SUPPORTING ACTRESS BLOG-A-THON: Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag in Repo! The Genetic Opera

A few disclaimers before I go into why I chose this performance:

• Repo! The Genetic Opera is not, by any means, a good or well-made movie. There's a very good reason why it was released practically nowhere: It sucks. It's a messy, shoddily made piece of trash that features a few decent-to-good performances from it's cast. If you can get it on DVD, I recommend just ignoring any bit that doesn't focus on Ms. Brightman.
• I love Sarah Brightman. Her voice is one of the most unique, instantly recogniseable and gorgeous on this planet, and it doesn't hurt that she is one of the most beautiful people walking the earth right now. Both of these impact upon why I chose this performance.
• This is a grand performance that could well go unnoticed without devotees like me.

So, here I go.

Brightman plays Blind Mag, an opera singer who is set for organ reposession and I can't really decipher any more of the plot than that. But it's hardly important, because Brightman is the shining spot in this mess of the film. If you haven't got it yet: This is not a good film. Unless you want to see Brightman, do not see this film.

Brightman is good, perhaps even great in this role for several reasons. The first of these is obvious: She spends practically all of it singing. Brightman is an excellent vocalist, and she nails these songs with stunning ease; this is the woman who hit the high Es as Christine, remember. Still; the emotion and class she brings to songs such as "Chromaggia" and "At The Opera Tonight!" is to be admired.

She also aligns herself physically to the role, and by that I mean that she moves naturally and looks natural. Here I must give note to the movie's best special effect: Blind Mag's robotic eyes. They really do look amazing and beautiful and Brightman's porcelain-esque face frames it neatly. Brightman also looks amazing in the role, not only in terms of her physical lokos, but her costume and make-up. I really shouldn't give her credit for this, but she manages to be the one vivid point among more shades of black, brown and red than I've ever seen.

I find it hard to judge this along the standards of a normal performance, Brightman really doesn't have any chances to simply stand there and 'act'; she's almost always singing when she's onscreen and the movie is hardly calling for her to pull a Streep. But, the reason why I love it, and the reason why I'm doing a post on it for this blog-a-thon; is that she manages to be a truly unique part in a film that strives to be unique but ends up just being a pile of muck and disorder. And, even in some moments, she gives a palpably human and tragic layer to a character that should be so; but the film hardly allows her to act as such. Basically: Brightman works against the film to give a great performance, and I pray, I pray that this isn't her last venture onto celluloid.

Go and see the other performances mentioned by bloggers at StinkyLulu's!