Here's my "Phantom of the Opera" movie review.
To begin with, I treated the viewing of “The Phantom of the Opera” movie as a movie, not a stage to screen adaptation. I give the movie 4 ½ stars out of 5. The sets were amazing and the effects were quite well done. The performances were great, I loved the fact that the leads were young. It made Christine’s choice a lot harder at the end, and made it more realistic that she would want to fall in love with the Phantom. (Heck, both male leads were great to look at, I could have learned to live with that distorted face!!)
Which brings me to the realization that this really is a love story. I’ve heard people complain that the Phantom was menacing enough, but it’s a love story. The screen version moved me to tears at the end, while the stage version (which I’ve seen 10 times) never has done that. I’m thinking it’s because the movie is in your face and it’s easier to see the “acting”. The acting was great. Emmy Rossum was just a fantastic Christine. She may not have been the strongest singer, but, MAN could she act. She was very believable. Personally, I liked Gerard Butler’s Phantom. I think the choice of casting someone with a pop sort of voice was a good choice. It’s what the normal movie-going, pop music listening public are used to hearing. Someone with a more classically trained voice would probably not be as accepted as someone with a pop voice would. It’s all about what your public wants. If you want to hear something more classical, see the stage production.
The chandelier drop was amazing, as was the fire afterward. All and all, I felt it was well directed. I also liked that we were introduced to more of the Phantom’s past and included were the booby traps that he created in the opera house (room of mirrors, etc.) I remember that aspect of the Phantom being very prominent in the actual novel. The story seemed so much more intact here than in previous versions of the novel.
Minnie Driver is Hy-sterical. She really is a good asset to this movie, such great comedy relief. The “Prima Donna” number was one of my favorite moments in the movie.
The only negative thing I can say about the production is a personal one. I LOVE the Prologue scene on the stage production. I really like the exploding chandelier and the restoration of the opera house back to the 1800’s. While I really liked the use of wind going from black and white to color in the movie, I miss the excitement that can only be found in the theatre.
All in all, it could have been a tad bit shorter. Some quicker tempos could have fixed the length, but that’s just my opinion.
What am I, bk all of a sudden??
