(no subject)
Hope everyone had a splendid Christmas. I myself got a good haul, though I got rather sick on the way to and from Edison, NJ, but oh well. We got to play with babies at my aunt's house.
Anyway, yesterday my sister and I saw The Phantom of the Opera. Ah, movie-musicals. Where to begin.
So, as someone who's particularly fond of the stage production of Phantom, I admit that I was fully prepared to loathe and abhor the screen adaptation. Especially given the fact that, for the leading role, they had cast a guy who I had seen in previous pictures and found to be as wooden as a totem pole. Now that I've made it through the film successfully, I'm surprised to say that I didn't hate it.
Not that it wasn't flawed. The first half or so was remarkably vapid and lacking in substantial character and plot development, with the exception of the beautifully crafted opening sequence. (Note: My second favorite scene in the entire film was the revealing of the broken chandelier at the auction and the jarring, blaring rendition of the Phantom theme that accompanied it...you'll know what I'm talking about once you see it.) After the opening number, however, one musical number after another followed in rapid succession until I felt that if Christine had sung another note, I would have run from the theater screaming bloody murder. Don't get me wrong: I love these songs. They're some of Webber's finest, in my opinion. But when they're fired consecutively with no dialogue in between to break up the song-induced torpor, it makes for bad musical theater. Songs don't exist for the purpose of plot development; they exist for the purpose of communicating heightened emotions or providing a spectacle of entertainment that ENHANCES the plot, rather than attempting to BE the plot. I would like to point out that this production was not written to be an actual opera (please correct me if I'm wrong)--it was written to be a musical. Ergo, no need to develop the plot through song. The misguided attempt to do so in this adaptation made it difficult to give a rat's posterior about the characters or the mysterious conflict occurring in the Opera House.
It wasn't the fault of the musical numbers themselves. They were performed admirably, with Emmy Rossum's phenomenal voice hitting every difficult pitch with perfection. However, the best song can fall flat on its face if the development of the plot up UNTIL the song itself is lacking. As such, the numbers in the first half lacked impact because the emotions they delivered had no meaning. They were present, but they meant nothing because the plot itself meant nothing.
Take the "The Phantom of the Opera" (the title track). I love this song, and I could barely complain about its performance in the film (though I could have done without that corny synthetic background pulse...use REAL drums, please). However, I could complain quite a bit about its placement. When Christine is taken to the Phantom's lair, we barely know ANYTHING about who she is, who the Phantom is, and what their relationship is. All we know is that someone is teaching her how to sing, and that there's this mysterious dude who haunts the theater, and then somehow he pulls her through her bedroom mirror and into his boat. Uh huh. Okay. Once again, the beautifully written words of Andrew Lloyd Webber lose their meaning because the audience is not effectively lead up to these moments of musical genius.
The few moments of actual drama in the first half were brought solely through the gravitas and intensity of the Phantom. So here is where I admit that I made an incorrect prejudgment of an actor. Gerard Butler, who snarled and smouldered his way through Dracula 2000 and the TV miniseries Attila, had previously failed to impress me with his acting. In Phantom, however, he basically carried the production with the raw emotion and complexity that he brought to this extremely dynamic character. Not to mention the vocal chops that he unexpectedly exhibited. His female co-star is clearly the more experienced and gifted singer, but I was shocked to hear what the vocal trainers did with Butler. If I'm not mistaken, this guy had barely had any singing experience prior to signing on with Phantom, but he carried a pretty hefty musical load with admirable delivery. He successfully captured the tormented yearning, the embittered derision, the calculated ingenuity, and ultimately the utter madness of the complex and fascinating Phantom. So, Mr. Butler, if you're reading this--I apologize for calling you a himbo and saying that you suck for playing Attila the Hun with a pathetic, half-Scottish, half-knockoff-American accent.
Speaking of half-knockoff accents, I almost felt thankful that Emmy Rossum had about three lines of spoken dialogue. Her acting wasn't bad, by any means, but every now and then I wondered what kind of accent she was affecting for her spoken lines. And as for Patrick Wilson, who played Raoul, there was no doubt about the drawling American accent that permeated his otherwise nicely-sung verses. Come on, no one's asking for a perfect French accent, but an attempt would have been appreciated.
If it seems like I really did loathe this movie, as I had expected to do, allow me to set the record straight. Once the filmmakers gained a more solid bearing of the direction they wanted to carry the plot, everything began to fall into place and I finally became engaged in the film. And from that point on, I really enjoyed it. I believe this exact point occurred after Christine and Raoul sang "All I Ask of You" while the Phantom watched. He picks up the rose that he had given Christine, which she dropped in the snow while singing with Raoul, and weeps, bringing the film's first moment of genuine emotion. Thankfully, the songs become more strategically placed from this point on, because the central conflict of the plot begins to unfold, and as a result, it is much easier to appreciate the quality of the musical numbers. The company production of "Masquerade", with all its gloss and decadence, was masterfully reprised in the closing number, "Track Down This Murderer", a stroke of genius that served to communicate the subliminal theme of physical anonymity symbolized by the Phantom's mask. I could have done with alot--ALOT--more of these references to the psychological ingenuity of Webber's story. Maybe I'm just way too much of a Phanatic (har har) for musical theater, but the psychological and sociological ideas expressed in many productions, including Phantom, are so ingenius that it disappoints me when adaptations choose to neglect them.
