Title: Evita (1996)
Director: Alan Parker
Genre: Musical, Biography
Lead Actor(s): Madonna, Antonio Banderas
Rating: PG
135 minutes
This movie probably has some of the smallest amount of actual dialogue of any musical I have ever seen. According to imdb, Madonna only speaks 140 words and Antonio Banderas only 85. The movie tells the rise and fall of Eva Peron (Madonna), first lady of Argentina. Banderas plays a narrator of sorts. There are a few shots of Eva's childhood but the majority of the film consists of the time between when she was 15 to her death.
Madonna campaigned heavily for the role. I would think she saw some comparisons between herself and the character. Both rose from the lower class. Both rose to such a position as to be both adored and reviled. It is a good thing that the majority of Madonna's screen time is her singing. She can emote much better when singing than when straight acting. I would argue that Madonna is better as the young, hungry, reaching Eva than the politician's wife Eva.
Banderas is supposed to be an everyman named Che. He tries to ground the ambitious Eva. There is not a lot of characterization for Che as can be expected given his role. This is both helpful and hurtful. There are times where his presence is needed and enjoyable, but there are also times that he is distracting and annoying.
This an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, but it is not as ornate as Phantom or Cats. There is, of course, an insane amount of theatricality, but it is much more realistic than those two. Since Parker did not have the constraints of the stage, I would have liked to see some more inventive angles and manipulations of the camera. It is not the best or most inventive or most entertaining movie adaption of a musical, but Evita has an interesting story behind it all. Eva Peron is a unique person in history.
****** 5/10Evita
Post Title
→Evita
Post URL
→http://gallerygirlss.blogspot.com/2010/08/evita.html
Visit Gallery Girls for Daily Updated Gallery Girls
