The Phantom of the Opera

Year:  2004

Filming:  Color

Length:  143 minutes

Genre:  Drama/Horror/Musical/Romance

Maturity:  PG-13 (for intense thematic elements and some sensuality)

Cast:  Gerard Butler (The Phantom), Emmy Rossum (Christine), Patrick Wilson (Raoul), Miranda Richardson (Madame Giry), Minnie Driver (Carlotta), Jennifer Ellison (Meg Giry), Ciaran Hinds (Firmin), Simon Callow (Andre)

Director: Joel Schumacher

Personal Rating:  3 Stars

***

    While I am not a specialist on musical theatre, two musicals that seem to be regarded as “must-sees” by the popular culture are Le Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. This film production of the latter, while it occasionally sacrifices vocal expertise for acting ability, does a fair job of bringing to life a haunting tale of unrequited love and driving obsession with impressive special effects.

    Our story opens in a Parisian Opera House in the late 19^th century. The new owners are experiencing some rather unusual difficulties – such as a masked man with a black cape hanging out in their subterranean cellar, demanding that the operas be performed according to his gourmet tastes and that he be paid for his “services”, or else he will sabotage the performances! To make matters worse, he’s exhibiting a particular interest in a young woman in the chorus named Christine and demanding that she be allowed to sing the main parts in the place of the haughty and pampered soprano, Carlotta.

    Unbeknownst to everyone, this gentleman, not-so-fondly referred to as “The Phantom of the Opera”, taught Christine to sing when she was first taken to be a ward of the opera as a little girl after her parents died. Somehow, he manages to do this through a two-way mirror by which he can see her but she can’t see him, and over the years she comes to believe that he is a visiting angel sent by her father to bring out her talent. As Christine grows in grace and beauty, Phantom becomes increasingly obsessed at the prospect of having her.

    When Christine’s childhood sweetheart, Raoul, a wealthy patron of the arts, comes to visit her, Phantom takes a gamble and reveals himself to her and lures her down a secret passage behind the mirror. Then he takes her on board a boat (a touch of Franco-Venetian romance?) and rows her along an underground river to a lake where he has pitched tent. Actually, he seems to have a talent for home-making since the place is really quite cozy with classical décor and some really nice upholstery. But the thing that freaks out Christine is the manikin that looks exactly like her, garbed in a wedding dress!

    Anyway, Phantom tries to express his ardor to Christine through the rather creepy “Music of the Night” solo, but then she pulls off his mask and sees (although the rest of us can’t see) that his face is distorted. Phantom pushes her away and completely falls apart. Christine feels pretty bad, and gives him back the mask. Then he takes her back upstairs and drops her off in her room. The plot basically follows a trend of Phantom trying to press for Christine’s advancement in the music world through devious means, and Raoul trying to “free her” from his possessive grasp that she is unable to break.

    Ultimately, it comes down to a climactic moment when Phantom coerces the opera house to perform one of his operas for Christine to sing. He then knocks off her leading man, and takes his place on stage. And then his mask gets taken off, and the chandelier falls down, and he drags Christine down through the underground tunnels again, with Raoul in hot persuit. And then he nabs “our hero” and threatens to hang him if Christine will not become his lover. So to find out whether she decides to save Raoul and run off with the obsessive masquerade man or tosses Raoul under the bus to be rid of the both of them so she can find a more normal match through online dating…you’ll have to watch the movie!

    Visually, this film version of The Phantom of the Opera is really quite impressive. The general mood is dark and gothic, set against the garishly colorful attire of the opera company and the frightening possibilities behind the world of masks and mirrors. The use of smoke and mists are very spooky, especially the eerie green fog hovering over the underground lake! And who could help but be creeped out by such memorable motifs as the dusty chandelier, the toy monkey, and the single red rose? Elegant and sinister, all at the same time, just like The Phantom himself!

