Oustanding, Dark, and Fanciful

Review of Andrew Lloyd Webbers "Phantom of the Opera" Film Version:

When I heard this was in production I desperately wanted to see the finished results. Having seen 'Phantom' at the Chicago Opera House I knew that even a big film spectacle would feel somewhat contained. Now, I did not actually go see the movie once it was realized because I relied on the views of others and because I listened to the soundtrack at Barnes & Noble and was really put off by the voice of the Phantom and in parts the voice of Christine. Plus I had the usual money woes at the time. . . I figured I would get around to seeing it at the re-run, discount house, but never got the chance.

Last night we watched the movie version on DVD. From the moment the grainy and surrealistic auction scene started I became entranced. The transition from this to the full color was, aside from the entire Return of the King, the only time I have experienced a strange, sustained out of body sensation from a visual and audial stimulus. (But you must understand that Luke and I both go through that thing where due to a DNA error one will sometimes see music, or smell a word, or hear a color etc. and not in a metaphorical sense, but in an acutal, literal concrete weird out. The senses sometimes blur into one another. And now you all think I am am even weirder than before. . .)

I realize that Webber cribbed a lot of chords and progressions to patch the songs together, but that is not at all uncommon in the creative world. Originality is a big fiction. Shakespeare, anyone? This film does suffer from a somewhat weak phantom in terms of singing, however, the actor has a very arresting physical presence (and I don't mean his subjective 'looks', either) that makes up for his singing when you are seeing his image. I would not and do not enjoy listening to his singing on the CD. Furthermore, some of the filler is really obvious and a bit strained if you've seen it on stage, but movies don't have overtures and intermissions unless they're "Gone with the Wind". So, although it is understandable why it is done I think the Phantom's back story is a sort of jerk in the momentum of the story. And what's with all the random drinking? Moulin Rouge-esqe. A few other scenes evoke other films, but see the second sentence of this paragraph.

All in all though the film maintains a wonderful dreamy quality that blends fantasy and realism perfectly. The actual instrumentation is accompanied by superb visual cues that mimic what one is hearing.

Perhaps my favorite performance in the film is Minnie Driver's, but everyone does a very good job of acting in this, coming just close enough to being over the top, but pulling back to keep from making the whole thing into a big, messy mockery.

WOOHOO!

For really cool Phantom trivia go to:
trivia linky linky doo