One thing that Joel Schumaker thankfully did not neglect was the complexity and perversion of the Phantom's relationship with Christine. In the second half, we see the conflicting emotions that Christine harbors towards the Phantom, with the wistful and yearning number "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" communicating a clear case of Christine's subconscious projection of the Phantom into a father figure. She is somehow attached to the Phantom for the kindness he has showed her, for the gift of music that he has given her by cultivating her natural talents, and for serving as a constant and devoted companion in her lonely world. However, the simultaneous strange power of attraction that he has over her is masterfully crafted in "The Point of No Return", which was my favorite number in the film because of the chemistry and intensity that both the leads brought to it. Another well-placed reprisal was the conclusion of this number, when the Phantom plaintively sings a verse of "All I Ask of You" before Christine removes his mask. Thus follows the famous falling-chandelier scene, accompanied by a blaring low-brass reprisal of the Phantom theme that made my music-nerd hair stand on end with geeky delight.
The strongest point of the second half (though not necessarily my favorite because I abhor that moron Raoul) was the closing number. Finally, FINALLY, we see nothing but pure drama. The Phantom, in his psychotic rage, gives Christine a pretty sucky ultimatum, and FINALLY, I felt something for her character. The conflict within her becomes clear when she sings the final reprisal of "Angel of Music", accusing the Phantom of deceiving her while the Phantom and Raoul both try to convince her to choose one way or the other. I loved this moment, though I could have done with some more pounding of Raoul. Honestly. When Christine kisses the Phantom and we see the pure, innocent joy on his disfigured face, I finally felt that Schumaker had done his job.
This dramatic moment carries through with stage-like momentum into the revelation of Christine's true choice, as she returns the Phantom's ring and abandons him forever. Watch as the Phantom smashes the mirrors and sings the final lament for his failed existence and try to tell me that musical theater is not pure magic.
Like I said, this film is anything but flawless. But once it gets going, it does what any competent rendition of the The Phantom of the Opera should do: it fascinates, it amuses, it impresses, it horrifies, and it evokes unspeakable sorrow for the tortured creature and the wasted genius of his music of the night.
-FIN-
P.S. Tara hearts Gerard Butler
Anyway, yesterday my sister and I saw The Phantom of the Opera. Ah, movie-musicals. Where to begin.
So, as someone who's particularly fond of the stage production of Phantom, I admit that I was fully prepared to loathe and abhor the screen adaptation. Especially given the fact that, for the leading role, they had cast a guy who I had seen in previous pictures and found to be as wooden as a totem pole. Now that I've made it through the film successfully, I'm surprised to say that I didn't hate it.
Not that it wasn't flawed. The first half or so was remarkably vapid and lacking in substantial character and plot development, with the exception of the beautifully crafted opening sequence. (Note: My second favorite scene in the entire film was the revealing of the broken chandelier at the auction and the jarring, blaring rendition of the Phantom theme that accompanied it...you'll know what I'm talking about once you see it.) After the opening number, however, one musical number after another followed in rapid succession until I felt that if Christine had sung another note, I would have run from the theater screaming bloody murder. Don't get me wrong: I love these songs. They're some of Webber's finest, in my opinion. But when they're fired consecutively with no dialogue in between to break up the song-induced torpor, it makes for bad musical theater. Songs don't exist for the purpose of plot development; they exist for the purpose of communicating heightened emotions or providing a spectacle of entertainment that ENHANCES the plot, rather than attempting to BE the plot. I would like to point out that this production was not written to be an actual opera (please correct me if I'm wrong)--it was written to be a musical. Ergo, no need to develop the plot through song. The misguided attempt to do so in this adaptation made it difficult to give a rat's posterior about the characters or the mysterious conflict occurring in the Opera House.
It wasn't the fault of the musical numbers themselves. They were performed admirably, with Emmy Rossum's phenomenal voice hitting every difficult pitch with perfection. However, the best song can fall flat on its face if the development of the plot up UNTIL the song itself is lacking. As such, the numbers in the first half lacked impact because the emotions they delivered had no meaning. They were present, but they meant nothing because the plot itself meant nothing.
Take the "The Phantom of the Opera" (the title track). I love this song, and I could barely complain about its performance in the film (though I could have done without that corny synthetic background pulse...use REAL drums, please). However, I could complain quite a bit about its placement. When Christine is taken to the Phantom's lair, we barely know ANYTHING about who she is, who the Phantom is, and what their relationship is. All we know is that someone is teaching her how to sing, and that there's this mysterious dude who haunts the theater, and then somehow he pulls her through her bedroom mirror and into his boat. Uh huh. Okay. Once again, the beautifully written words of Andrew Lloyd Webber lose their meaning because the audience is not effectively lead up to these moments of musical genius.
