The Phantom of the Opera Movie Critique

I don't normally do this. In fact, I usually leave the movie critiques up to someone like Jason who has some right to say the things that are about to be said. However, I know that if I do not say anything about this film, I will be talking about it to people who would rather not hear me talk.

There was a lot of hype around this film, particularly with those who are fans of the play. And this film does not disappoint. In fact, it does better in some area than the play could ever do.

The use of special effects are minimal but obvious. The most common is what I call "The Wizard of Oz Moment" where black & white film turns into color film depending on what era the story told is in. This effect is most prominent and most affective in the beginning sequence. If you miss the beginning, you might as well wait until the next showing. It sets up the film nicely and is a real treat for the eyes.

Story-wise, several placement liberties have been taken to explain several things. The famous dropping of the chandelier was moved to a later portion of the story to further accent the Phantom's rage and madness. Other changes include a back story of the Phantom as a child and the momentary disappearance of the Phantom until the new year Masquerade Ball. (He claims he was working on his opera, Don Juan Victorious.) For all the guys that could care less about romantic musicals, there's a bit of action added. A sword fight between the Phantom and Raoul, to be exact. Other than these liberties, the story flows nicely and is told in a very classical manner.

The sound in this film is the best I have ever experienced so far (which isn't saying much, seeing how I rarely go to the movies now). The trademark organ will punch you the moment the first notes are belted from it at the beginning. The symphony is rich sounding, making you feel like you are in the pit while the play is being performed. The best sound engineering has to go to how they presented the Phantom when he speaks. Instead of the usual "voice over here, voice over there" trick done in the stage version, every speaker in the theater plays the exact same sound track giving you the feeling that the Phantom is everywhere around you. For those of you with a home theatre system, getting the DVD of this film when it comes out will be an audio treat you can revisit again and again.

Visually, the film is beautiful! There is a richness of colors like I've never seen before. Not even in a master's painting! When the film is in color, every color in the frame creates the mood perfectly. The dark underground of the opera house never looked so beautiful. The visuals shine in the later half of the film, the highlight being during Masquerade. If only the stage version had this kind of color in their productions.

Lastly, I cannot type all of this without saying something about Emmy Rossum, the female lead that plays Christine Daae. She is the new Julie Andrews. I kid you not. Every frame she is in is beautiful. Not a flaw on her face what-so-ever. Her voice is beautiful, and you will fall in love with it the moment she takes center stage. Wow! She will be going places because of this film. Could she revive musical films the way Julie Andrews did? Quite possibly. Emmy Rossum will win a good share of awards. There is no doubt about that in my mind.

The film is still playing in selective cities, and if you happen to be in those cities, I advise you not to wait. For those of you that have to wait until later, you will not be disappointed in this film. A definite entry for Best Picture!