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Phantom of the Opera

Broadway’s longest-running musical surges onto the silver screen and does the live show its due. Andrew Lloyd Webber was involved in the production of Phantom from day one, which made for a smooth transition from stage to screen. When a new song or scene was required, Webber was onboard to oversee the integrity of the whole.

Webber also used the large budget provided to flesh out the orchestration, making the film a better representation of his vision than the stage show. The result is a Phantom for the masses—sure to endure as well as its predecessor.

One key to the theatrical release was original performances provided by the entire cast (save Minnie Driver’s portrayal of soprano La Carlotta). Emmy Rossum may have tanked in The Day After Tomorrow and provided a somewhat bland performance in Phantom, but the second she starts to sing, everything else falls away. The songs save Rossum’s performance. The opposite is true of the Phantom, played by Gerard Butler.

Butler was considered firstly for his acting, and secondly for his “rock-and-roll” voice. So, while Butler is a strong performer, he lags behind the rest of the cast vocally. However, he gets marginally better with every song he sings. "The Phantom of the Opera" is unimpressive tonally, but by the time he gets to “Point of No Return,” he has almost caught up with Rossum.

On stage, the part of Christine’s sweetheart, Raoul, is much smaller than the one written for the screen. Webber wrote new lines, new shots (as stages lack adequate space for overlapping scenes) and new sequences to provide continuity; a large part of the increase falling to Raoul. Patrick Wilson was already an amazing stage veteran when he was asked to join the cast. When he harmonizes on “All I Ask of You” and “Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer,” you’ll get chills.

The ensemble cast fortifies the concrete foundation laid by the main characters. “Masquerade” is a dazzling whirlwind of dancing and song. The movie is partially meant to supplement and further explain the stage show, and it succeeds handily.

Written by: Tracy Elledge

Reviewers Rating: 9.5
Reader's Rating: 9.45
Reader's Votes: 9

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