![]() Schumacher, who has said in interviews that he wanted “young, hot” actors in the lead roles, apparently meant this at the expense of ones with vocal talent or acting ability. Even if you’ve never heard the songs or seen the show, you may be tempted to sing along.īut the show is still better than the movie. Every song is a rousing piece made up of either haunting lyrics (Christine sings of the “angel” as being sent by her deceased father) or cheerful fluffiness (one number has the two managers singing of the trouble the Phantom is causing). The theatre’s inexperienced new managers (Ciarán Hinds and Simon Callow) are at a loss, so they replace her with the young ingénue Christine, who has been taking singing lessons from this “opera ghost,” all without ever seeing him, yet believing him to being an “Angel of Music.” ![]() The Phantom of the Opera opens at the Paris Opera-House in the late nineteenth-century, with the production of “Hannibal” (the elephant-tamer, not the face-eater) coming to a halt when its temperamental star, La Carlotta (Minnie Driver, sporting the worst Italian accent since Nicholas Cage in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin), walks out during a dress rehearsal after threats from the mysterious Phantom (Gerard Butler), who has haunted the opera house for years. ![]() This is a Schumacher film, because in the end, surface triumphs over soul. With mediocre expectations, Schumacher’s Phantom is a mixed blessing, as dazzling to the eyes and ears as it is numbing to the heart and mind. As a big fan of the Broadway musical (I’ve seen it six times), I had no choice but to be wary, yet ecstatic to see one of the great stage musicals finally arrive on the big screen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |