I’ve seen the London stage production, and even had the honor of watching the amazing Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman (who was married to Lloyd Webber at the time).  And, while the Scottish Butler (last seen in “Laura Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) definitely isn’t Crawford, he nevertheless gives a winsome performance and hits all the right notes.  It’s even more impressive when you realize that Butler had to learn to sing for the part.  His character isn’t as dark as the phantom of the stage show, but that phantom isn’t as ominous as the one in the book (by the same name, written in French in 1911, by Gaston Leroux), which inspired Lloyd Webber. 

Part of the sympathy we feel for this phantom comes from the addition of a flashback to his childhood, where we witness the understandable source of his distress (as well as his friendship with the ballet mistress).  As a result, this phantom is intriguing and beguiling, and his lair, though located deep underground and surrounded by murky water, is lit with far too many candles to appear more than a tad sinister.  But it works, and it helps us appreciate why the innocent Christine is so mesmerized by a murderer – an important plot point.

Rossum (“The Day After Tomorrow”), who was 16 when the film was shot, seems born for the role of Christine.  She trained from the age of 7 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and has a beautiful voice that only gets better as the film progresses, as it should.  She projects just the right amount of naïveté, without a trace of melodrama – not an easy task in a Gothic love story – and will no doubt become a huge star as a result of this film.

As Raoul, Wilson is at a huge disadvantage, as all Raouls are, because he is pitted against the powerful, dominant character of the phantom.  But Wilson pulls his Raoul off well, and he has a good voice.  Schumacher’s sword fight, which is not in the original production, certainly helps to make him appear less wimpy.  In the end, you feel as if Christine must chose between a bad boy genius – albeit one with some nasty physical and emotional scarring – and a wealthy, handsome royal.  Hmmm.  Life in the dungeon with the brilliant phantom or the sprawling mansion with Mr. Nice Guy – what a tossup!

At 75, Joel Schumacher (“Veronica Guerin,” “Phone Booth”) has directed both good films and bad.  And while he was clearly limited by Lloyd Webber’s dictate to follow the musical if not slavishly, then at least very closely, Schumacher deserves accolades.  He has coaxed excellent performances from his actors and made additions – not the least of which is the 1917 frame, which serves as a both an introduction and an epilogue – that actually improve the story.  And he definitely knows how to transform a woman’s bare shoulders and a man’s open shirt into some serious va-va-voom.