"Phantom Of The Opera"

Title: "Phantom Of The Opera"
Director: Joel Schumacher
Producer: Andrew Lloyd Weber
Editing: Terry Rawlings
Music and Lyrics: Andrew Lloyd Weber
Starring:
- Gerard Butler as The Phantom
- Emmy Rossum as Christine Daae
- Patrick Wilson as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny
- Miranda Richardson as Madame Giry
- Minnie Driver as Carlotta Giudicelli

Plot and Critical Review: Derived from the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which was based on the novel by Gaston Leroux, the film begins in 1917, where the dilapidated Paris Opera house holds an auction in selling pieces. Raoul the Vicomte de Chagny, now an old wheelchair-bound man, purchases a coveted music box. During the auction, Raoul spots a familiar figure: Madame Giry, whom he met as a young man. Madame Giry is now an old woman, almost 50 years later. But he is distracted for the next piece, a broken chandelier now restored and electrically wired known as Lot 666. As the auctioneers display the restored chandelier, the opening crescendo of music wipes away the years of decay from the opera house as the black and white turns into color, and the audience is transported back in time to 1864, the beginning of the story, when the opera was in its prime.

A musical genius known as "The Phantom" lives in the watery labyrinths beneath the Opéra Populaire in Paris. After nearly ten years of quiet obsession with the beautiful soprano Christine Daaé , he plots to place her at center stage. But Christine is caught between her love for Raoul, her childhood sweetheart, and her fascination and pity for the Phantom. Jealous and possessive, the Phantom plots to make Christine his own, resorting to stalking her wherever she goes as well as killing several people to get her attention.

The Phantom lures Christine to the tomb of her father where he tries to woo her back. Raoul arrives at the last moment and a sword fight. Raoul manages to disarms the Phantom and is about to kill him when Christine pleads for him not to. His rage seemingly augmented, the Phantom angrily states, "Now, let it be war upon you both." That night, the Phantom steals Christine away and takes her into the labyrinth beneath the theatre. After a series of tense and chaotic sequences, the Phantom imprisons Raoul (who chased after Christine) and threatens to kill him if Christine doesn't choose to spend her life with the Phantom and forsake her love for Raoul.

Struck by the desperation of his actions as well as a revelation of how dark his past must be, Christine kisses the Phantom and displays her pity and compassion for him. Her kindness so deeply touches the Phantom that, ashamed of what he's done, he allows Christine and Raoul to leave. Just before she departs with Raoul on the boat, Christine approaches the Phantom, who helplessly tells her that he loves her, and she gives him the diamond ring from her finger. Heartbroken, the Phantom begins to cry. After Christine and Raoul leave, the Phantom uses a candelabra to smash every mirror in his underground lair and he disappears behind a velvet curtain into an empty glass mirror portal. The police arrive and Meg, the ballet mistress's daughter, finds only the phantom's white mask. As she takes the mask and leaves, the camera focuses on the toy monkey music box. The frame slowly turns from color to black and white.

The black and white picture fades as the elderly Raoul rides to a cemetery where he goes to visit Christine's tomb which reveals that she died only two years before, in 1917. Her tombstone reads "Vicomtess of Chagny, beloved wife and mother", suggesting she married Raoul and had children with him. He lays the monkey music box at her grave. As he turns to leave, he notices that on the left of the tombstone lies a red rose with a black ribbon tied around it (a trademark of the Phantom). Attached to the rose is the diamond engagement ring Christine gave back to the Phantom the night the theatre burned to the ground. The scene fades to black.

"Phantom..." was met with mixed reviews across the board. Reviews from critics averaged in the 35-55% range. But the film was monumentally successful among lovers of the stage play and Andrew Lloyd's Weber unforgettable score. It was the response of such devoted fans that helped the film earn to earn more than twice its $40 million budget. While Schumacher's cinematic tricks turned off those who were looking for a cleaner and tighter production of the beloved musical, "Phantom..." still stands as one of the most popular musical films of all time, even if "those who should know" don't agree.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Content to Caution:
V-3 - The Phantom commits murder and attacks several people through the course of the film. There is one sword fight in which some blood is shown.
L-1 - No comment.
DU-1 - No comment.
RT-0 - No comment.
H/S-2.5 - Several scenes of dramatic and violent tension between The Phantom and other characters.
CH-1 - No comment.
S/N-2 - No nudity, but some kissing and an erotic stage presentation during "Point Of No Return".

