Which characters do you like? How are they? What are their motives, their values, their dreams?
What do you like about them? In which way do they inspire you?
These are the kind of questions I would like to deal with today and probably in some other posts as well.
I will tell you about some of my favourite characters- most of them will be out of Tim Burton's films, but I am sure that does not surprise you- and explain to you their influence on me, what makes me feel connected to them, how they inspire me... and so on.
This time, it is all about Mrs Lovett.
Mrs Lovett is a woman of many faces.
She appeared in a lot of different adaptations of the tale of Sweeney Todd, a murderous barber who kills men while shaving them- to his delight or because of revenge, the possible reasons were endless.
He and Mrs Lovett first appeared in the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls: A Romance (around 1850). London was at that time a miserable place. People lusted after bloody and brutal crime stories, it did not matter whether the "facts" were true or fictional, so Sweeney Todd was a welcome story.
Mrs Lovett's appearance was never described in a detailed way. Although, mostly she was considered to be dark-haired and average-looking, or not "that pretty".
Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal of Mrs Lovett, for example, is dark-haired, pale-skinned, with hollow dark eyes and clothed in black (old) dresses, while Angela Lansbury's, in contrast, is blond and wears cheap clothes (sometimes in light colours).
Both of them have crazy curly hair in a cute up-do, I have to add. (see the slideshow)
The actions of Mrs Lovett are, after some over-thinking, quite simple- she is considered to be "the worst pie-maker of London", is poor and thinks the reason of her misery is the good selling Mrs Moony, another pie-maker who uses cats for her meat pies- and suddenly, after 15 years (Tim Burton's version) Benjamin Barker, now "Sweeney Todd", the previous owner of the Barber shop above her pie one, appears and asks her where his wife is- the man who she always had loved and now seems to be reachable.
Desperate for love, admiration (and success in the "pie-business"), she does everything for him- even meat pies out of his victims' bodies (and lying about Lucy having killed herself)
Even though Sweeney still cries after his wife Lucy, Mrs Lovett does not conceal her great love for him:
"I'm your friend, too, Mister Todd, if you only knew, Mister Todd. Ooh, Mister Todd, you're warm in my hand.You've come home. Always had a fondess for you, I did."- Mrs Lovett in My Friends
"Ooh, Mister Todd *kisses him*, I'm so happy *again*, I could *again* eat you up, I really could. [...] It'll be so quiet That who'll come by it Except a seagull? Hoo! Hoo! We shouldn't try it, though, Till it's legal For two- hoo! But a seaside wedding could be devised, Me rumpled bedding legitimized. Me eyelid'll flutter, I'll turn into butter The moment I mutter, ´I do-hoo!´" - Mrs Lovett in By The Sea
"Better you should think she was dead. Yes, I lied, 'cause I love you. [...] I'd be twice the wife she was, I love you. [...] Could that thing have cared for you like me? - Mrs Lovett in Final Scene
I have to admit I was for a long time more of a huge Sweeney-Fan (and I still am), but Mrs Lovett got better...
I loved her style in Tim's film. It inspires me over and over again, I love how the "lady of the victorian era" is so much in her and at the same time she is not. She is unconventional, but still... a real woman. A woman with such a great passion for someone, it finally "kills" her- after her confession, her "love" Sweeney throws her in the oven. A dramatic ending, which is just perfect for her.
Some might say she is crazy, insane, eccentric, twisted.
I do not disagree with that.
But over all, I think she is fantastic.
Links:
Make Up Tutorial (video)
Another Make Up Tutorial (video)
Hair Tutorial (video)
Helena Bonham Carter Interview (video)A Little Priest - Musical - Angela Lansbury (video)
Mrs Lovett Impression (video)
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen