Genre: Musical/Drama
Director: Tim Burton
Writer: Jacob Jones
Based on the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Charles Hart and the novel by Gaston Leroux
Cast: Lily James, Luke Evans, Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Naomi Scott, Seth MacFarlane, Adam Pascal, Tom Jones
Plot: The year: 1911.
The Paris Opera is shown hosting an auction of theatrical props once used years ago. Several high profile attendees have here, but one stands out amongst the others. The Vincomte Raoul de Chagny (Ewan McGregor). He wins the bid for a papier-mache music box, eyeing it and with a sad smile remarks on how the details were 'exactly as they said'. The next item is presented, known as 'lot 666' or rather a chandelier in pieces. Legend says that it is connected to the evil acts committed by someone only referred to as The Phantom of the Opera (Luke Evans). He watches in awe as the drop cloth is removed from the fixture and chandelier flicker into life, ascending to the ceiling as it once did many years ago (Overture). As the auditorium returns to life, Raoul recounts back to many years ago when he was still young and the world was a different place.
The year is now 1881:
Inside the opera house a cast for the production of Hannibal is being rehearsed when it's learned that Monsieur Andre (Seth MacFarlane) and Monsieur Firmin (Tom Jones) will soon be taking over operations of the Paris Opera House full time (Hannibal Rehearsal). Firmin and Andre are soon joined by ballet mistress Madame Giry (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and watch famed-prima donna Carlotta (Nicole Kidman) perform the opera's aria when mysteriously a backdrop falls from the flies almost decking her in the process. Anxious chorus girls begin to whisper and panic about this being a sign of the Phantom of the Opera's existence, but Firmin and Andre are quick to downplay the situation. Carlotta has none of it, saying these occurrences have gone on for three years. Having had enough of said things, she storms out of the house. Firmin and Andre begin to worry over what to do until Meg offers a suggestion, young orphaned chorus girl and violinist Christine Daae (Lily James). Both are reluctant at first, but faced with the prospect of cancellation decide to audition her. Despite being petrified at first, she proves worthy of the lead role and that night, she performs the aria to a mesmerized crowd. One of the patrons, Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny soon recognizes her as his childhood friend and thinks back to the times they were together and what life was like for both when they were both young (Think of Me).
With the performance a success, Christine meets up with the daughter of Madame Giry, Meg (Naomi Scott). She soon admits that she was coached by a mysterious ‘Angel of Music’ (Angel of Music). That evening, Raoul and Christine meet up in her dressing room and tell old Angel of Music stories her late father once told. She then confides to meeting him, considering him the reason for her singing prowess (Little Lotte). Raoul is quick to assume that it was only a fantasy and invites her to dinner. When he exits, however, Christine looks in the mirror and mysteriously hears the voice of the so-called Angel of Music, she commands him to reveal himself.
The Phantom (Luke Evans) obliges, revealing only his ghost-like, partially masked face in the mirror. Under the belief that he is the Angel of Music her father mentioned, Christine is hypnotized by his presence and is led down to the cellars of the Opera House where she sees him fully. The two climb across a small boat traveling to The Phantom’s lair (The Phantom of the Opera) where he reveals that he has chosen her to sing his music for all eternity. In order to convince her, he serenades her with what he calls The Music Of The Night, a song that is completed when The Phantom reveals a figure similar to Christine wearing a wedding gown (The Music Of The Night).
The figure gestures towards Christine, causing the latter to faint from shock. That night, she is awakened by a tune from an old music box (“I Remember”). As the Phantom is shown working in a masterpiece on his organ, a curious Christine comes towards him and gently slips off the mask briefly revealing his face. Horrified, Christine flees the premises despite The Phantom’s pleas to stay. In a last ditch effort, He reveals a yearning to be loved (Stranger Than You Dreamt It). Feeling pity, she returns the mask to him and he escorts her back to the ground above. And not a moment too soon as Madame Giry has been railing on the Opera’s chief stagehand for terrifying the choir girls with stories of the Phantom of the Opera and his lasso (Magical Lasso).
Firmin and Andre are then shown inside their office when an angered Raoul enters, accusing them of sending a letter warning him that under no circumstances should he see Christine ever again. They try to explain what happened when Carlotta and her husband Ubaldo Piangi (Adam Pascal) enter, demanding to know who sent her a note stating that the days of the Opera House were numbered. Stressed, Firmin and Andre try to calm all those around them when Madame Giry gives them one final note, giving them an ultimatum to replace Carlotta as the Countess for their next opera with Christine lest there be ‘disaster beyond imagination’. Both Firmin and Andre stand firm, keeping Carlotta as the lead and Christine with the silent role of a pageboy.
Initially, the performance goes well. But The Phantom's soon interferes with Carlotta's voice, making her sing off-key. Feeling his presence, Christine quietly acknowledges it, causing Carlotta to tell her to call her a toad. The Phantom counters by making Carlotta's voice ribbit like one. Humiliated, she rushes out of the Opera House in tears. Desperate to keep the show running, Firmin and Andre make Christine the new lead and bring in the ballet dancers in an attempt to regain order. But any sense of sanity is thrown out when the chief stagehand is shown from the rafters, lifeless with his lasso tied around him. Firmin and Andre beg for The Phantom to stop his madness but by this point, he's having too much fun to stop. (Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh).
Amongst the chaos, Christine and Raoul escape together to the top of the roof and tells him of the encounter with The Phantom (Why Have You Brought Me Here?/Raoul, I've Been There). Despite his skepticism, he vows to protect and defend Christine at all costs, declaring his love for her in the process. Christine reciprocates the vow (All I Ask Of You), exchanging an embrace. Upon hearing from Madame Giry that the worst has passed, they re-enter the Opera House, holding hands as they do. Little do they know, A devastated Phantom has heard of their conversation. Mournfully, he declares that vengeance shall occur before returning to the auditorium and smashing the chandelier to pieces (All I Ask Of You (Reprise)).
