The Phantom Of The Opera Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)January 10th, 2005
"Phantom of the Opera"
Fans of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage version of "Phantom of the Opera" will likely enjoy director Joel Schumacher's transfer to the silver screen of the story of the facially-deformed Paris opera impresario who takes a pretty young chorus singer, Christine (Emmy Rossum), and turns her into the toast of the town while terrorizing the rest of the company.
Unfortunately, I am not a fan of Sir Andrew's work.
Clocking in at 143 minutes runtime, this "Phantom"
failed to grab me for its first two hours. During this almost interminable interlude that leads up to the
(actually) exciting finale, we are presented with what feels like a road show version of the Broadway play.
The main problem I have with the film is the casting of the two male leads. Gerard Butler, as the titular character, is thoroughly bland and lacks charisma. His voice, too, lacks the character to make his performance at all memorable.
Patrick Wilson as Raoul, the romantic challenger for Christine's affections, is, if anything, blander than Butler and has even less dimension. Emmy Rossum, 17-years old when she recreated the role of Christine for the screen, acquits herself quite well with her innocent presence and rich voice. The young actress (who played the pivotal murder victim in "Mystic
River") shows a great deal of talent and is the best thing in "Phantom." Minnie Driver, as the opera company's demanding and bitchy diva, has fun chewing her lines with her outrageous Italian accent.
Production design is obviously costly but lacks any real character or atmosphere. It's all shine and glitter but without substance. Thank heavens for the film's last 20+ minutes where things actually happen to catch my interest. The getting there, though, is pretty tough and, except for the fans, will require attention and perseverance. I give it a C.
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