The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera (2004) is about a masked man living beneath the Paris Opera. Christine is a young singer in the chorus. For years a voice she has never seen has been teaching her; she believes it is an angel. When the lead soprano walks out she goes on and becomes a star overnight. The voice turns out to be a man. His face is disfigured, he lives in the tunnels under the opera, and he has been running the place for years: leaving notes, demanding payment, killing anyone who resists. He wants to possess her. It is adapted from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, which opened in 1986 and became one of the longest running productions in theatre history. Webber had wanted to make the film for years and finally produced it himself. Joel Schumacher directed; Webber chose him. The cast sang themselves and some of it was recorded live on set. Gerard Butler plays the Phantom and the casting was argued over: he had no operatic training and took lessons for a few months. On stage the part goes to classically trained voices. Emmy Rossum played Christine at seventeen; she had trained in opera. The design is excessive: candles, velvet, fog and gold. The art direction was nominated for an Oscar. The opening begins in black and white and colours into the past, and it is the best sequence in the film. It runs 143 minutes. Good for: musicals, gothic romance, and stage adaptations. Less good for: it is long, the vocal performances are contested, and the obsessive relationship at the centre is uncomfortable.