Evita, the musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, began its journey in 1978 in London’s West End, and has been revised worldwide many times since, including the 1996 film adaptation. Following the life of Eva Peron, set between 1934 to 1952, the movie shows her glamourous journey from rags to riches, starting as an Argentinian actress to becoming the most famous First Lady through her marriage to Argentinian President, Juan Peron.
Madonna transforms into Eva Peron, leaving behind any characteristics from her career as a music artist. She is captivating and charismatic, with passion poured into every song. Her powerful vocals capture the figure of Eva Peron, showing the vulnerability and determination of the infamous figure.
Antonio Banderas portrays the narrator Che, said to be based on the Cuban revolutionary, Che Guevara. He has a sort of omnipotent presence, appearing in and out of scenes as the narrator whilst playing different roles. His vocals too are captivating and emotive, with a great comical commentary at times.
Jonathan Pryce acts as Juan Peron, as Madonna’s opposite, and plays Peron well, also providing emotional scenes of their relationship.
The cinematography and production design are beautiful, and even in shots that only last a few seconds, you can appreciate the scale of budget and time that must have been required.
In a movie with no dialogue between songs, the quality of the songs makes up for this in my opinion. To name a few, my top songs from the soundtrack would have to be ‘Peron’s Latest Flame’, ‘Rainbow High’, and ‘I’d be Surprisingly Good for You’. Described as a rock-opera, the music is said to blend Latin music, pop, jazz and musical theatre styles to create this classic soundtrack.
The musical is dramatic and epic, and the orchestration in this movie does the original production justice. I have grown up with these songs often in the car with my family on long drives, so they are very familiar and nostalgic for me, which perhaps contributes to why this is one of my favourite movie-musicals.
