Genius.....turned Madman (Phantom Of The Opera (DVD))

Member Name: drewboy

Product:	Phantom Of The Opera (DVD)
Date:	29/05/05 (309 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning cinematography, compelling music

Disadvantages: OK acting, feels a bit long

It’s 1911and there is an auction being held in the old, disused opera house in Paris. Various items are up for sale but one in particular gets the attention of two visitors. It’s an old musical monkey that plays a little tune and crashes symbols together in time and the bidding gets quite heated until the woman seemingly realises who the gentleman in the wheelchair is and lets him have the ornament. A knowing nod of the head, confirms their acquaintance.

Next up the auctioneer announces that they are about to start the bidding on the old crystal chandelier that used to hang proudly in the centre of the ceiling in the opera house. As he gets the workers to raise the artefact for better viewing, he starts to explain the story behind how the chandelier was said to have come crashing down because of a mysterious phantom………



This was the opening scene of the film and set the precedent of just how grand and impressive a picture the viewers in the audience were about to witness. From panning into the house (reminiscent of the Way Baz Lurman did in Moulin Rouge) and setting the scene in black and white, as the chandelier is risen the screen is transformed with a wash of colour as the true grandeur of the once great opera house is shown.

The basic premise of the story is set around the cast and crew of the opera house, in particular Christine, and how they deal with the mysterious events that plague them as well as the notes left by ‘the phantom’. What transpires is a story of unrequited love and one man who has hidden from the outside worlds struggle to be with the girl he has fallen in love with through her voice and song.

The cinematography of the piece really is fantastic. You get a visual treat while watching this film and all the sets have fantastic detail which extends right down to the intricacies of the gargoyles that are dotted all around the gothic style opera house. There are plenty of long panning camera shots throughout and the director Joel Schumacher (noted for such films as Phone Booth, 8MM, A Time to Kill & two Batman movies) very much draws from the dark gothic style used in his Batman efforts which works to great cinematic effect. The special effects (with the exception of the big fire which I thought looked a little fake) are spot on with the dark underworld feel of the underground lair with candle rising through the water creating tremendous atmosphere. The costumes were both understated and over the top with each respective character, and very much mimicked the way it was portrayed on the stage. The only thing that I was not too sure about was the size of the famous mask worn by the Phantom as it did seem to show a bit too much of his face and left you wondering how disfigured he could actually be under such a small thing.

The story itself, has gone through various incarnations. A lot of people may not realise, but it was actually the inspiration for one of the Freddie Crugar films! This effort however, it strictly taken from the Musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber and with this in mind, they have done extremely well at adapting it for the silver screen. However, while those of us who are familiar with the show version, and will go “ah, I’m glad they got that bit in”, others who are not may find that the story seems a little fragmented. Personally, I felt that it did drag a little bit up until the point in the story where the Phantom makes himself more known to the present owners of the opera house, the main Soprano (Driver), Christine (the Phantoms love interest played by Emmy Rossum – known from The Day After Tomorrow) and Raoul (Christines love interest and patron of the opera house played by Patrick Wilson). At this point, both the story and the music pick up a bit as before it did seem a little dragged out and depressing. I have to say though, I did come out of the film feeling that I knew the story much more than I did when leaving the theatre production. Andrew Lloyd Webber (who produced the film and co-wrote the screenplay)has actually been quoted as saying that, in his opinion, it is the closest that a film has managed to be to the show version, and quite a few of his have gone that way, so that is high praise for the film makers indeed! Staying so true to the show however, does make it feel rather long (running time was just over two hours) and I have to say I did look at my watch towards the end, which I never like to do when in the cinema.

The acting in the film was ok, with some coming across much better than others. Butlers’s portrayal of the Phantom was ok, although I think he was hindered with the size of the mask as from my experience of the character, he is meant to come across as very emotionless while covered up however we could see the facial expressions Butler was making while masked which did detract from that somewhat. Also, his voice was nowhere near up to the high standard set by Michael Crawford with him resorting to a sort of shout when it got to some of the high notes. Rossum was an admirable Chistine, playing the part in a delicate and innocent way. She makes the character come across slightly naïve and also manages very well to convey the fear she develops for the Phantom impressively. Singing wise, she was good but again, if you are a fan of the musical, there are better performances available from the likes of Sarah Brightman. Bossum just didn’t seem to have the same depth to her vocals and sometime got a bit lost in the more emotional aspects of the songs. Conversely, I found Wilson’s Raoul to have the opposite attributes. While he was a bit wooden in the acting of the part, his voice was perfect for his numbers and very much conveyed his love for Christine in a convincing and heartfelt manner with his rage towards the Phantom very evident too. The best performance in my opinion, came from Minnie Driver (still think that’s a strange name to give a child!) as the soprano Carlotta who gave the part just the right amount of gusto and over the top theatrics you would expect from an Italian opera singer and her vocals were absolutely spot on (although it has to be noted that the higher notes were dubbed). Its no surprise that she is about to embark on a singing career and put acting on the back burner for the time being!

Musically, it was everything you would expect from knowing the show. If you don’t, it is very orchestral with soft songs from the emotional sections mostly featuring the strings and woodwinds sections of the orchestra which a lot of the time rise through huge crescendo’s which are impressive in helping the viewer feel the emotion and scale of what is happening on the screen. For me though, it will simply never have the same effect as having the orchestra in the pit and no amount of Dolby digital surround sound is going to achieve the atmosphere created by a live orchestra.

So, overall I did very much enjoy this film however as a lover of the show, I was always going to. It does have a lot to offer people who have not seen the show itself however I am not sure how it would be taken from people who are not lovers of the musical genre per say.

To that end, I am going to give the film the rating of 4 stars as it is a very impressive looking film and while the stars are maybe not the best at performing those particular characters, they cope well enough so as not to distract from the picture as a whole. So I will recommend going to see this one!

Happy moviegoing!

drew :o)

Cast List (courtesy of imdb.com)

Gerard Butler .... The Phantom
Emmy Rossum .... Christine
Patrick Wilson .... Raoul
Miranda Richardson .... Madame Giry
Minnie Driver .... Carlotta
Ciarán Hinds .... Firmin
Simon Callow .... Andre
Victor McGuire .... Piangi
Jennifer Ellison .... Meg Giry

Summary: