Phantom of the Opera, The MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 1/2 Content: +2

Based on Andrew Lloyd Webbers long-running Broadway play, the story unfolds as an opera company in the 1870s faces turmoil with new owners, and Carlotta, a temperamental diva (Minnie Driver), walks out during rehearsals at the Parisian opera house. The film embellishes the story with flashbacks that help viewers understand the tormented phantom (Gerard Butler) obsessed with the beautiful Christine (Emmy Rossum), an extremely talented soprano secretly tutored by the mysterious, masked stranger. The phantom lives beneath the theater and watches Christines every move from the rafters. Christine steps into the lead and becomes an instant star, attracting the attention of her childhood sweetheart, Raoul (Patrick Wilson), and drawing the jealousy of the phantom, which wreaks havoc and eventually destroys the elegant opera house. This breathtakingly beautiful fantasy will mesmerize those who enjoy magnificent music, mystery and romance.

Christine falls under the phantoms spell and, as the two sing duets, her compassion, fear and attraction for him reveal her conflicted emotions. The phantoms jealousy erupts into violence as he wrecks the stage, cutting loose the giant crystal chandelier in the crowded theater. He also kidnaps Christine and traps Raoul underwater when he tries to rescue her from the murky underground tunnels. Flashbacks explain why Christines guardian (Miranda Richardson) has protected the phantom and how his face became disfigured, forcing him to wear a mask. An eerie visit to a graveyard, the phantoms scary stalking, and terrifying chaos created from jealous rages make this movie inappropriate for children. Voluptuous women in low-cut dresses and statues of semi-nude women decorating the opera house are shown as typical of that era. With no sex, obscenities or profanities, The Phantom of the Opera can be recommended for teenagers and adults.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Warner Bros.