Posted: 12/26/2004

The Phantom of the Opera

(2004)

by Hank Yuloff

Seats to an Andrew Lloyd Webber production on opening weekend would normally cost a lot more than I get paid by FM.com in a single year. But there my wife and I sat, third row center, eagerly awaiting the curtain to rise… Oh wait, this isn’t a play. And we were just 3 rows away from the screen in a movie theater. Such was the case all weekend for the movie adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera. Packed houses, even on Christmas day.

So what do you get when you sit that close for a play turned movie by Andrew Lloyd Wealthy? “A wonderful performance, guaranteed everytime,” said the two teen age women sitting next to us who were already seeing the movie for more than the 2nd time.

So how was it?

Not a fair question. If you have ever enjoyed the theatrical version of the adaptation of the M. Gaston Leroux novel, you will love the movie. You know the music. You know the story. You love the costumes. You are moved by the love story. You wonder how Christine didn’t know it wasn’t an angel giving her music lessons all those years… But are willing to give that plot question a pass when she sings Angel of the Night.

This is not even the first time the book has been brought to the screen. Lon Chaney was the first Phantom in a 1925 silent film. Claude Rains played the part (though changed) in 1943. Herbert Lom in a London produced version in 1962. In 1974, the story was adapted to take place in Hollywood by Gene Levitt with a movie studio lot taking the place of the Paris Opera House. The same year, Brian De Palma released it as a rock opera. In 1989, Robert Engund starred in a horror version of the story. Another horror version came out, starring Julian Sands, in 1998.

So how was this version?

Let’s try the question another way: Will you be as excited walking out of the theater as you were when you saw the 1:27 teaser trailer earlier this year? Yes. Indeed, you will walk out of the theater with music running through your head. I, myself, woke up with Say You’ll Need Me running through my head (could have been my wife whispering, but I digress) … Could be worse. I could have gone to see Spongebob Squarepants instead. No, we saw a fantastic story of how a disfigured “ghost” terrorizes the Paris Opera House while tutoring a chorus girl, Christine Daae. His actions drive the lead soprano (Minnie Driver) from the theater only to have her replaced by his pupil. Christine is able to sing lead one night but the soprano doesn’t want her show stolen so she comes back. The ghost demands they keep giving his protégé lead roles. Meanwhile, His pupil falls in love with the Visconte de Chagny, but the Phantom is in love with Christine, his student. The Phantom is outraged by their love and kidnaps Christine to be his eternal bride. How his plot is foiled is the story of The Phantom of the Opera. The first few minutes of stage setting by Director Joel Schumacher (St. Elmo’s Fire, 8mm, Phone Booth, Bad Company) is nothing less than magical as we are transported from the 1919 auction of everything in the Opera House, back to the 1870s when it was at its height of glory.

How was the acting?

Can you imagine the pressure that was on 18-year-old Emmy Rossum (Day After Tomorrow, Mystic River) when she was chosen to fill the role of Christine? Since the first Broadway production of Phantom opened in New York in 1988, it has played to more than 10 million people. Released in 1987, the musical’s original cast recording, featuring performances by Michael Crawford as the Phantom and Sarah Brightman as Christine, is the biggest selling cast album of all time, having sold over 40 million copies. It was the first cast album in British musical history to enter the charts at number one, and has since earned gold and platinum status in both the UK and the United States. So a few people have heard the music. But Rossum is electric on stage, uh, screen. Her operatically trained voice (she has appeared in 20 operas, singing in 5 languages) is breathtaking.

The Phantom is played by Gerard Butler (Lara Croft Tomb Raider). A bit rougher in voice than Crawford, he nonetheless is wonderful opposite Patrick Wilson (Angels in America, The Alamo) who plays Raoul de Chagney, who competes for Christine’s heart.

So the review? Are you kidding? Go see it. It’s money well spent.

Hank Yuloff is one of our many talented writers in Los Angeles, and dreams of having a bit part in an Adam Sandler film.

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