It's amazing how misguided this film adaptation of the stage musical is. Stage director Harold Prince, who'd previously directed the film version of Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, is sorely missed. EVITA succeeded as a concept rock opera because it was daring and original, and the score is lush and diversified. But it achieved its greatest heights on stage. Director Prince added SO much more to the basic recording that it literally became a new creation. While the character of Evita Peron isn't fully developed in the initial recording, here she's fully fleshed, aided not only by the brilliant actresses who portrayed her(Elaine Paige, Patti LuPone, Marti Webb, Florence Lacey, etc.), but she becomes the cunning vixen she was(and had to be to achieve what she did). Laughingly, Eva Peron's greatest acting wasn't on stage, the radio or on film...she was actually quite mediocre. In the song "High Flying Adored", Che tells us that she was a scrappy fighter, clawing her way to the top. On stage, Evita even flips off her audience. But something sad happens in its cinematic version. What WOULD have seemed like perfect casting of Madonna in the title role is dashed almost immediately. Simply put- she just doesn't have the chops. There's no fire in her vocals, and the girl can't act. Jonathan Pryce, tho a fine actor, is simply miscast as the brutish thug Juan Peron. Only Antonio Banderas comes out of this unscathed- his singing and acting is excellent(although one wonders why this "Che" is generisized into an "Everyman" vs the Che Guevara rebel of the recording and stage show).
While all TECHNICAL aspects of this film are superb, the destroyer of EVITA lies with its director Alan Parker, screenwriter Oliver Stone and no doubt aided by Madonna herself. In their attempts to film in Argentina I think all three placated the title character- Seriously... how could the wimpy creature as portrayed by Madonna EVER achieve what the real Evita did? EVERYTHING in the film tries to make Eva sympathetic, even to the point of stealing Peron's mistress's song "Another Suitcase In Another Hall". It's quite obvious the filmmakers wanted to show the current Argentinian regime that they were going to HONOR their national heroine, and by whitewashing Eva to the point of total blandness, they succeeded in destroying the spirit of the musical. Completely. One can only hope that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice take the route they've done with CATS, Jesus Christ SUPERSTAR and Joseph AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT...and recreate the original stage presentation and direction, hopefully with Harold Prince involved. Only THEN will we see the magic that is the rock opera EVITA!
While all TECHNICAL aspects of this film are superb, the destroyer of EVITA lies with its director Alan Parker, screenwriter Oliver Stone and no doubt aided by Madonna herself. In their attempts to film in Argentina I think all three placated the title character- Seriously... how could the wimpy creature as portrayed by Madonna EVER achieve what the real Evita did? EVERYTHING in the film tries to make Eva sympathetic, even to the point of stealing Peron's mistress's song "Another Suitcase In Another Hall". It's quite obvious the filmmakers wanted to show the current Argentinian regime that they were going to HONOR their national heroine, and by whitewashing Eva to the point of total blandness, they succeeded in destroying the spirit of the musical. Completely. One can only hope that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice take the route they've done with CATS, Jesus Christ SUPERSTAR and Joseph AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT...and recreate the original stage presentation and direction, hopefully with Harold Prince involved. Only THEN will we see the magic that is the rock opera EVITA!