And, indeed, this surprisingly modest credo sums up the most crucial and enjoyable elements of his film work, of which Phantom is exemplary. “I’m not an intellectual and not an artist, I’m a pop culture sponge,” Schumacher said in an interview. This Phantom may be the closest expression of Schumacher’s aesthetics, the most direct result of his background as a window-dresser and costume designer. For Schumacher too, Phantom is a personal piece, albeit in different way. “Phantom of the Opera is a very personal piece in my career,” Lloyd Webber has said, acknowledging the personal contribution of his ex-wife Sarah Brightman, who had originated Christine’s role in London. That said, the film improves considerably as it goes along, and, by the end, accumulates considerable emotional power. That the three central cast members are not stars may present a further marketing problem in turning Phantom into an event-movie during the extremely competitive upcoming holiday season. The challenge will be to recruit younger audiences, particularly males, since Phantom is not as hip and innovative as Moulin Rouge, and it also lacks the cool, cynical tone of Chicago. In its current shape, Phantom runs the risk of not pleasing those who liked and those who didn’t like the stage production, which is still running on Broadway and in many other cities. As the third wheel of tale’s romantic triangle, Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, Patrick Wilson acquits himself honorably as actor and singer, making good use of his musical experience (most recently as Curly in the Broadway production of Oklahoma!). In contrast, Gerald Butler as the Phantom has the requisite physical appearance and charismatic presence, but his limited vocal range leaves a lot to be desired, at least compared with Michael Crawford of the stage production. The best thing about this production is Emmy Rossum’s luminous singing and sensitive acting. Periodically, the movie inserts the black-and-white sequences as pauses.
To illustrate the change in time frame, the 1870 sequences, which contain most of the story, are in lush, bright and gold colors, whereas the present, 1919, is conveyed in black-and-white. Overly theatrical, claustrophobic, and a bit stale, this is an extremely stylized production.
While more accomplished and enjoyable than Evita, Phantom is marred by similar problems that had hampered the 1996 musical movie. Phantom of the Opera will suffer when inevitable comparisons are made with Hollywood’s recent high-profile musicals: Baz Luhrmann’s brilliant Moulin Rouge in 2001, and Rob Marshall’s Chicago, which won the 2002 Best Picture Oscar. Carrying a huge theatrical baggage, this film version is a decidedly mixed bag, an ultra-lavish production that exhibits in its costumes and design the dubious aesthetic of Kitsch–American Kitsch. Surprisingly, The Phantom of the Opera is Joel Schumacher’s first stab at a big Hollywood musical.
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