Several weeks pass and the Phantom desperately plans for a way to win over Christine, coming up with several instrumental tones and leitmotifs, none of which are to his liking. Frustrated, he breaks for a quick reading session when he comes across a certain book. He reads through several chapters of it and soon finds inspiration. Now more convinced than ever, he begins to prepare what he considers his 'magnum opus'. While this occurs, Christine is shown suffering a nightmare regarding The Phantom killing Raoul. As the two discuss the situation, Christine urges him to marry her so The Phantom will never lay eyes on her again. He accepts the proposal.
Six months later, a masquerade ball occurs inside the auditorium celebrating through a new chandelier. (Masquerade) All seems well until The Phantom reappears revealing his newest opera, 'Don Juan Triumphant'. He orders Firmin and Andre to have it be produced with Christine in the lead role or there will be dire consequences. When the Phantom spots the engagement ring on a chain around Christine's neck, he yanks it off in a rage and leaves the area (Why So Silent). With the attendants terrified, Raoul confronts Madame Giry demanding to know more about The Phantom. She soon reveals that The Phantom was heralded as a musical prodigy, exquisite in composing as well as architecture, magic, inventing and was for one point of his life, a scholar. His facial disfigurements made job prospects nonexistent and he was forced on a sideshow act at a traveling circus until he one day snapped, taking refuge under the Opera House where he lives to this day. She serves as his connection to the outside world, being responsible for sending news and requests to those across the house.
Raoul makes it his mission to rid the Opera House of The Phantom, planning to use the premiere of Don Juan Triumphant as his way to capture him. Carlotta accuses Christine for starting the chaos, leaving her to defend herself claiming to be a victim like everyone else. Carlotta storms off, leaving the others scrambling. Raoul tries to convince Christine to join his plan to capture The Phantom but Christine refuses (Notes/Twisted In Every Way). Rehearsal tries to go forward, but everyone is too scattered and unfocused to hit their usual notes, especially Piangi. All of a sudden, the piano (now possessed by the Phantom) begins to play and everyone sings their parts perfectly and in unison.
That night, torn between her love for Raoul and her affection towards The Phantom, she turns to her father grave for advice (Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again). Disguised as The Angel of Music, The Phantom appears on top of the tombstone, luring her into his spell (Wandering Child). Christine almost falls for his charms until Raoul arrives to rescue her. The Phantom throws fireballs towards Raoul's way, but Raoul manages to dodge them all. Grabbing onto his loved one's hand, they flee the cemetery as The Phantom declares war, complete with him setting the entire cemetery ablaze (Bravo Monsieur).
Several nights later, the debut of the Phantom's opera arrives woth much anticipation. Several policemen and armed forces however patrol the Opera House just in case.. The opera seems to go as planned with Christine and Piangi singing the lead roles, but she soon realizes that he sounds quite different than he once did. (Don Juan Triumphant) Believing that The Phantom had somehow replaced Piangi, Christine breaks from the script and repeats a part of her and Raoul's declaration of love to him, The Phantom repeats back, confirming her suspicions. Horrified, she rips the mask off of The Phantom and exposed his face to the public. (The Point Of No Return)
The Phantom angrily drags her off stage and into his lair, leaving behind the dead body of Piangi for the audience to see. Furious by his death, the audience forms into an angry mob (led by Raoul) and goes in search of The Phantom. One of the people in question is Raoul who after given instructions by Madame Giry heads off to the Phantom’s lair, but not before given a final warning to watch out for his dreaded magic lasso. (Down Once More/Track This Murderer) Down in his lair, The Phantom has forced Christine to wear a wedding dress. As he prepares to ‘wed’ her, Raoul manages to find his lair and attempts to persuade the Phantom to let her free, begging for his compassion. He refuses, saying the world showed him no compassion. The two duel each other for several minutes, Raoul soon being captured by the magic rope. The Phantom then issues a final ultimatum. Either Christine will wed The Phantom, or Raoul will die on his hands. (The Point Of No Return Reprise).
It's there Christine has an epiphany, saying that it is not his face that scares her, but his inner nature and sadly asks what lead to this fate. And for the first time, The Phantom is silent. A flashback of his life in the circus is shown as he is constantly ridiculed, harassed by on goers and even beaten by a whip by the ringmaster. Christine watches on, realizing the inner pain he is in and tells him he is not alone, giving him a kiss that lasts for several seconds.
Finally being shown compassion, The Phantom agrees to let Raoul go, realizing that Christine would be much happier with him. She hands The Phantom her engagement ring back as a way of remembering her. Christine and Raoul exit the lair, leaving The Phantom to make his way to his throne and cloak himself. As the mob enters the lair, they soon find that there is nothing there. Meg goes in deeper towards the lair all the way up to the throne and finds under the cloak nothing but The Phantom's Mask. She stares into it, lifting it into the light in wonder.
The year is once again 1911:
A mysterious man can be seen playing the organ for a small church. A young child compliments his singing, saying that it sounds like he’s a part of an opera. The man can only smile, saying that he’s had a history with opera. A history that ended thanks to Christine. He goes no further in details for the rest of the day. Once the session is over, he travels to France to visit the grave of Christine. There, he is joined by Raoul. The two stare at each other for a moment before he smiles, backing off and letting him have his moment. The man smiles at Raoul before staring at the grave. He gets from his pocket a mask, very similar to the Phantom’s and places it gently on Christine’s grave and softly whispering…
“With love...from Erik, the Phantom of the Opera.”
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