The "Reel Revelation": "I Keep Falling In Love With Him..."

People love musicals for all sorts of reasons. Some love the pageantry and grandeur of the costumes and set pieces, while others get lost in the acting and drama. And then there is, of course, the music. While I have met a couple people who said they can't stand musicals in general, i've never met a person who said that they didn't like at least some of the music that the great shows have given us. And of all the pieces of music from all the musicals, the love songs have lasted the longest.

"Phantom Of The Opera" is an exquisite specimen to examine as it contains some of the most loved and well-known of all romantic music written for musicals. At the very top of the list is "All I Ask Of You", an enchanting duet shared between Raoul and Christine. They sing this song only moments after the Phantom has committed murder; an odd time for a romantic conversation, but this song cuts through the terror and grief of the moment and allows the couple to confess their love. Here are the lyrics:

Raoul:
No more talk of darkness,
Forget these wide-eyes fears.
I'm here, nothing can harm you
My words will warm and calm you.

Let me be your freedom,
Let daylight dry your tears.
I'm here, with you, beside you,
To guard you and to guide you.

Christine:
Say you'll love me every waking moment.
Turn my head with talk of summertime.
Say you need me with you, now and always.
Promise me that all you say is true,
That's all I ask of you.

Raoul:
Let me be your shelter,
Let me be your light.
You're safe, no one will find you.
Your fears are far behind you.

Christine:
All I want is freedom,
A world with no more night.
And you, always beside me,
To hold me and to hide me.

Raoul:
Then say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime.
Let me lead you from your solitude.

Say you need me with you here beside you.
Anywhere you go, let me go too.
That's all I ask of you.

Christine:
Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime.
Say the word and I will follow you.

Both:
Share each day with me,
Each night, each morning.

Christine:
Say you love me.

Raoul:
You know I do.

Both:
Love me, that's all I ask of you.
Anywhere you go, let me go too!
Love me, that's all I ask of you.

Even without the music or the visual, the lyrics are sufficiently stirring, are they not? They establish perfect harmony between the elements of curiosity, wonder, fear, promise, and complete abandonment to love. So why do we love this song so much? I believe it's because everyone wants to feel this way for another person and to know that someone feels for them just as strongly. This is precisely why musicals are so popular; they afford us a glance into a world we struggle to find or create for ourselves, a world in which people can openly say "Love me, that's all I ask of you" and not be treated as lunatics or thought of as obsessive.

And now, to the point. Have you ever felt or been as in love with God as Raoul and Christine are in love with each other? To pose the question differently, have you ever offered a song (in whatever form) to God as passionately, deeply, and completely as Raoul and Christine sing to each other in "All I Ask Of You"? Those might be daunting questions at first, but do not give up too quickly! While it's difficult to compare the love we have for God to the love of two fictional characters in a musical, I do not think it impossible. Scroll up and re-read some of the lyrics from "All I Ask...". Have you ever offered those words (or words like them) to God in prayer? Have you ever asked God to tell you that He loves you, that your fears might be dispersed? I think we all share that experience.

While we all express our love for God in different ways, we all ought to be as honest with our feelings and affections for God as Raoul and Christine were with their feelings for one another. We don't have to try and squeeze our love for God into a box or get it to conform to any one tradition. We can express our love for God freely! No matter how we choose to tell God how much we love Him, may we be genuine and honest! May we peel back our pride and tell Him, without shame, how thankful we are for His many gifts and blessings.

If you need help in finding ways to express your love to God, look to the Psalms; the prayer book of the Bible. In the Book of Psalms we find love songs far more radical than anything Andrew Lloyd Weber can offer. Consider this passage:

"How lovely are your dwelling places,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God." (Psalm 84:1-2)

I understand that this might seem like a "plain ol' Psalm", but don't let the language stand in your way. Remember that this is David's prayer, the prayer of a real person, and a true expression of love to the living God. How often are our emotions stifled by tradition and ritual? While some people (including myself) have fallen in love with God through the traditions of the Church, some people need to humble themselves and simply shout, "God, you are my God! Anywhere you go, let me go too!"

As you continue to grow in your walk with the Lord, may you also grow in the ways you express your love for God. It might not look or sound anything like the love songs do in musicals, but the sentiment and emotion will be far more fulfilling.

See you tomorrow - E.T.