Evita was released on December 26th, 1996. Adapted from the 1976 concept album by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, it is directed by Alan Parker and written by Parker and Oliver Stone. It tells the true story of Eva Perón (Madonna), the first lady of Argentina from 1946 through 1952, chronicling her rise to fame and her political career.
From a historical standpoint,
Evita is somewhat flawed. Lloyd Webber based his original album on the book
Evita: The Woman with the Whip by Mary Main. The historical value of this book has since been brought into question and much of it is sensationalist and unfairly unbalanced in its evaluation of her political career (the author was an staunch anti-Peronist). Because of this, the film paints a decidedly unflattering picture of Eva and her husband's leadership while, in reality, the Peron government achieved some significant reforms and moved the country toward a more democratic form of government. They were certainly not beyond criticism, Juan Peron could be ruthless toward his political enemies and was basically a dictator, albeit a duly elected one, but the Peron's were not the nakedly self-serving leaders the film paints them as.
The film maps out the main points of Eva's life. The abandonment of her and her mother by her bourgeois father, her acting career in Buenos Ares and her meeting with Juan Peron (Jonathan Pryce), her rise to international fame as the first lady of Argentina, and her death. It subscribes to the popular myth that she was taken to Buenos Ares by a musician named Agustin Magaldi (Jimmy Nail), whose mistress she is. After arriving there, she begins having affairs with various influential men. Meanwhile, a military coup has supplanted the current Argentinian government and Juan Peron has begun rising to power. Eventually Eva meets Peron at a charity concert for victims of the 1944 San Juan earthquake and the two become lovers.
Peron is arrested by the current administration who feel threatened by his increasing influence with the people but Eva rallies them together labor and they mount a massive protest for Peron's release. After his release elections are held and Peron, with Eva's help, becomes the new President of Argentina. Eva then embarks on the famous "Rainbow Tour" to boost Argentina's international image. Returning to Argentina, Eva establishes a foundation to help the poor. In the last act, she declines the position of vice President offered by her husband when she is diagnosed with cancer. When she dies, millions of people attend her funeral to mourn their departed idol.
The film is basically about how politicians use their political platform as a stage, manipulating their supporters much in the same way as actors manipulate an audience. As a common poor girl from the streets who rose to the highest position imaginable, Evita gives the people of Argentina hope. They see her as one of them and she uses this trust to help get Juan elected. "He supports you, for he loves you; Understands you, is one of you; If not, how could he love me?" As the first lady, Eva continues to shape her public image and to win the favor of the people. There is a dual image of Evita in this film. The woman who grew up in poverty and tries to use her position of power to give the people some hope, in whatever limited way she can, and the manipulative, self-serving woman who will do or say whatever she feels is necessary top get ahead.
The film is not so much interested in who Eva was as a person as it is with the public's perception of her, personified in Che (Antonio Banderas), the film's narrator. Throughout the film Che provides wry commentary on Evita's actions, typically characterizing her as a power hungry diva. "Instead of government we had a stage; Instead of ideas, a prima donna's rage." Yet Che sometimes betrays a level of sympathy and even a sneaking admiration for Evita. So the musical is very meta, examining the role of drama in shaping the viewers emotions. Because of this it is somewhat better suited to the stage, where the audience shares the same physical space as the actors in whose hands the audience's suspension of disbelief lies. Film, on the other hand, is a little more complicated, as the actor's performances are really secondary to the cinematography, editing, and all the various visual storytelling devices a filmmaker may decides to utilize. Because the manipulation of the audience in a movie is more complicated and less direct then in a play, the metaphor of political performance does not come off as strongly here. That's not to say that
Evita can't or doesn't work as a film, but the theatre is really the ideal medium for it.
The music and the lyrics of
Evita are just brilliant. This is probably the most sophisticated of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's collaborations together. Lloyd Webber's use of theme is particularly strong here, and the wide range of musical styles employed throughout the score from classical choral pieces ("Requiem for Evita") to rhythmic Latin music ("Buenos Aires") to the composer's signature rock tunes ("Oh What a Circus") to more traditional, Broadway-style, emotionally charged ballads ("Another Suitcase in Another Hall"). Rice's layered, at times overlapping lyrics provide the story with its meta-textual overtones. A new song called "You Must Love Me" was written for the film by Rice and Lloyd Webber, the first new song they'd worked on together in nine years. It's a nice addition, helping to humanize both Eva and Juan to a greater extent. The film also makes a different use of "Another Suitcase in Another Hall", having Eva sing it when Magaldi leaves her behind. This helps to tie the song more closely to Eva's character, so it makes more sense when a passage from it shows up later in "Your Little Body's Slowly Breaking Down".
The cast is quite strong. Madonna, Pryce and Banderas can all sing quite well (particularly Madonna) and all three are well suited to there roles. Madonna finds the right balance between craftiness and genuine pathos. She's no Patty LuPone but, for a recording artist she does an admirable job. Price is perfectly cast as Juan Peron. The actor has this enigmatic quality to him, combining a slimy unscrupulous disposition with a certain quiet, inner dignity. Banderas is his usual energetic self as Che and puts a lot of passion and sardonic charm into his musical numbers. Alan Parker's direction is a little MTV for my taste, using dutch angles, quick cutting and a minimum use of wides, but it fits the material (this was originally a concept album after all) and the costume and set design is quite impressive.
Evita is a musical that is, in my opinion, better suited to the stage. Never-the-less, the inherent strength's of Webber and Rice's score still come through on film and, with a strong cast and impressive production value this is probably as good as an adaptation of this material can be.
Score: 8/10
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