Continuity mistake: Toward the end of the scene "Little Lotte," when Christine says, "No Raoul, wait," we see Raoul close the door and exit. Instantly after he shuts it we see the outside of the door, but Raoul is nowhere to be seen. There is no way that he could have already gone because there is no shot between the time when he closes the door and when we see the outside of her dressing room, where he should be at least for a second. We know that this is most certainly the outside of the door because we see the Phantom's hand and Madame Giry moments later.
Continuity mistake: During "Masquerade", during the shots with the people dancing on the stairs in unison with their fans, you can see Christine and Raoul smiling. Behind them is a man with a wig shaped as an afro next to a large plant. The next shot you see the couple, he is gone, then you see him again in the following shot of Christine and Raoul.
Continuity mistake: On the Opera House's rooftop, the lining of the Phantom's cape goes from light-coloured to black before and after he jumps on the statue. It has nothing to do with lighting, and his waistshirt proves it: much darker than the cape's original lining, it makes it obvious the cape's turned dark since the waistshirt looks paler against it. (01:15:55)
Continuity mistake: When Raul is being hanged, he has a booger under his nose. In the next shot, it's gone.
Continuity mistake: The Moment Raoul falls through the trapdoor in the stairs and into the water, you can see the grid (that's coming down later) already in the water. For the grid to come down and drown Raoul, he must have fallen through it. (01:53:35)
Continuity mistake: When Meg finds Christine in the room with all of the candles after her "Think Of Me" performance, she puts her hand on Christine's shoulder, then removes it. In the next shot from behind Christine, Meg proceeds to remove her hand again.
Answer: First, it is established in the movie that he is dependant on Madame Giry and it is presumed she does his shopping for him. As for learning skills, it is established he is a genius and one can assume he is very well read. Additionally, for single handed skills, like driving a carriage, he can possibly go out at night to learn them. As for his living conditions, the human body adapts well to continuous conditions, it is how the people in Siberia can tolerate lower temperatures better than those who live close to the equator. Lastly, one can easily assume he has other (warmer) clothes that he wears off camera.
OneHappyHusky
There is a character simply known as 'the Persian' He has known the Phantom his whole life and would have taught him horse driving. In the book, the Phantom has a life before the opera house where he would have learned fencing and torture. Also, the phantom knows all the secret passages. When it's cold he leaves his lair and lives someplace warmer.
You're totally right but also, in addition to your mention of The Persian, in the book it is he that is the Phantom's only "friend" or whatever but in the movie there is no Persian exactly but the two Characters Madam Giry and The Persian from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston L. Are both combined as one, to be know as Madame Giry in the 2004 flim.
debbi.ee