Politics and politicians can be a tricky subject to portray in film. This week a look at the big screen version of the Broadway play Evita. Does Madonna have the range to make this film a success?
The Plot
From a young age, Eva Peron has always fought against the status quo. Coming from an impoverished childhood she strives for more. When she finds her stride as a model and actress, it seems like Eva is bound for success. Meeting and falling in love with Colonel Juan Peron, Eva will change the course of Argentinians forever.
As first lady to Juan’s President, Eva is embraced by the public for her charity work and helps cement her husband’s reputation amongst the people for years to come.
The Good
Madonna is quite good in the role. She spends most of the film singing while also trying to get the audience to see why Eva was such an important figure to the people of Argentina. She’s challenged in this role, and certainly stretches her acting ability in the best way possible.
Antonio Banderas is perfect as Che. His narrator role directly singing to the audience is not only compelling but is what holds the film together. Blending seamlessly into the story and interacting with Eva, Che is the conscience of the story, and the facts to the myth that surrounds this real person. You can’t help but love Banderas because it is he in the role of Che that makes the story live. The movie may be called Evita, but without Che, there is no movie.
Jonathan Pryce can do no wrong.
The Bad and the Ugly
Musicals are tough to bring to the screen, and Evita is no exception. On the one hand, North American audiences know little about the importance of Eva Peron but feel compelled to expect so much from a production that stars Madonna.
The problem that I have is that throughout the film, we don’t ever get to know the real Eva. With Madonna and Banderas singing so much of their dialogue we are forced to strain through the lyrics to find the meaning of the text, and for the most part, I struggled to understand why I should care about Eva. Was she a good person? The film tries to tell us that she is, but never gets the chance to really dig into the incredible things that Eva did as a pseudo minister in her husband’s government. Juan was an authoritarian who did some good for the people, but it was Eva who helped give back to the people.
My biggest regret from the film was that after it concluded I had to look up to see whether Eva and Juan Peron were good or bad, because the film never really helped me understand who these two were.
Beyond the Film Facts
- The movie was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Song, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing.
- Evita won only one Oscar for Best Song “You Must Love Me”.
- While multiple critics circles nominated the film, the Golden Globes was the one award ceremony that honored Evita with the most wins, including an award for Madonna for Best Actress, Best Film in the musical or comedy category, and Best Original Song.
- Antonio Banderas got the part of Che after submitting a self-made demo tape.
- Michelle Pfeiffer was originally supposed to play Evita when Oliver Stone was on board to direct. Pfeiffer reportedly took months of vocal lessons to prepare for the singing.
- Madonna took vocal lessons before the shoot. She studied with the same teacher who prepared Patti Lupone, who originated the role on Broadway.
- Banderas only speaks six words of dialogue in the movie. The rest of the time he is singing.
- Oliver Stone has a writing credit on the film, even though he had no say in the creation of the script. Stone spent a long time trying to develop the movie but quit after clashes with the Argentina government.
- Mandy Patinkin originated the role of Che in the Broadway original. (I bet this was phenomenal.)
- The original Broadway play won a Tony award for Best Musical.
- Alan Parker has a cameo in the film as the frustrated director.
- Parker reportedly found graffiti around Buenos Aires when he arrived to start filming, The graffiti said for Madonna and Alan Parker to go home.
- Throughout the twenty years this movie was in development, everyone from Cher to Meryl Streep and Liza Minnelli was considered for the role of Evita.
- Patti Lupone has reportedly never seen the film.
- The movie ranked #9 on Time magazine's Best Picture of the year list in 1996.
The Streamy Award
{The following four categories are based on a Film Reel scale.
1 Reel-Bored and Killing Time, 2 Reels-When You Have Some Time, 3 Reels-Make Some Time, 4 Reels-Big Screen Event}
I would not say that Evita is a classic. It certainly was beautifully shot, and the film proves Madonna can act with a talent that is not often seen on the big screen, but when the last credit rolled and I was struggling to understand why I should care about this person, then I wonder if maybe there was something lost in the adaptation.
I had very little expectations for the film, and I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. There is something there on screen that is captured by the stars and director that is unique and worth checking out at least once.
Evita gets a 2 Reels rating. When you get some time, Evita is worth a watch at least once.
Cast and Crew
- Madonna as Eva Peron
- Antonio Banderas as Che
- Jonathan Pryce as Juan Peron
Directed by Alan Parker
Produced by Hollywood Pictures / Cinergi Pictures Entertainment / Dirty Hands Productions
Release Date: January 10, 1997
Budget: $55 million
Box Office Gross
Domestic: $50,047,179
Worldwide Total: $141,047,179
Coming Soon
Next week, our politics on film continues with Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln starring a little known actor named Daniel Day-Lewis.