The
Phantom of the Opera by Rebecca Murray
Cast: Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum
What does the movie version of “The Phantom of the Opera”
prove? It proves we need more movie musicals. “Moulin
Rouge” was spectacular, “Chicago” was a
real killer, and “The Phantom of the Opera” steals
your heart.
Told in flashback, “The Phantom of the Opera”
is set in 1870 at the Paris Opera House. The beautiful, young
chorus girl, Christine Daae (Emmy Rossum), steps into the
spotlight after the opera’s spoiled diva, Carlotta (Minnie
Driver), quits the production. Christine’s been tutored
by a mysterious ‘Angel of Music’ for years. Her
unseen teacher has taught her well and she sings like well,
an angel, impressing the theatre’s new managers enough
to allow her to become their new leading lady.
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While the naïve Christine believes her gentle tutor is
the spirit of her father, her adopted mother (the ballet’s
mistress) knows the truth. Christine’s teacher is really
the disfigured Phantom (Gerard Butler) who haunts the Opera
House. A musical genius who’s gone mad, the Phantom
has lovingly overseen Christine’s development. As she
gets her opportunity to shine onstage, the Phantom’s
affection and hold over the young woman is in jeopardy when
the wealthy young stud, Raoul (Patrick Wilson), falls for
the burgeoning beauty.
The credits rolled, the lights came up, and I still didn’t
budge. I wanted to sit through “The Phantom of the Opera”
one more time, but the theater wouldn’t have it. Damn
their schedules. The only movie that sent shivers down my
spine this year, “Phantom,” for lack of a better
description, rocked my world. The easiest way to describe
this production of “The Phantom of the Opera”
would be to open the Thesaurus and look up synonyms for exquisite
and gorgeous. Insert your favorite choice of word here and
it’ll sum up the world created onscreen in this stunning
collaboration between director Joel Schumacher and Andrew
Lloyd Webber.
Fans of the stage play should take heart in knowing Webber
personally selected Schumacher as the director, with the two
working hand in hand (figuratively speaking) on this film.
A project that’s been over 15 years in the making, Webber
first approached Schumacher about directing a “Phantom”
film back in 1988. Discussing the project off and on since
then, the two finally got serious in 2002 and the rest, as
they say, is history.
The movie’s dazzling to look at but it’s the acting
and singing that held me spellbound. Emmy Rossum’s ethereal
beauty and spectacular singing voice are a perfect fit for
the role of Christine. Actress and part fit hand in glove.
Rossum has trained at the Metropolitan Opera since the age
of seven and it feels as though she was born to play this
role.
Patrick Wilson, an Emmy nominee and star of Broadway’s
“Oklahoma!” and “The Full Monty,”
has that swashbuckling, romantic flair needed to fill the
role of the Phantom’s enemy while capturing his own
share of hearts. As Raoul, Wilson’s looks and pure tenor
voice are sure to send fans scurrying around the Internet
for more news on this handsome hunk.
Gerard Butler wasn’t the obvious choice to play the
Phantom. But Butler’s so raw, so seething with sensuality
and has that bad-boy rock star quality, that the fact his
voice isn’t quite as commanding at the beginning of
the film isn’t as big a distraction as it could have
been. I stand by my description of Butler as sexier-than-should-be-legal.
I know quite a few women who’d love to be locked away
in a dungeon with this Phantom.
A passionate, dazzling, emotionally moving love story set
amidst lavish backgrounds, “The Phantom of the Opera”
is as delicious to look at as it is to listen to. Joel Schumacher
went the distance for this production, and the care he took
in bringing a beloved stage play to the screen shows in every
frame of the film. |
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