This is less of a problem with Christine, who is supposed to be young and innocent, but it works against the tortured Phantom (Gerard Butler) and leaves leading man Raoul (Patrick Wilson) looking like not much more than a one-dimensional hero: good-looking, rich, and brave, but without much personality.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 2004 MOVIE
The young faces of the leads makes the movie look like an extremely elaborate high school production.
Also, there is a problem with articulation: even when the notes are right, it’s often difficult to understand each singer’s rendition of the lyrics. Mostly, the cast hit the right notes, but there are times when even a modestly attuned ear can tell that the orchestra and the sound mix are being used to add some pizzazz to competent but not overwhelming performances. These musical weaknesses are not aided by the casting of unknown actors in the lead roles. The Phantom of the Opera (2004) Review: Young Faces Lip Synching Also, the synthesized bass line and repetitive drumbeat makes even this contemporary music sound dated-like a “Hooked on Classics” disco rendition from decades ago. With this catchy song, the rather drowsy score suddenly kicks into high gear, but the modern sound is at odds with the operatic tone of the rest of the music. This is most obvious during the title song, which features an energetic descending chromatic riff played dramatically on a church organ, while a rock-and-roll-type rhythm plays underneath. Most often, the score comes to life when Webber falls back on his past experience, which began with rock operas like JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. As ambitious and impressive as this approach is, however, it is not always successful the recitative sections are not great dramatically, nor musically, and there is a somewhat monotonous quality to the background music. Instead of just writing a bunch of pop songs, he adopts the classic approach of dividing the music into dramatic underscoring, expository recitatives (sung dialogue that advances the story), and delicate arias (songs that stop the story to allow characters to voice their inner thoughts and emotions). To be fair, Andrew Lloyd Webber makes a valiant effort to live up to the setting of his story, which is-after all-an opera house. The score is overblown, with only a few good show-stopping tunes (e.g., “Music of the Night.”), and the problem is exacerbated by the fact that the music plays almost continuously (there are only a few brief passages of spoken dialogue). Some of the problems stem from the Broadway musical, which has never been a critical favorite despite its worldwide blockbuster success.
Instead, it’s ponderous and slow, overdone and uninvolving, leaving you puzzled over how the stage show could have become a worldwide sensation. This film version of The Phantom of the Opera is not terrible, but it might have been more fun it if were truly bad. That turns out not to be the case, which sounds like a good thing but really isn’t. Unfortunately, with a cast of unknowns and a director not known for his subtle sophistication, the film seemed potentially poised to be a colossal disaster in the great tradition of overblown Hollywood trash. After fifteen years of false starts and frustration, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical version of The Phantom of the Opera has finally made it to the silver screen.
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