The Phantom Of The Opera Review

The Phantom Of The Opera

Gerard Butler (Actor), Emmy Rossum (Actor), Joel Schumacher (Director) 

The Phantom Of The Opera the famous musical that is still showing today. Yay!! The fame came because of the dramatic and tragic love story and the phantom mask. The well-known mask, even for those people who haven't seen it will know it, it's almost like their logo. Most people believe Andrew Lloyd Webber was the one who wrote it when the truth is that it was written by a French novelist called Gaston Leroux, who believes the phantom is real.

        The film created by Joel Schumacher and Andrew Lloyd Webber, it guarantees you to be a good production, as these are both talented people. Like how the story is run, the start of the film was a drawing then it starts to move, making it develop into a black and white film. The black and white parts of the film shows you in reality while the colours scene's represent the past. The change of colours of the scene works like the narrator. The way it smoothly runs between the colours, I personally think you cannot do it any better than they did, as it was done magnificently well. Along the camera angles, it was mainly long shots and extreme long shots that were used. Showing the glamour’s surrounding of the theatre and out of the theatre. Example the phantom home, showing the details of the environment (very luxury and a massive supply of candles). From time to time you get close up scenes or worms eye view and bird’s eye view, to create an effect giving you a slight feel of actually being in the theatre. As your eyes does not focus in one way and one place. The scene that shows the costumes looking amazing makes the actors and actress emotions protrude. Like where Christine Daae sings “Think Of Me” the scene starts in rehearsal and then white light leading to the screen and spins to actually show different view. On what she sees and what the audience see, so you get a feel of what it will be like if your actually there. Mise-en-scene plays a smart important role in this film, likewise the scene where Madam Giry smiles at Christine when she sings; it shows that she knows something. She is the only one who knows the most about the phantom and his doing on what's goes on in the theatre. Also about Christine, as he is the one who trained her, Madame Giry is happy that the phantom would be pleased. Nevertheless an object that is important would be like the chandelier, it brings the past back to life and changes the scene colours as it goes up in the beginning and when the chandelier smashes. That's when the story ended. The chandelier plays a virtual role as it’s the controller of the film. While the colouring changing works just like the narrator.

    How the characters played their role and the movement they make it is the key point for a musical, as a musical relies on the actor and actress facial expression and their movements. Since musical theatre are seen in a theatre people at the back tend to find it hard to see, so exaggerating their emotion and gesture allows the people at the back to see clearly on what is going on.   Additionally if they suit their characters for example, Minnie Driver, she plays the role of La Carlotta. Bad temper diva, her movements and the facial expression she gives, gives a strong feel that you don't really like her as she very stuck up and self-centred. Which makes her characters strong, my personal opinion is that the way she looks suits the role as I cannot see Emmy Rossum play La Carlotta. The costume design in the film is rather pretty and represents the characters personality well, like Christine in the beginning she wears what every other chorus girls wear, plain and simple. This makes her look innocent, when she becomes famous her clothes gradually have more design and much more glamorous. Moreover the colours she wears, the bright and nice colour she wears shows she becoming wealthy and famous while dark dull colours shows she poor. Though within the film the colour used was very dark and Gothic, even the dance gave a dark feel, thanks to the good choreography (watch dance in “Past The Point Of No Return”). The clothing’s bring back history when the time where there was no middle class people, people was either opulent or stuck in poverty. Managing to get out of poverty required an extreme amount of hard work or a miracle, while landing into poverty was easy.

     Regardless of it being a musical, the songs are strong even the ones that creates the atmosphere and the way they enter and exit blends finely, the non-diegetic sound. Two that was truly memorable was “Overture/Hannibal” the one played when the chandelier went up in the beginning that was strong and loud. Though I did dislike the fact that I had to keep turning the volume up and down the since they were not very balance. The diegetic sounds was strong enough to show the emotions and the point across. Though the most powerful one in my opinion was “Down once More” the three main all singed different song but it combined into one, giving a thrill. As it was a life and death situation for Christine and it was the end of the story.

          As for the language they used, in visual wise it makes the audience focus carefully about the surrounding in the film, it manipulate the audience feelings and thoughts (the sound helps as it creates more atmosphere and tension).Like the monkey on the box, the role of the monkey is that it brings back memory for Raoul and the phantom so the scene can change colour to black and white. As for verbal language, the way the spoke was easy for nowadays people to understand compare to Shakespearean, even nowadays the remake of the film is still hard for some people to understand because of the words (Shakespeare was in the 15^th and 16^th century, different century but just an example). Also the way they spoke in the film tells you that they generally speak French due to the fact that they give out an accent and used the word ‘’monsieur’’, in French it means sir. Though the downfall was where Raoul says “bravo” he said it in the English way.

     Over all the film is targeting people from the age of 12 and above. Aiming at teenagers as well is that the film is like Sweeney Todd and Sleepy Hallow but no gory parts and it’s not exactly horror. For 12 and above means that the film is not childish and is mature enough for the older to enjoy. Therefore it’s suitable for them however it all depends if the person enjoy musical, if they don't then obviously they won’t like it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about it but I do not believe some should judge about the theatre version compare to the film if they have not watched both!

 My own opinion is that I really enjoyed it especially the closing scene in which the black and white scene, in front of Christine grave was the phantom rose. Showing that after all these years he still loved her. Ending the film in black and white with the rose petal in colour made me feel happy and sad at the same time for the phantom. Though watching it in theatre gave a different experience, making you really into it and after for more. Though thank god Andrew Lloyd Webber have created “Love Never Dies”, the sequel!