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Movie Review: Les Miserables (SPOILERS)
Dec. 26th, 2012 10:05 pm
- Les Misérables
- Universa Pictures (2012)
- Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anna Hathaway, et al.
I just saw the film of Les Miserables and I LOVED it! It’s incredible! I’ve seen it on stage twice, once in Milwaukee WI and once in Grand Rapids MI (both touring shows). I also have the original Broadway Cast Recording. So yes, I love the musical. And when you lovesomething that’s made into a major motion picture (or announced to be one) your, or at least, mybiggest concern was — Would they mess it up?
Theydidn’t mess it up! I had two major concerns: would the cast be able to sing? Especially the leads. And would the staging work? It’s not uncommon for films of musicals, especially these days, to take the ability to cut and use close-ups and over-do it. I’m happy to report neither of these concerns were realized. It other words, the film was brilliant and I must buy it on DVD.
HughJackman was BRILLIANT as Jean Valjean. Absolutely brilliant! And can he sing! Oh, my god, can he! His voice was just brilliant and
his role very emotional. By about halfway through the film, I was crying just about any time he began to sing. Jackman was brilliant, and really, really deserves an Oscar. (As a side note, Why is it that you get SO MANY Oscar worthy performances in a single year - and other years there’s nothing to watch at the movie theater, much less something worth an Oscar? This year we were blessed with Les Misérables, The Hobbit: An Expected Journey, Cloud Atlas, and the still brilliant though not typically Oscar winning The Dark Knight Rise and even The Avengers - both action with heart!).
RussellCrowe, whom I really like though I’m often not a fan of the type of action-without-thinking movies he started in was brilliant as Javert.
His delivery of his best songs, “Stars” and [spoiler alert] Javert’s Suicide, were played so brilliantly that I cried. Crowe’s delivery of his (sung) lines was different than the Broadway album I have (which is obviously a different cast, since I have the
original). It took me a few moments into the film to get used to Crowe’s delivery as Javert — but I LOVED it in the end, and yeah, I cried more than once for Javert!
Anne Hathaway was very, very strong as Fantine. When you watch the musical on stage, or listen to it, often Fantine feels like a very
weak character. Yes, you feel sorry for her, but you’re also waiting for her [spoiler alert] to die to be frank. But Anne Hathaway makes Fantine understandable. Rather than feeling sorry for her, I found I empathized with her. I mean, what would you do? The montage of Fantine’s fall was handled brilliantly, even though one of the vignettes from the musical was altered. (In the musical, a prostitute offers to buy Fantine’s locket and they haggle over the price. In the film, it’s a man who buys it - and Fantine barely haggles with him.) The scene of another woman taking Fantine’s hair is also brilliantly brutal in the film.
Young Cosette is beautiful and I really liked her. The young rebel boy, Gavroche is also brilliant! His big scene, is brilliant and yes I cried like a baby. (This one I don’t want to spoil, feel free to guess).
I also like Marius’ friend, Enjolras (Aaron Tveit). During the preparation for the rebellion and the scenes on the barricade my eye was constantly drawn to him. He looked familiar to me as well, but when I checked I hadn’t seen him in anything — and most of his credits were Broadway or London Stage. He helps having a theatre-trained actor in this film. Éponine (Samantha Barks) was also theatre-trained and was familiar with the musical, according to IMDB.com.
Marius and teen-aged Cosette were not as annoying as usual. Yes, as far as I’m concerned, and as far as I’ve always been concerned, the best
part of the musical play is the antagonistic relationship between Javert and Jean Valjean; and then the rebellion in Paris. The love story in the second act between Marius and Cosette has always bored me. The second time I saw it on stage, this wasn’t helped by having a perfectly awful Marius. In the film, Cosette gradually comes out of her protected shell, and though she’s obviously well-off thanks to Valjean, she’s not quite the spoiled rich brat she is in the musical. At the very end of the film, she’s got some wonderful stuff and I actually liked her. Marius, unfortunately, does come off as someone who doesn’t care about who he sacrifices to get what he wants. Or, at the very least, he doesn’t plan. I must say, though, his rendition of “Empty Chairs, and Empty Tables” was quite brilliant. [Spoiler] I missed not having the ghosts of his dead comrades in the background.
Helena Bonham Carter (Madame Thénardier) and Sacha Baron Cohen (Master Thénardier) play their parts with relish, and a true mastery of pocket-picking. ”Dog Eat Dog” is cut, though. Their scenes, often the only humor in the entire musical, are in this version almost scary… and very bizarre. I’ve always pictured “Master of the House” as a “triumphant” scene of the bad guys celebrating their ill-gotten gains. In the film, it’s a lot more sick. (And not in a good way.)
Yes, this is a “sung” musical, meaning that nearly every line or word is actually sung, rather than acted scenes between musical numbers. For a film, this takes a bit of getting used to, but once one gets used to the idea that everyone is singing everything, it’s actually pretty cool. And it certainly adds to the emotional nature of the film and story.
I saw it in “Theater 1” the largest theater at my local movie theater and also in THX. I do wholeheartedly recommend seeing it in THX if at all possible. It is absolutely necessary to be able to hear what everyone is singing, including the company, thus having the crystal clear sound of a THX system really helps. And I will say that even with my troubles hearing high registers of voices I had few problems with Les Misérables. Part of that may have been my familiarity with the source material, but I also think the mixing and mastering of the film really helped - and the playback in THX also helped.
I cried. Well, sobbed. And more than once while watching the film. The woman on my right was crying so hard that the seats shook. And even the guy on my left cried by the end of the film. And I think that’s the best compliment the audience can give the film-makers. The theater was mostly full, though not sold out and people clapped at the end when I saw it.
I highly, highly recommend the film o Les Misérable the musical to all. It’s appropriate for children over 15. Even if you “don’t like musicals” give this one a try, you won’t be disappointed. It was brilliant!
