Christine and her friend Meg (Jennifer Ellison) sing in a stained-glass window anteroom before the Phantom appears within the depths of a mirror in Christine's boudoir. While the opening flashback, a rehearsal of 'Hannibal,' is a colorful tip of the hat to "Moulin Rouge," the picture gradually drains its color palette (something which, oddly, also happens to the Phantom's hair color when he's unmasked). The bookending 'present day' scenes are literally black and white, looking like old Victorian photos that have come to herky jerky life. Director Joel Schumacher ("Veronica Guerin"), a former window dresser, and his production designer Anthony Pratt ("The Good Thief") have taken the old riddle 'What's black and white and red all over?' and used it as their visual blue print, playing up the gothic aspects of the story. She's recognized by a royal opera goer, the Vicompte, as his childhood sweetheart, but the Phantom (Gerard Butler, "Timeline," "Reign of Fire") is waiting in the wings. After Carlotta flounces off, Christine's audition is similarly turned into her debut performance with a 360 degree camera movement. When the infamous chandelier is uncovered, computer imaging changes the black and white run down shell into its former, color glory (this technique is already feeling overused - see "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events"). As on the stage, the film begins with a public auction at the rundown old Opera building, where the Vicompte Raoul de Chagny (Patrick Wilson, "The Alamo") and the opera's former ballet mistress Madame Giry (Miranda Richardson, "The Hours") vie for a cymbal-clapping monkey music box. Panicked, they turn to up and coming ingenue Christine (Emmy Rossum, "Mystic River"), who doesn't realize that the unseen 'Angel of Music' who has been giving her voice training is none other than "The Phantom of the Opera." Laura: The long awaited screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage hit features beautiful, if artificial, production design and a genuinely stirring finale, but the uninspired casting of the love triangle leads and the blandness of many of the musical's songs make for many dead spots along the way.
Inspired by Bill Bailey's 'Cockney Intro' routine, and by the idea of a cockney version of Lloyd-Webber's 'Music of the Night', this generally makes Joel Schumacher's Phantom film a lot sillier.Opera Populaire diva Carlotta (Minnie Driver, "Ella Enchanted") is displeased when the new managers, Messieurs Firmin (Ciarán Hinds, "Veronica Guerin") and Andre (Simon Callow, "Bright Young Things"), fail to fall over themselves for her enough and walks out of a rehearsal. Think of it as the Eastenders cast doing a mad parody.
Phantom of the Opera meets EastEnders via a blender, this is more of a very strange mash-up than a normal crossover. Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings.WarnerHedgehog Fandoms: Phantom of the Opera (2004), EastEnders
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