The few moments of actual drama in the first half were brought solely through the gravitas and intensity of the Phantom. So here is where I admit that I made an incorrect prejudgment of an actor. Gerard Butler, who snarled and smouldered his way through Dracula 2000 and the TV miniseries Attila, had previously failed to impress me with his acting. In Phantom, however, he basically carried the production with the raw emotion and complexity that he brought to this extremely dynamic character. Not to mention the vocal chops that he unexpectedly exhibited. His female co-star is clearly the more experienced and gifted singer, but I was shocked to hear what the vocal trainers did with Butler. If I'm not mistaken, this guy had barely had any singing experience prior to signing on with Phantom, but he carried a pretty hefty musical load with admirable delivery. He successfully captured the tormented yearning, the embittered derision, the calculated ingenuity, and ultimately the utter madness of the complex and fascinating Phantom. So, Mr. Butler, if you're reading this--I apologize for calling you a himbo and saying that you suck for playing Attila the Hun with a pathetic, half-Scottish, half-knockoff-American accent.
Speaking of half-knockoff accents, I almost felt thankful that Emmy Rossum had about three lines of spoken dialogue. Her acting wasn't bad, by any means, but every now and then I wondered what kind of accent she was affecting for her spoken lines. And as for Patrick Wilson, who played Raoul, there was no doubt about the drawling American accent that permeated his otherwise nicely-sung verses. Come on, no one's asking for a perfect French accent, but an attempt would have been appreciated.
If it seems like I really did loathe this movie, as I had expected to do, allow me to set the record straight. Once the filmmakers gained a more solid bearing of the direction they wanted to carry the plot, everything began to fall into place and I finally became engaged in the film. And from that point on, I really enjoyed it. I believe this exact point occurred after Christine and Raoul sang "All I Ask of You" while the Phantom watched. He picks up the rose that he had given Christine, which she dropped in the snow while singing with Raoul, and weeps, bringing the film's first moment of genuine emotion. Thankfully, the songs become more strategically placed from this point on, because the central conflict of the plot begins to unfold, and as a result, it is much easier to appreciate the quality of the musical numbers. The company production of "Masquerade", with all its gloss and decadence, was masterfully reprised in the closing number, "Track Down This Murderer", a stroke of genius that served to communicate the subliminal theme of physical anonymity symbolized by the Phantom's mask. I could have done with alot--ALOT--more of these references to the psychological ingenuity of Webber's story. Maybe I'm just way too much of a Phanatic (har har) for musical theater, but the psychological and sociological ideas expressed in many productions, including Phantom, are so ingenius that it disappoints me when adaptations choose to neglect them.
One thing that Joel Schumaker thankfully did not neglect was the complexity and perversion of the Phantom's relationship with Christine. In the second half, we see the conflicting emotions that Christine harbors towards the Phantom, with the wistful and yearning number "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" communicating a clear case of Christine's subconscious projection of the Phantom into a father figure. She is somehow attached to the Phantom for the kindness he has showed her, for the gift of music that he has given her by cultivating her natural talents, and for serving as a constant and devoted companion in her lonely world. However, the simultaneous strange power of attraction that he has over her is masterfully crafted in "The Point of No Return", which was my favorite number in the film because of the chemistry and intensity that both the leads brought to it. Another well-placed reprisal was the conclusion of this number, when the Phantom plaintively sings a verse of "All I Ask of You" before Christine removes his mask. Thus follows the famous falling-chandelier scene, accompanied by a blaring low-brass reprisal of the Phantom theme that made my music-nerd hair stand on end with geeky delight.
The strongest point of the second half (though not necessarily my favorite because I abhor that moron Raoul) was the closing number. Finally, FINALLY, we see nothing but pure drama. The Phantom, in his psychotic rage, gives Christine a pretty sucky ultimatum, and FINALLY, I felt something for her character. The conflict within her becomes clear when she sings the final reprisal of "Angel of Music", accusing the Phantom of deceiving her while the Phantom and Raoul both try to convince her to choose one way or the other. I loved this moment, though I could have done with some more pounding of Raoul. Honestly. When Christine kisses the Phantom and we see the pure, innocent joy on his disfigured face, I finally felt that Schumaker had done his job.
This dramatic moment carries through with stage-like momentum into the revelation of Christine's true choice, as she returns the Phantom's ring and abandons him forever. Watch as the Phantom smashes the mirrors and sings the final lament for his failed existence and try to tell me that musical theater is not pure magic.
Like I said, this film is anything but flawless. But once it gets going, it does what any competent rendition of the The Phantom of the Opera should do: it fascinates, it amuses, it impresses, it horrifies, and it evokes unspeakable sorrow for the tortured creature and the wasted genius of his music of the night.
-FIN-
P.S. Tara hearts Gerard Butler