Category: Review

Meh.

I am, by no reasonable means of consideration, to be considered a “fan” of The Phantom of the Opera. That is, I am not fanatic about it. I have not even looked up the book, let alone read it. I have seen the stage performance only once, at Gammage, and while I liked it, I did not become enamoured with it or attempt to see it again. I didn’t even buy the soundtrack or look up the lyrics.

Yet when I saw the first trailer for this movie version of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s play, I became very interested in watching it. So tonight, the first night it has been publicly available to watch, I went to see it on the biggest screen in Arizona (outside of an IMAX) with the best sound system, the Cine Capri, with my two sisters.

I think age and experience and … where one is in one’s life can greatly impact what one sees in a work of such complexities. And this viewing of it was significantly different to me today than it was on stage years ago; there are elements of the story I understand differently, characters I see in new lights, the whole plot and the various motivations seem especially interesting to me. It was a whole new experience.

Which had little to do with its transition to film; had I seen it again on the stage at this stage in my life, I would very likely have seen the same things unfold before me. Which DOES say a lot about the film; it is, as far as I could tell – from my memory and the sounds of an audience that was clearly largely fanatics – a good adaptation of the stage play. There are some dramatic elements, the chandelier especially, that are completely different in the theatre than they are on the screen, but there was also a lot more visible on the faces of the performers than I can see from the audience of a stage performance – well, at least with the seats I can afford.

So… would I recommend this film? Probably. Know it is a musical, a period piece, a complex, dramatic story, and that at times several characters will sing totally different lyrics over each other, preventing any from being heard clearly. Actually, I had a heck of a time with a lot of the lyrics, but I think that has to do with my own hearing loss and tinitis more than a failure of the film. Frankly, a deaf person could follow this movie pretty easily; it is extensively visual. The visuals are stunning. With the exception of a few moments of bad lip syncing here and there, the performances were outstanding.

If you already like Phantom, I think you’ll like this version. If you like dramatic, decadent musicals, I think you’ll like this film. If you like period pieces with complex interwoven dramas and unreconcilable love, I think you’ll like Phantom. If all that I’ve said gives you the idea you wouldn’t like Phantom, don’t go watch it.

And there you go. I should be in bed.

I didn’t like it. I certainly didn’t like that it was 3 hours. Maybe I’m missing something. Maybe there’s something to it that I’m supposed to know before I watch it, some book I’m to have read or some story about its production, but … shouldn’t it stand on its own?

It was sort of interesting, but it didn’t say anything new. Not by far.

There was a sequence, the last one, where everyone in the film is killed and the town is burned to the ground, that was somewhat satisfying after suffering through the first 2hrs 45mins to get to it. Still, by the end I did not feel that it was worth even the time it took to watch it, let alone the value it stole from my Netflix membership.

I cannot in good faith recommend Dogville.

Not as complicated and convoluted as other people’s reviews led me to believe it would be. In fact, I would probably consider it fairly straightforward, and the drama excellently crafted for the optimum telling of that particular story.

Excellent characters and character interactions and interesting inter-relationships and plot devices and good emotional hooks and …

And I would generally recommend this film.

It is essentially a version of a love triangle, though that may be giving away too much to people who have not seen the trailers for this film. Quadrangle may be a more appropriate shape, though, if you consider the character whose end I liked the least.

And I’ll stop rambling now. It’s good. I like the style of it in several ways.

So, regardless of what you may already have heard or read about The Village, I want to say a little something about it myself.

The most important thing I have to say about it is to make it clear that the dominant story thread in this movie, the defining element of the entire piece is the central romantic/love story. It is not (strictly speaking) a “thriller”, though it does have some quite shocking moments here and there. I’ve seen it twice so far, and for me most of the shocks were only intense because of the emotional hooks built up by the dramatic core of the movie – not because the wicked witch jumped out from behind whatever, but because I was genuinely engaged in the trials the characters were facing.

Trying to pick apart this movie, trying to figure out its twists and turns before they are revealed is like trying to use forensics to determine why a flower is beautiful. Also, importantly, figuring out through forensics that the flower is, in the end, a flower, does not tell you anything of its beauty.

I recommend that you go into this movie expecting only a finely crafted dramatic piece with amazing settings, skilled actors, beautiful cinematography, careful writing and powerful direction.

If you go in looking for a shocking twist that must be figured out, for a thriller with aliens or ghosts around every corner and central players’ roles dramatically changed by the man behind the curtain in the final scenes, you are very likely to be disappointed. Assuming you go to the movies to enjoy them, AND that you do not enjoy being disappointed, this is not a good route to take.

For those of you who have not already heard, the real star of The Village is a relative unknown, Bryce Dallas Howard. She lights up this film in a way few expected, and adds depth and character to the slowest, quietest, least visually interesting scenes with the subtleties of her performance. Some actors in this piece could have been replaced without harming the overall picture, but were Bryce removed from the cast, The Village would have fallen flat. I can recommend this film on her performance and presence alone.

The rest of the cast is very powerful and does an amazing job. William Hurt’s performance is limited in a careful way by the director, but it only works to force him to find his character through the limitation. I didn’t notice it the first time through, but then read so many people point it out that I watched for it the second time – you never see a closeup on his face, and only rarely see his face beyond profile, then only at a distance. Considering he plays the “leader” of the entire village – inasmuch as they have a single leader – this is an interesting and complex choice.

There are too many excellent players in this piece to list them all and all their shining points – watch it for yourself and enjoy.

The music, particularly the violin pieces that are the cornerstone of the aural-emotionscape of the film, give real power to a lot of scenes. You will feel it.

I will do a discussion soon in my blog about the deeper meanings and potential deeper meanings in The Village soon. Right now I just suggest you go watch it with an open mind.