9 out of 10
 

Adaptation Of Stage Spectacular

This adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage production of the same name
is absolutely incredible. Joel Schumaker did a fantastic job of directing this beautiful work of art, bringing the stage production to life on the big screen. Musicals are a rarity in this day and age, but
Schumaker and Webber worked an awesome job writing the screenplay together in order to give even more depth to the big screen version of this masterpiece. The medium of film allows for much more visuals and details than the stage can offer and this film has already been nominated pre-release for two Golden Globe awards, Best Picture - Musical and Best Original Song.

The Phantom of the Opera is the tale of a disfigured musical genius (Gerard Butler, Timeline, Laura Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) known as "The Opera Ghost" who haunts an opera house in Paris, France. He tutors a protégé named Christine (Emmy Rossum, The Day After
Tomorrow, Mystic River) who believes him to be an angel that her deceased father has sent to guide her. Her adopted mother is Madame Giry (Miranda Richardson, Blackadder, The Crying Game) who convinces the new opera house owners to let her sing when primadona Carlotta (Minnie Driver, Ella Enchanted, Hard Rain) has a tantrum and storms from the stage. Christine is a star overnight, as she has the voice of an angel, capturing the heart not only of her fans and childhood sweetheart Raoul
(Patrick Wilson, The Alamo) but of the Opera Ghost as well. From this point on the story progresses as we see the lengths the Phantom will go to in order to keep Christine as the star.

This tragic rendition of the classic Beauty and the Beast is a must see. The soundtrack is spectacular, being the same as Webber's smash stage production, the costumes and sets are amazing, and the cast is fantastic. One can easily find themselves being drawn into the movie, as the stage production often did. Having seen the stage version three times, I can tell you that this film will not disappoint you, and if you had missed seeing it on stage, this is your chance to see the story and
be drawn into the beauty and mysticism that surrounded the stage version.

My only disappointment from the film was the singing or rather lip-synching of what I am certain is the score that was sung by Minnie Driver. Overall I rate this film a 9 out of 10.

Awesome...will not disappoint!

Film Critic: Sean P Migneault