Hooper didn't rely on these extravagant sets and scenery, instead his emphasis was on the singing and the message which came through the songs. In the gut wrenching scenes, Hooper forced the viewer to focus solely on the individual singing. The way he was able to do this was rather simple: close-up camera angles, and a shallow depth of field. For those not educated in this world of smoke and mirrors, what I mean by camera angles is a camera shot straight on the character showing chest to head with a little room above. By shallow depth of field, I mean that only the character is in focus while the background is soft or out of focus. This technique made the sequences far more powerful. By utilizing this camera technique Hooper allows the viewer to attach themselves to the individual singing thus empathize with them. He only used this camera trick on songs where the message was that of sadness/weakness. So, instead of your eye wondering and placing your attention elsewhere on the screen you are forced to stare right into the face and eyes of this emotional person. This really pierces the heart. As for the scenes depicting violence or strife, or love and happiness, his camera is much less severe allowing the whole scope of the scene take over your mind.
Now as for the non-professional singers, I'm sure there are those out there who loathed the idea that this beautiful opera has been tarnished by fakes and wanna-be's, well in this reviewers opinion, you can bite it. The singing from every actor was top notch, not to mention the fact that all the singing was done live on film. That's right! No lip singing, or looping. Hooper and his genius did what was absolutely necessary for the sake of art and had these actors sing live on camera, a very costly and difficult thing to do. For starters it takes multiple cameras in order to capture enough angles to make live singing worth while, since cutting away to a different angle is sloppy for sound (Hooper knew this and instead utilized many long takes and single cut sequences). The result on film was flawless, and I mean flawless. The emotion which live singing conveys is a lot more natural then that of studio recordings. You could hear every whimper and waiver in these actors voices as they sang and cried and emoted all throughout the film.
As I sit here writing this I cannot help but think back and try to find weaknesses or issues I had, and to be totally honest with you, none stand out at this point in time. I have to say that all the actors were exceptional, top notch performances all across the board from key actors to support. Having said this, Hugh Jackman by far stood out as the most stellar performer within this film from start to finish. No one ever came close to his performance. I'm sure I am not the first person to make this suggestion, but I smell an Oscar coming Mr. Jackman's way and very possibly Mr. Hooper's way as well.
Final Words: Bravo!!! Bravo!!!
Extra-Large Popcorn - Take my word, this is an excellent film and deserves to be seen!
This movie takes up an afternoon, almost three hours of your time, be prepared. It is definitely worth the time.
Review Rating : Based on popcorn sizes; small, medium, large, extra-large
When films get a snore zzz... worth skipping
Loved it, loved it!! Watching actors sing on film as tears streamed from their eyes is incredible. True emotion, shown in extreme close-up - something film medium can provide that live theatre cannot - is very powerful is bringing realism to this well-known tale. My own tears only added to the experience...
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