BATMAN OF THE OPERA

Christine and the Phantom

The film adaptation of "Phantom" (now known as "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera") stars Scottish singer/actor Gerard Butler, who vigorously gnashes his teeth, confidently strides through secret corridors and diligently attempts to express his all-consuming passion for the innocent soprano Christine (Emmy Rossum), the Paris Opera Populaire ingenue who falls under the Phantom's spell as he helps her become a sensation.

But despite Butler's enthusiasm, most moviegoers are likely to feel like they're seeing the understudy, not the star. Butler trained in rock (he fronted the Scottish band Speed) and his thick voice lacks the flexibility and shading necessary in performing musical theater material. He's notably more comfortable with the Phantom's darker moments -- such as the gloriously lusty "The Point of No Return," one of the film's notable high points -- than he is in putting over the score's ballads, such as "The Music of the Night," a pivotal number that sounds uncertain and rather unconvincing here.

Unfortunately, Butler's miscasting is hardly the only problem evident in this "Phantom." Director Joel Schumacher (who was almost certainly operating under the watchful eye of producer/composer Webber) has brought the show to the screen, yet large portions of the movie have the feel of a photographed stage production. As Christine mournfully makes her way through an obviously artificial graveyard, singing "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," a blanket of meringue-thick fog lingers along the ground and confetti-like snow gently falls. It's the kind of scene that might work perfectly well in the theater, but when it's blown up to fill a Cinemascope-sized screen it looks slightly ridiculous.

The same thing happens when the Phantom whisks Christine away to his elaborate underground lair, which he describes as a "vault of unending night." With its numerous candelabras held by gilded human arms (an idea stolen from director Jean Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast"), stylish full-length mirrors and translucent drapes, however, they might as well be in the basement of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. The crucial atmosphere of menace isn't there; suddenly, we're watching "The Batman of the Opera."

Underground Labyrinth

"Phantom" also conjures up another unintended homage in the would-be show-stopper "Masquerade," as dozens of partygoers in black and white outfits whoop it up at an opera gala. The sequence is attractively shot, but the moves choreographer Peter Darling has come up with make you half-expect Madonna to drop in and shout, "Strike a pose! Vogue!"

The Masquerade Scene

Speaking of Madonna, the "Phantom" filmmakers could have taken some cues from director Alan Parker's rousing screen adaptation of "Evita." That 1996 success had an energy and ingenuity that's conspicuously absent from much of this movie, which frequently suffers from a cautious stiffness, as if most of the cast was afraid they might destroy this supposed work of art if they allowed themselves to have fun.

At least Minnie Driver, outfitted with a burgundy wig and puffy pink gowns, manages to be a high-strung hoot as the vain diva Carlotta, and Miranda Richardson builds the mysterious ballet mistress Madame Giry into an intriguing character.

MINNIE DRIVER as CARLOTTA

Rossum and Patrick Wilson, who plays Christine's secret fiancé Raoul, aren't permitted to do much in the way of actual acting (their big dramatic moments call for them to part their lips slightly and admire each other with a slightly dazed expression), but their singing is considerably stronger than Butler's. Their rooftop duet, "All I Ask of You," becomes one of the rare sequences in which "Phantom" actually achieves the air of breathless romantic fantasy it continually strives to capture.

Too bad Schumacher didn't do the same for Butler, whose inadequate voice makes it all the more baffling that the filmmakers refused to cast Antonio Banderas, who had lobbied for the role for years. Banderas may not have turned this "Phantom" into a good movie, but he would have brought more to his performance than snapping his cape in anger, which is all Butler knows to do. Zorro, at least, would know how to handle a cape.

While The Phantom of the Opera is not the greatest movie I have seen this year, it certainly deserves a chance.

It's a decent, sometimes breathtaking film.

Just do not expect that you are going to see Moulin Rouge or Chicago, or else, you'd be disappointed.

This is really hilarious. I bumped into this livejournal of cleolinda who writes brilliant and super hilarious fifteen minute movies, this one is for the Phantom of the Opera, you would DEFINITELY enjoy this. I literally died from laughing. Here's the link:

http://www.livejournal.com/community/m15m/6231.html

For some genuine PHATOM OF THE OPERA MUSIC (Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford):

Maintheme

Hannibal

Think Of Me

Angel of Music

The Mirror

Music of the Night

Masquerade

Wishing You Were Somewhere

All I Ask of You (Barbara Streisand)

Phantom of the Opera (Jose Carreras)