The Phantom of the Opera: My Thoughts & Analysis

The 2004 film

It's obvious that while Gerard Butler is most likely in his early 30's, Emmy Rossum is sixteen. Both of them (as well as Patrick Wilson and the rest of the cast) do a pretty good job at giving a solid performance.

So the tone of this movie just seems to be a bit ominous and mature given the setting and casting choices even though the overall story remains the same. And when looking at the Phantom's character alone in this movie, you can just tell that Gerard adds this brooding element to Erik. When I first watched the film, I saw the Phantom as mysterious, austere and misunderstood by society because that's just how Gerard depicts him. I know that either way, the character alone gets sympathized a lot by fans, but even then, every actor has his own interpretation for how they see Erik's character.

For me personally, Emmy Rossum best depicts Christine's innocence when she meets The Phantom for the first time. Not only that, but she also has a great voice that just soars with each note she sings. When it comes to Gerard though, his vocal talent just isn't as great as I once thought it was. In some moments in the movie, you can tell that he's trying to balance both the notes and the emotions at the same time, and I feel as if he's a tad inconsistent with that. Now I realize that POTO is a bit out of his wheelhouse acting wise, so I wouldn't say he did a terrible job with that, but it just could've been better in a couple scenes. Overall though, I'll say that he tried his best with the role and I respect that.

While I didn't know this at first, I've come to realize now that since this just an adaptation of the musical itself, some of the songs had to be shortened or rearranged in its lyrics for timing reasons. Now of course, the score in itself is just amazing. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten one of the songs stuck in my head!

So when taking just the film into consideration, I'd say that it did its job for introducing many people (myself included) to this realm that is the Phantom of the Opera. Think of this movie as a starter kit for if you're just wanting to get to know the story and its characters.

Live at the Royal Albert Hall: 25th Anniversary Edition

I definitely feel like the grand stage is able to capture all the magic in this story, and when I first watched this version, I was immediately enamored with the talent by the cast. It's amazing how each actor/actress is able to fit so much emotion and personality into their characters when you're watching this live (or at home on your computer in my case).

I believe that this goes without saying, but Ramin Karimloo by far is the best actor to portray the Phantom in the stage production. I just felt so much for Erik's character any time he shed a tear or felt sad. Now when it comes to Sierra's acting abilities, I'd say she did a good job. The only issue I have is that her ability to act innocent kind of seems forced to me. Christine's character is young and innocent, and in Emmy's case, it helped that she was 16 at the time, but in knowing that Sierra is a bit older, it just doesn't feel as genuine if that makes any sense. Other than that though, I enjoyed the cast overall- especially the actors who played Piangi, Firmin and Andre.

One thing I like about the stage production is that the songs are kept as is and you get to hear the story in full. When I first heard the soundtrack for this musical, it was a little hard to understand the dialogue that's added to some of the songs, but after I watched the recorded film, I was able to understand it better. Another thing I really enjoyed about this version is how they threw in a little extra detail to Christine and Raoul's relationship in the first act.

So overall, I'd say that this version of the musical's story is superior to what the movie provides. It's nice that someone took the time to record that footage from London so that everyone else would be able to watch it at home. I thoroughly enjoyed every actor's performance and I think that if I were to watch an entirely different cast perform this in my area, I'd enjoy it just as much.