, [...] totally epic," which sounds like Oscar bait to me. But still: a Tim Burton film for Best Picture? A Tim Burton film about a serial killer? (You'd think the one about a sweet-tempered topiary trimmer would have had a better chance) Harry Knowles at Ain't It Cool has posted the first review of the film, and even though he's not exactly in the highest echelon of critics (he uses the word "friggin'", for example), he loved it. "One of the most lush and beautifully captured films I've seen [...] At every level the film works. I feel this was one of those perfect material, perfect cast [projects,] resulting in the best work from Burton in over a decade. And that's a great thing for all of us."
Compared to the reviews that were called "raves" of There WIll Be Blood, Knowles' review is kissing Sweeney's feet. It still doesn't convince me, though, that Sweeney Todd can be anything but a much-beloved movie musical that still doesn't translate to major awards. Sure, the Golden Globes have a whole category for musical and comedy, but even there Sweeney will be facing tough competition from Juno. And even in a season full of dark Oscar contenders (Sweeney can't possibly be more violent than No Country for Old Men), Burton's gothic style has never particularly appealed to the Academy.
I'm prepared to, and would be happy to, eat my words on this one, but for now I'm not getting my hopes up. If I'm right, though, I'll look forward to Tom O'Neil standing up and screaming to the Academy "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"
Having seen the play, my first reaction to these predictions was, "What?!?!" I love Sondheim, but Sweeney Todd always struck me as a sort of fluff--blood-colored cotton candy, if you will. But thinking about it...maybe Burton can make it dark enough, maybe he can avoid camp--not just the camp of the play, but his own penchant for camp. Edward Scissorhands is an incredible film, but undeniably a bit precious. Sweeney, I think, could go either way.
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