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 19th 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 |
