The Unseen Movie Review

The Phantom of the Opera

If you don’t like Andrew Lloyd-Webber musicals – and at least as many people despise them as think they’re wonderful - don’t even think about bothering with this movie. This take is based on that light, song-strewn version of the famous story, not that of the under-read 1908 novel by Gaston Leroux from which it originated, or even the first, classic Lon Chaney-starring film version of 1925.

But is it a good screen adaptation of the highly popular stage musical, which has been running in London’s West End, and in various other productions around the world, for the last 18 years?

Well, for anyone who knows their third-rate directors, the name Joel Schumacher should ring immediate alarm bells. Schumacher has, to date, never made a genuinely good film – although to be fair he has come close a couple of times. But in the final reckoning, this is the man responsible for the reprehensible Batman & Robin, and has thus already secured a prime place in the cinematic hall of infamy.

Then there’s the worry for Lloyd-Weber fans that the part of the Phantom didn’t go to the man who made it his own through the stage play, Michael Crawford. After dalliances with Antonio Banderas in the lead, the part has gone to the relative unknown that is Gerard Butler, whose most prominent role to date is as Lara Croft’s love interest in the second Tomb Raider movie.

Not too promising so far, right? Well, surprisingly, they’ve managed to pull it off. If you like the musical, this is about as good as you could hope for, even without Crawford – who at 62 is getting a bit old for the part now anyway – in the lead. Much like Chicago did a decent (if unimaginative) job of putting a stage musical onto the screen, this version of Phantom hits pretty much all of the bases for existing fans. The songs are well performed, the atmosphere is maintained, the sets and costumes are suitably impressive and filmed to their best effect (by the cinematographer behind Gladiator) and the supporting cast – which includes Miranda Richardson, Simon Callow and Minnie Driver – does a very good job indeed.

This was never likely to be a film that could convert sceptics to the delights of the musical – Lloyd-Webber’s songs are simply too love-it-or-hate-it for that - but nonetheless tries its very best to tap in to the potential new audience tickled by the likes of the aforementioned Chicago, as well as the more accessible (for non-fans of the genre, at least) Moulin Rouge. It will doubtless remain the fans of the stage show who find the most to enjoy here, but who knows? Maybe this might inspire a few cinemagoers to venture out to theatreland, and that can hardly be a bad thing.

posted by Nosemonkey @ 12:00 AM