    There are also some wonderful shots of the Paris, capturing the panorama of the magnificent, enchanting, and sometimes terrifying city. One of the my favorite scenes finds Raoul and Christine on the opera house roof overlooking Paris, with ominous stone gargoyles peering over the edges, as snow flurries descend from the cloudy sky. The duet they sing sets off both their voices nicely, and is a comforting break after menacing events inside the gallery. One thing I must mention though: How smart is it for Raoul to pick up Christine and start spinning her around whilst they are on top of a roof?!

    Another memorable scene is the duel between Phantom and Raoul in the cemetery. It’s a fair piece of swordsmanship on both sides, as the two men dodge jutting gray headstones, sparks flying from the clashing weapons. The ground is blanketed with white snow, and Christine’s crimson cape, along with Raoul’s bleeding arm, make a powerful contrast. It is in this scene that Raoul bests the Phantom and is about to run him through, but Christine begs for his life and allows him to escape to haunt them another day.

    But then there are the set-backs. My personal reasons for not being overly enthused are that it falls under the genre of both “musical” and “horror”, two words that I am not overly enthralled by and that do not mix very well in my humble opinion. I am not much of a Broadway person whatsoever, and my favorite musicals are “fun” ones, such as Brigadoon and The Sound of Music. Plus, those movies actually had spoken dialogue to break up all the singing. I have a very hard time sitting through a film where almost the entire script is sung, and have an even harder time taking an intense plot to hear if everyone’s singing during a hanging sequence or something similar!

    There are not actual sexual encounters that take place in this film, although I would venture to say there is a strong current of underlying innuendoes that affect the way the characters often irrationally conduct themselves. Also, quite a few opportunities are sized upon to dress Christine in revealing attire, including something like a belly dancer costume in the opening and a series of gowns with very low bodices! In addition to this, she is sometimes posed in rather alluring positions, such as when she wakes up on the pillows in Phantom’s cellar hideaway.

    One of the reasons I don’t care much for the story as a romance is that so much is left unexplained, and that lack of logic is made up for by some type of all-consuming lust that The Phantom has for Christine, and that Christine evidently has for him, even though she does come to her senses and frees herself from him. Really, there whole relationship is quite creepy and distinctly different from true love against the odds of physical disability and misshapenness. Through the course of the story, not once do Christine and Phantom have a “normal” conversation, nor does she every try to dissuade him from wreaking havoc on those around him, making her extremely guilty of the sin of omission.

    Perhaps if Phantom had a better singing voice in the film, I might buy the theory that Christine was seduced by his sonorous tones. But the fact is that Gerard Butler has a raspy voice that can kindly be described as “earthy” or otherwise simply scratchy to the senses. Don’t get me wrong; the guy is a good actor, but obviously not up to par with Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson in the vocal realm. The problem would crop up in a later musical film, Le Miserables, when casting Russell Crowe in the part of Javert. But at least that character wasn’t supposed to be a great singer; this one was!

    Also, The Phantom’s “hideous face” is not so hideous at all when he finally pulls off the mask in the end. It just looks like he got into some sort of an accident, and the one side of his got burnt. It’s a bit swollen, and certainly might take a little getting used to, but not overtly grotesque. Is this really the reason why he was mistreated as a “devil child” in his youth, forced to go through life without love, and left to sink into a sadistic, criminalist lifestyle? Either the Parisians are just super-sensitive about looks, or they really, really blew that one out of proportion! My personal theory is that good-looking Gerard Butler didn’t want to spoil his image by being to badly beat up by the make-up people back stage!

    So my overview on The Phantom: for musical lovers with a taste for period costumes and Gothic horror plots, this is sure to be a treat. For others, it may prove a bit “much” in lieu of too much singing and too much creepiness. Certainly not a light-hearted film, and not one you’d necessarily want to watch before going to bed, it does go some way to teach the lesson that people with physical disfigurements must not allow themselves to become emotionally and spiritually disfigured as well because of the cruelty of others. Instead, they must rise above it and find peace within themselves by seeking out relationships based on true love, with God first and others second.

Christine (Emmy Rossum) sees The Phantom (Gerard Butler) for the first time in a mirror