EVITA (1997)

If there's a role Madonna seemed born to play, it was Eva Peron -- or, at least, the sexy, ruthless, camp-myth Eva Peron at the center of ''Evita.'' Technically, Madonna's singing is beautiful. Yet there's no twinkle of ambitious joy in her performance. Alan Parker's bombastic musical epic has been made in the sluggishly dissociated, Edward Scissorhands-goes-to-the-editing-table style of MTV circa 1984. There are really just three characters: Eva, Juan Peron (Jonathan Pryce), and a floating narrator (Antonio Banderas, who sings with defiant theatrical zest). Almost everything that happens is naggingly abstract. What the film needed was a star who could capture Eva Peron through the sheer power of her presence. Instead, Madonna drains the life out of herself, and drains it out of Evita, too.

You Might Also Like

• Video Review Evita | Ty Burr
• Movie Review Evita (Jan 10, 1997) | Owen Gleiberman
• Movie Review empty shell (Jan 10, 1997)
• Movie Commentary We rate Madonna in ''Evita'' (Jan 10, 1997)
• Movie News Movie ratings under fire (1993) | Mark Harris
• Movie News A double 'Body of Evidence' (1993) | Jeffrey Wells