 |
Home | News | Reviews | Gallery | Videos | Calendar | Blogs | Cheats | Demos | Contact Us |  |
|
The Phantom of the Opera finally hits the movie theaters. A resounding popular success, the Phantom of the Opera played for a long time in many markets. I remember hearing about from friends when I was in grade school and today, it continues to play on Broadway and in London, although some secondary markets, like Toronto, have bid goodbye to the long running show. It’s said that Joel Schumacher and Andrew Lloyd Webber have spent years trying to bring the Phantom to the movie screen. Reputedly, Webber has personally invested more than his fair share of funds into bringing the signature to musical to fruition. Has the wait been worth it? For fans of the Phantom, it’s a solid showing. For those who were turned off by it, you’ll still be turned off.
At two and a half hours, Schumacher’s direction of the Phantom of the Opera bears pretty close resemblance to the stage version. There’s an added scene, which was in the book, of Christine Daae (Emmy Rossum) on horseback going to the Phantom’s (Gerard Butler) lair. But that’s about it. The one advantage a camera has over a stage are the different settings you have. When Christine and Raoul (Patrick Wilson) go to the top of the opera house, they really go to another area. And when Raoul and the Phantom have their duel at the graveyard, there’s the continuity of Raoul jumping on the horse and going from the opera house to the cemetary. On stage, all you could do is move a few props around or close the curtain to show travel. Schumacher doesn’t go for crazy camera angles and shots though. Mostly you get a good view of the principal characters in action and in ensemble pieces like the Masquerade dance, you get a pan of all the actors.
The cinematic version of the Phantom of the Opera brings a new song, “Learn to be Lonely”, to the original soundtrack. It begins in 1919 at an auction in the famous ruins of the Paris Opera House. Turning on the lights of the chandelier suddenly transforms to the opera house back to its prime in 1870 and the musical’s story is told from there. The modern scenes were never in the musical. While I’m always fascinated by interwar and early twentieth century Europe, I didn’t it see it adding to much value to the story. Instead, more time should have been given to other areas. Emmy Rossum does a good job of voicing and singing Christine’s character. Besides the rooftop scene between Christine and Raoul, there’s not much love in their relationship. Raoul seems like a too good to be true fairytale do-gooder. Christine appears to have a more complicated relationship with the Phantom, her teacher/admirer. The chemistry there is stronger than the chemistry with Patrick Wilson but the film only allows Rossum to be (artificially) affectionate with the latter. She says the lines and talks the talk, but I still got the feeling something (or more likely someone) compelled her to willingly go down to the catacombs. Much has been said about Minnie Driver’s Carolotta character. Some say she was casted well. Others say she was totally miscast. She’s serviceable but doesn’t steal the picture as a diva might do. Her character’s singing is also dubbed. Miranda Richardson efficiently assumes the role of Madame Giry. Lately, Hollywood has been mesmerized with bringing back old musical type movies with actors and actresses singing their parts. Visually, the Phantom of the Opera is a feast for the eyes. In terms of singing, it’s lamentable that so much time has elapsed since the days of actors who could sing and act that there are precious few of them to be found today. Beginning with Moulin Rouge and then Chicago, the Phantom of the Opera would naturally appear poised to make a successful cross-platform leap. That’s not a given. Admittedly, for Phantom fans who have gone to the stage version seven, eight or ten times, nothing will stop them from seeing this movie. However, the Phantom falters here because at times, it seems too caged in the original musical, while at other times (in the 1919 segments) it makes too much of an effort to jump to film.
|
Copyright (c) 1998-2009 ~ Game Over Online Incorporated ~ All Rights Reserved
Game Over Online Privacy Policy