IMDB plot summary: A disfigured musical genius, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorizes the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protégée whom he trains and loves.
Directed by Nick Morris and Laurence Connor. Stars Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess, and Hadley Fraser.
Now THAT, Gerard Butler, is how you play the Phantom.
I am a megafan of the original show who *hated* the movie. In particular, I hated Butler, for two major reasons. First of all, the man is not a TERRIBLE singer, but this is the worst possible musical for him. I had similar feelings seeing Nick Jonas in the concert cast of Les Miserables. His singing voice does not fit the character, the theatrical style, or the songs, and as such, he destroys everything he sings in the movie (including my second favorite showtune of all eternity). Secondly, Butler's Phantom is a very odd portrayal. The Phantom is equal parts menacing and pathetic, but Butler simply comes across as fairly cranky in every scene.
Ramin Karimloo fixes all those problems. I've seen three different live performances of Phantom, and he was easily on par with the best of those. His Phantom is fascinating to watch - at times, he is the most pitiful creature, and then he suddenly switches gears and is in a murderous rage. He has the voice to go with the character, too - it's easy to believe his talent has made him both Christine's vocal teacher and seductor.
Although at first I wasn't sure about Sierra Boggess, she ultimately brings a level of compassion to the role that I haven't seen in many other Christines. Her Christine is not drawn to the Phantom solely because of his voice and her lack of willpower - she is pulled back again and again because she *wants to help*. The final scene, where she bids the Phantom goodbye, was extremely moving - even as she gains her independence and takes it, you can see her wishing she could bring the Phantom some happiness. Not because she is in love with him, by any means, but because his sorrow touches her deeply.
This production's Raoul is the low point, however. Patrick Wilson was my favorite part of the 2004 version, and Hadley Fraser is... rather despicable. Instead of being the Phantom's antithesis, a sweet and reassuring character, he, too, treats Christine as if she were a child, singing every line with an oddly commanding tone. "All I Ask of You" was particularly bizarre - in the scene leading up to it, he responded to her (very legitimate) fears with annoyed facial expressions and deliveries that did not match his words. When he did begin the famous love song, he looked not at Christine, but directly out at the audience, giving the impression that he was saying what needed to be said to calm down his hysterical girlfriend, but that he'd really rather not be there. I kept thinking any minute he was going to roll his eyes as he sang words he clearly didn't believe. I usually dislike the character of Raoul, but for his spinelessness - and here I found him *missing* that spinelessness, because at least it had a touch of the sweet to it.
The show is shot fairly well, although there are moments I wish we saw more of the stage (I always love seeing Phantom from the last row of the theater, since so many scenes are SO BIG and SO BUSY). For technical reasons, the spectacular Act 1 finale chandelier crash couldn't happen, so instead the chandelier merely sparks and goes out - so much less impressive, but still fairly effective.
Overall, despite the bizarre acting choices of Raoul, I loved this. It's been far too long since I've seen this show on stage, and I forgot how transcendant this show can be for me. It was the first professional stage production I ever saw, and it remains one of my very favorites, and I'm delighted there is a movie version I can not-hate now. Definitely worth a watch for anyone who likes musicals. 4 stars.
Best Part: Christine leaving the Phantom at the end. Karimloo and Boggess make that scene WORK. Also, "Point of No Return" is stupendous.
Worst Part: "All I Ask of You" and its almost sarcastic delivery.
Flickchart: #338, below Broadway Danny Rose and above Megamind.
No comments:
Post a Comment