worth it

Last night I finally watched the Phantom of the Opera movie. It took me a while to get it on DVD. I have seen the production 4 times, so I didn't feel the need to rush out and see the movie. It's worth the DVD rental. Don't expect it to be drastically different from the production, because there are few changes. In fact, the score was exactly the same, save for a few line changes here and there. Gerald Butler is perhaps the best looking phantom I've ever seen - even without the mask. Emmy Rossman was absolutely stunning as Christine Daaé. However, I'm so used to the vocal stylings of Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford that most other pale in comparison. Perhaps the most unexpected performance was Minnie Driver as Carlotta.

I did enjoy the future segments of Raoul going to buy the monkey music box in the shape of a barrel organ. The movie has him running into Meg where they acknowledge each other, but do not speak. At the end, they show Raoul placing the music box at Christine's grave where there is a rose with a black ribbon - attached is a the ring Christine gave him the last time she saw him. So, the Phantom lives... I really loved the ending.