‘Phantom of the Opera’is no ‘Chicago’

The enduring appeal of Gaston Leroux’s 1911 novel, “The Phantom of the Opera,” is undeniable. And puzzling. What is it about this simplistic story, with its faded beauty-and-the-beast theme and one-dimensional romantic figures, that keeps audiences coming back?

The first film version, with Lon Chaney Sr. as the tormented hero, appeared in 1925 and cleverly emphasized the horrific side of the story. A duller 1943 remake, with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy, spent more time on the musical and romantic aspects. Other remakes appeared in 1962, 1983, 1989, 1990 and 1998; in 1974, Brian de Palma turned it into a satirical rock musical, “Phantom of the Paradise.”

The latest and possibly the most vacuous version of “The Phantom of the Opera,” directed by Joel Schumacher, is closely based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s phenomenally popular stage musical. What worked on stage, however, does not translate easily to film, which is less welcoming to theatrical artifice.

The special effects that seemed so magical on stage — the trick mirrors, the rivers of dry ice, the candles that appear to light themselves — seem mundane when they’re transferred to celluloid. Even that famous falling chandelier, which undoubtedly had something to do with sustaining the show’s decade-plus run on Broadway, seems like a throwaway in the movie.

What we’re left with is an opera, and unfortunately it turns out to be a pretty monotonous and uninvolving example of the genre. Earlier in his career, when he was composing the scores to “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita,” Webber’s music was livelier and wittier, his story material more challenging. Later on, when he scored “Cats” and “The Phantom,” the narratives became less important, and the melodies turned repetitive and dirge-like. (The new song he’s written for the movie won’t win him any new fans.)

At least the voices of the three leading actors are in fine form. Gerard Butler plays the phantom, a disfigured recluse who hides out in the Paris Opera House (the year is 1870) and makes threats against the actors. Emmy Rossum is Christine, the talented ingenue who is taken on a tour of his Disneyland-lavish lair beneath the theater. Patrick Wilson is Raoul, the phantom’s chief rival for Christine’s affections.

Rossum, who played Sean Penn’s murdered daughter in “Mystic River” and Jake Gyllenhaal’s girlfriend in “The Day After Tomorrow,” quickly becomes the center of the movie, lending it whatever soul and ambiguity it has. She seems genuinely torn between the two men, fascinated by the phantom’s tragic obsessions but equally drawn to Raoul’s more innocent and reliable nature.

Minnie Driver, almost unrecognizable in heavy makeup, provides much-needed comic relief as a demanding diva. Also helping to lighten the load are such reliable pretense-puncturers as Simon Callow, Miranda Richardson and Murray Melvin.

Webber picked Schumacher to direct after seeing his stylish 1987 horror comedy, “The Lost Boys.” Once more he delivers some striking visual touches: the opening sequence, which smoothly transforms an etching into a live-action scene; the labyrinthine tunnels beneath the opera house; a scrappy swordfight in a graveyard. But anyone looking for the next “Chicago” will not be happy.