This tutor's skills as a teacher are immediately evident as Christine not only saves the show from disaster, but also steals the hearts of the audience - and a young man who was her childhood friend. This young man, Raoul (Patrick Wilson), seeks to kindle a romance with her, triggering jealousy in Christine's tutor and causing him to reveal himself to her. Thanks to being her tutor for so long, he is able to draw her into his lair and there he reveals his identity to her. Yep, he is none other than the Phantom (Gerard Butler) who has haunted the opera house for years.
For some time, Christine is drawn under the Phantom's spell. The spell is soon broken, however, when the Phantom kills a man and Christine realizes that he might not be the angel she thought he was. Terrified, she turns the Raoul, who swears to protect her from the clutches of the Phantom.
Based on a musical stage production which is in turn based on a novel, the 2004 film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera is a tale of a battle between two men for the heart of young woman. The Phantom is a possessive man whose deformity deprived him of a normal life and has prevented from - as he puts it - from enjoying the pleasures of the flesh. Raoul, on the other hand, is a virtuous man who is head over heels in love with Christine. In one sense, therefore, The Phantom of the Opera is a contrast between lust and true love.
For the Christian, however, this story takes on more significance than merely a contrast between lust and love. The Phantom seeks to possess Christine. What terrifies Christine so much about this is that she has already surrendered herself to the Phantom and she fears that she will never be free of him. This is where Raoul comes into the picture. Raoul has made it his mission to rid Christine of the Phantom. Christian viewers will be tempted here to see the story as an analogy to the gospel in which Christine represents a person in slavery to sin (represented by the Phantom) and the only way of escape is through the work of a redeemer (in this case Raoul, who would be the Christ figure in this analogy). However, as I said in my first post on this blog (which you can read here), we cannot read gospel analogies into stories when it was never the intention of the writer to put such analogies in the story. In the case of The Phantom of the Opera, the story cannot be a gospel analogy because SPOILER ALERT it is an act of love on the part of Christine that ultimately rids her of the Phantom END SPOILER. This story, however, is still an excellent reminder to the Christian that we need a savior in order to be set free from the power of sin.
This film is incredibly well done. The production design is beautiful, the songs are beautifully performed, and the story flows beautifully. Particularly of notice, however, is the performance Gerard Butler as the Phantom. He is perfect in the role, portraying a character who is pure evil and quite creepy, but who is simultaneously sympathetic. Gerard Butler makes us feel for the Phantom just enough to make us sorry that he allowed his deformity to drive him to this dark place. However, Gerard Butler's performance is so creepily evil that we want Christine to be free from his grasp.
So is this film worth your time? Well, it depends on who you are. Some people may find the Phantom's actions and unmasked appearance disturbing enough to find it difficult to get through this movie. These people should probably refrain from watching this film. For everyone else, however, this is both an entertaining film and a great reminder of how much we need Jesus. As an aside, if you are unsure as to which of these two camps you might fall into, Plugged In Online has an excellent review of this film that might help you decide if you should watch this film. You can check their review out here.
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