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Fridge Brilliance

• I always enjoyed the "Point of No Return" trio in the final lair scene of The Phantom of the Opera, but it just hit me that the song is very appropriate in that context because all three characters involved -- the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul -- are passing a "point of no return" in some sense. For the Phantom, it's the Moral Event Horizon he crossed by threatening to kill Raoul. For Christine, it's the knowledge that she has to choose between saving herself or her fiancé. For Raoul, it's the willingness to risk his own life for Christine's freedom. Brilliant. - Toru771
  • ...And suddenly it's An Aesop about how you can turn back. Since The Phantom just wants his beloved to be happy, and so neither Christine nor Raoul have to die. Oh. And you may be able to turn back, but the turning back may be out of your control...nice. --User:Red Wren.
  • Years ago, I saw Gary Mauer playing a particularly bold and driven Raoul, and it hit me why Raoul makes such a great foil for the Phantom: he's the only person in the entire musical who is never intimidated by him. He gets threatening notes and brushes it off, he gets fireballs hurled in his face and doesn't blink, he stands on the brink of death and never falters for a second in his desire to protect the woman he loves. The Phantom is a world-class Manipulative Bastard, but the one person standing between him and Christine is also the one person he absolutely can not control--and that has got to piss him off. After that, Raoul was less of a Romantic False Lead / Shallow Love Interest and a bit more of an interesting character in his own right. - The Diva
• Gerard Butler's voice and singing ability in the movie never bothered me. Rossum and Wilson both have the clear, beautiful voices you tend to associate with musical theater while Butler does not, being more of a rough rock n' roll type vocalist which to me made him more of an outcast. His voice helps tell us that he's rougher, edgier and doesn't quite fit in with the rest. He has a more modern sound and style making him feel a bit ahead of his time and perhaps even inappropriate. I thought the choice to cast someone with a voice like that was one of the smartest moves for the film. - Ronja

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