Fell in love with the Phantom all over again!
Ok, maybe I was biased, cause I already loved the Phantom of the Opera, but I was actually very skeptical about this movie. I have been a fan of the Phantom of the Opera since 1989, and I LOVE Michael Crawford as the Phantom. When they were making this movie I remember thinking "Who can ever compare to Michael Crawford?"
Then I saw the movie. And I fell in love with the Phantom all over again. Gerard Butler was perfect for this role in the movie. I don't think he would work so well in this role in the stage show, but for the movie he was FANTASTIC.
Come on now, we all know Michael Crawford is the ultimate Phantom, but we also all know that he was too old to play the Phantom in the movie. A 65 yr old Phantom wooing a 17 yr old Christine? GROSS! In order for it not to be gross Christine would have to be much much older, and that just would not have worked.
So I don't see what the big deal is about having a younger cast. I think it worked extremely well. The chemistry between Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum was amazing. You can feel the love, the passion, the desire.
As for Gerard's singing. I don't know why everyone wants to tear his singing apart. No, he is not a tenor. No, he is not professionally trained. But his singing is powerful and moving. He inflects such raw emotion into the songs, we feel the Phantom's pain and insecurities. He makes us realize that the Phantom is not perfect, in face or in voice, and that makes him more human. His acting is superb, in this movie as in all of his other movies. A heavily dramatic acting performance, such as is required for the Phantom to work in the theater, would have seemed overdone in the movie. Movies and theater are two different mediums, and what works in the theater looks tacky on screen.
Emmy Rossum was spectacular. Her voice is beautiful, she is beautiful, and she was the perfect Christine. Young, naive, impressionable, breathless, all the things young girls are when first exposed to love and desire. She made us see Christine's conflict...in love with Raoul, in love (and lust!) with the Phantom, torn between the two.
Patrick Wilson is the only Raoul I didn't hate. He gave Raoul a quality that the character doesn't have in the stage show...some small bit of courage. Patrick Wilson's singing was superb as well.
The supporting cast was fantastic. The costumes and sets were beautiful. The music, as always, haunts you long after the movie is over.
I have seen the stage show and will be going to see it again, but this movie, although different, to me is just as spectacular and moving as the musical on stage.Read full review
