by Barb Hopkins

Created on: March 20, 2008   Last Updated: February 24, 2009

"The Phantom of the Opera" is a visual and vocally stunning screen adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1911 novel and Andrew Lloyd Webber's award-winning stage musical. Filmed on location and at the Pinewood Studios in the UK, the 2004 movie musical captivates audiences from the opening opera house scene to the final climax in the Phantom's lair. Director/writer Joel Schumacher and writer/composer Andrew Lloyd Webber have given audiences a dramatic, romantic-thriller replete with lavish sets, costumes and musical arrangements.

Set in 1870 Paris at the Opera Populaire, "The Phantom of the Opera" is the emotionally-charged tale of a disfigured musical genius and his murderous obsession of the young soprano he has trained and loves. Fans of the stage musical should view the movie with an open mind as it is not a scene for scene adaptation of the stage show. Fifteen minutes of new music have been added to the film and it follows closer to Leroux's novel.

Scottish actor Gerard Butler ("300", "PS, I Love You") dons the Phantom's mask, as the title character. Butler plays his Phantom with an absolute intensity and his vocals definitely hit the "rock and roll" style that composer Andrew Lloyd Webber was seeking. Butler's passionate plea in "All I Ask of You" resonates with his character's desperation. The Phantom's melancholy lyrics, "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Lead me, save me from my solitude. Say you'll want me with you here beside you. Anywhere you go, let me go too, Christine that's all I ask of. . ." are cleverly composed to elicit audience sympathy for the Phantom's solitary soul.

The character of young soprano Christine Daae is elegantly portrayed by sixteen year old Emmy Rossum ("The Day After Tomorrow," "Poseidon.") Andrew Lloyd Webber commented, "She is a wonderfully pure soprano, with an exceptional range, but more than this she brings real character into her voice, so rare for her age." Rossum brings a combination of vulnerability, sensuality, and ethereal innocence to the role of Christine. Her performance of "Think of Me" captures the character's wide-eyed youth. In contrast, the lusty duet "The Point of No Return" emphasizes Christine's seduction by her dark Angel of Music.

Broadway veteran Patrick Wilson ("The Full Monty"), completes the lovers' triangle as Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny. Wilson offers the audience a strong overall performance as Christine's fiance and champion. In the cemetery scene, his dashing swordplay is convincing and

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