Review of Evita (2009) by Sean C — 20 Apr 2010

(from The Watermark, 01/23/97).

Director Alan Parker injects new life into the twenty-year old musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and the result is a dynamically impressive spectacle. Eva Duarte (a/k/a "Evita") is a simple Argentinean girl with a dream: grow up, move to the Big Apple (in this case, Buenos Aires) and become famous and adored by everybody in the country. She beds a few fellows in the process, garnering several careers as model, singer, radio show host, and film star. But no partner stands to advance her as much as Juan Perón, an army colonel likely to be the country's next political leader. Though Eva is considered lower class, Perón marries her, and she becomes the First Lady to end all First Ladies: a champion for the poor, and a despiser of the aristocracy that has shunned her since her childhood.

The film's greatest accomplishment is that it takes the original stage musical, which portrays Evita as a fame-obsessed monster, and makes her three-dimensional and sympathetic without completely butchering the score. This is mostly a result of the excellent work in Madonna's performance and Parker's direction. He has done a remarkable job at fleshing out the sketchy storyline into a full-fledged and comprehensive docu-musical. He also successfully tackles the difficult narrative device of Banderas as the narrator Che, who sings directly to the camera, and pops up in all different places in Eva's life to add insight and editorial. Parker does have moments where he falters, most noticeably in his frequent re-use of identical shots, and the fidgety editing in the show-stopping "Don't Cry For Me Argentina.".

Madonna turns in the best performance of her career. She works hard at communicating the demanding score, and aptly rises to the occasion. Pryce (Brazil, Miss Saigon) is wonderfully charismatic as Perón. Banderas, however, is the most surprising treat. His singing is flawless, and as the one peasant who dares to challenge Evita's intentions, his persona is comically sarcastic, yet irresistibly charming. QUEER QUOTIENT: A big-time Broadway musical, Madonna, Antonio, and Christian Dior fashions all in one movie? Lesbians, you may want to stay home for this one. You may be stampeded by the gay men running to see this.