Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera (Gerald Butler, Emmy Rossum)
Diehard musical buffs have been anxiously awaiting a big screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway smash "The Phantom of the Opera" for almost two decades now. With the successful treatment given to Evita and the spectacular Chicago, the way was paved for, at the very least, a respectable rendition. And that is precisely what Joel Schumacher provides. The new feature film crosses every T and dots every I, so it is indeed respectable, but it lacks the urgency and vitality that could have made it a whole better. Put it this way: a woman in my row at the movie theatre dozed off halfway through.
The movie begins in the 1910s, where an auction is being held inside an old and decrepit opera house. Two aged figures exchange suspicious glances, and then we flash back to the opera house's glory years in 1870, when a pair of exuberant owners (Ciran Hinds and Simon Callow) are preparing to premiere their latest show, starring the egotistical diva Carlotta (Minnie Driver, in but another of her numerous, atrocious screen roles). Things are complicated, however, when the mysterious Phantom (Gerard Butler) pushes to have the young Christine (Emmy Rossum) take the spotlight. The Phantom has been Christine's voice coach and guardian angel for years, but he has never shown himself to her. Think of him as a virtual karaoke judge.
Soon, the prim Raoul (Patrick Wilson) is back in Christine's life after having not seen each other since their youth. The Phantom takes Christine into his underground lair, replete with Venisian canals and enough candles to put Saint John's dollar stores out of business. Although the young buxom beauty briefly falls under a spell, she finds it much easier for her heart to make the right decision when the Phantom starts killing people which is, like, totally icky. And then we come to the big Showdown, where everyone chases after everyone and lots of important life and death decisions are made.
The Phantom of the Opera has long been a film project on the back burner. To the best of my understanding, this has mostly been due to legalities with Andrew Lloyd Webber, who, frankly, hasn't had a substantial stage hit since ("Aspects of Love", "Whistle Down the Wind", "Bombay Dreams" and "Sunset Blvd." are destined to become Broadway footnotes, perhaps not even deigning any popularity among local repertory companies). All this to say that perhaps the timing of Phantom is a little off. Where once the material would still be second hand to a generation of people ("All I Ask Of You", "Masquerade", "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", "The Point of No Return", "The Music of the Night" and the title song used to be staples of the theatre world), now its luster has dimmed a bit and it has twice the distance to travel.
Schumacher is wise here to cast mostly unknown performers in the major roles. Gerard Butler has great confidence and a solid voice, as does Patrick Wilson, though his flowing Fabio look will only impress a handful of flared-up women and turn off almost everyone else. Miranda Richardson has an interesting part, but we're never 100% sure of her connection to all of the characters in the story. Although the gorgeous Emmy Rossum does the trick here in what is a truly tricky role, her cleavage deserves a special honourary mention unto itself. A better supporting performance I have not yet seen this year.
I can't fault the film for not being an instant classic, it has had quite a mountain to climb even just to be made. Musical fanatics will find things to like here, but they are certain to question some of Schumacher's clearly anachronistic embellishments that range from slightly subtle to flamboyantly overt. One thing's for sure: you're bound to be humming at least one of Lloyd Webber's familiar melodies as you leave, and any time you can say a movie left you singing along afterwards, it must have had some impact on you.
