Best of the Year: Film

As we move into the last weeks of January it is time to finally settle on the best film of 2007-plus. I've seen some excellent 2007 films in 2008, though I suspect there are a few more to come this way. And the winner is...

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Two masters come together to make the year's most potent film. Sweeney is the film that should get the critical response people are heaping on Atonement. It's the amazing blend of story, art direction, musical direction all on a grand scale. Just much, much darker. Director Tim Burton takes the already amazing work by Stephen Sondheim and adds his deft touch. And the result is a new Sweeney Todd, different than its other almost perfect incarnations, but also almost perfect nonetheless.

The film is different in large part because Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter bring new, darker interpretations to the roles of Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett. The supporting cast, especially Alan Rickman, is strong. I've commented before on how the age-appropriate casting makes the film even more unsettling, something I see as a great strength of the film and a great achievement as well.

And now, on to 2008.