Years before the announcement of the film, I was away in my giant Les Miserables phase, and enjoying every bit of the fandom from writing comics about the characters (involving voodoo dolls) to wasting my time on forum boards reading potential cast members for the film. After watching the King's Speech and hearing the announcement of Tom Hooper's direction, I was thrilled that this long-awaited baby would be delivered by what seemed to be a good midwife. After months of anticipation, I saw the movie Christmas Night
I know I am going to be speared for this, but I adored the film adaptation. I think it is one of the strongest adaption of stage to screen since West Wide Story. Are there problems with it? Yes. Are they major problems? You bet. But even these problems did not hinder my adoration for the film musical. Besides, we all have ONE movie or musical that isn't 100 percent perfect and yet we still enjoy.
Let's point out the problems and start with the one everyone talks about first-Russell Crowe is a robot. He has a few good moments in his face as Javert, but for the most part, his voice and body do the same thing over and over. You do not see Inspector Javert, you see some random dude droning in this flat baritone voice and walking around not looking impressed at anything. The Camera also tends to be pretty ornery. In some songs, all we get is a close up on the actors face and although its nice to see the character flourish to the most intricate detail, it can get tiring to watch.
Since the songs were sung on the spot and not pre-recorded with lip-synching, the singing can be pretty hard to listen. Although some voices are not at their peak (Hugh Jackman sometimes sound like a goat Micheal Crawford sometimes, and the Crawford voice is for Phantom, NOT Jean Valjean), it is refreshing to see the focus on the acting. I have listened to Colm Wilkonson, Patti Lupone, and the rest of the original cast so much that I almost became desensitized with Les Miserables. Its one of those shows that grows to be so popular that we want to dress it up and put a bow on it. But Les Miserables IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PRETTY. With a version more based on acting than singing, the story becomes fresh and exciting again and fans can feel re-kindled.
The strongest part of the movie is definitely the acting, especially with Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway as Valjean and Fantine. I especially admire the personification and risks they took to make the iconic characters honest, and believable. Eddie Redmayne actually was NOT an annoying Marius (and for me, that's considered a feat). Aaron Tviett made a very dashing and charismatic Enjolras. Don't hurt me, but I normally I don't care for the character of Eponine (if I have to listen to Frances Ruffle one more time I will have a major migrane for days), but this changed after seeing Samantha Banks. She gave a beautiful, heart breaking performance. I think she is the best Eponine out of the many I have heard and listened to.As for Amanda Seinfield as Cosette, she just fulfilled my problem with actresses playing Cosette. Although the character can be protrayed as very strong-willed woman, every single actress just see's a bland ingenue and plays her as such. Seinfield is no exception. The Thenardiers were hilarious and provided much needed comic relief, yet that is the only role the movie gives them, the comic reliefs. The Thenardiers are actually very, very evil, if not, more so than Javert. They actually can be frightening and threatening, but this is not the case in the movie (hence the cutting of the song "Dog Eat Dog").
It was thrilling to watch the new ways the songs were filmed. I especially enjoyed the bawdy subplots during "Master of the House" and the gritty, even painful-to-watch romp of "Lovely Ladies." It creates mood, and sets environment fitting for the characters. The song cuts can feel a little choppy, and you sense that there are holes in several places, but its enough to get a full portrait of the story without either leaving any plot holes or having to watch a 4 hour movie.
Now here comes the opinion where I risk my life...I LIKE the new song, "Suddenly." Yes, I LIKE THE NEW SONG. I agree that it sounds different from the rest of the score (so does my least favorite Les Miz song, "Little People", mercifully re-done well in the film) and the composers wrote it to get a "Best Song" award just in case the film flopped. But it develops the Valjean-Cosette relationship very well. This relationship tends to be overlooked in the musical. The song, other than being a sweet little lullaby, helps us realize how much she changes Valjean's life and gives us more insight into why Valjean would go into the barricade for her ("I'm so afraid of failing you").
The set can sometimes be too large for the movies good, (Did they really intend that window to be there for Enjolras's death? Ugh) and theres not much variation in color, but it does it job pretty well. The costumes are fantastic (I loved the red motif in Valjeans prison garb and Fantine's prostitute dress). As a fan who actually took the time to read the book, I was delighted that the movie adds some elements from the book the musical leaves (like Marius's grandfather and Fantine selling her teeth, to name a few).
Overall, say what you will about the Les Miserables Film, I enjoyed it tremendously. This is a very difficult piece, yet the film is able to pull it off very well. It is epic and sometimes cheesy, but always honest and passionate. There are moments you will want to cringe, but it is either intending for you to cringe or makes up for that cringe. It is wonderful to see such good actors give the story breath and life anew, even though I already know this musical by heart. However, if you are a Les Miz purist and are expecting a very musically "pretty" version with pure, angelic singing, it would not be a good idea to watch it. But if you love Les Miz none the less, heck, if you are a musical fanatic, check it out and see what you think.
PS, OH SANTA
I know I am going to be speared for this, but I adored the film adaptation. I think it is one of the strongest adaption of stage to screen since West Wide Story. Are there problems with it? Yes. Are they major problems? You bet. But even these problems did not hinder my adoration for the film musical. Besides, we all have ONE movie or musical that isn't 100 percent perfect and yet we still enjoy.
Let's point out the problems and start with the one everyone talks about first-Russell Crowe is a robot. He has a few good moments in his face as Javert, but for the most part, his voice and body do the same thing over and over. You do not see Inspector Javert, you see some random dude droning in this flat baritone voice and walking around not looking impressed at anything. The Camera also tends to be pretty ornery. In some songs, all we get is a close up on the actors face and although its nice to see the character flourish to the most intricate detail, it can get tiring to watch.
Since the songs were sung on the spot and not pre-recorded with lip-synching, the singing can be pretty hard to listen. Although some voices are not at their peak (Hugh Jackman sometimes sound like a goat Micheal Crawford sometimes, and the Crawford voice is for Phantom, NOT Jean Valjean), it is refreshing to see the focus on the acting. I have listened to Colm Wilkonson, Patti Lupone, and the rest of the original cast so much that I almost became desensitized with Les Miserables. Its one of those shows that grows to be so popular that we want to dress it up and put a bow on it. But Les Miserables IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PRETTY. With a version more based on acting than singing, the story becomes fresh and exciting again and fans can feel re-kindled.
The strongest part of the movie is definitely the acting, especially with Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway as Valjean and Fantine. I especially admire the personification and risks they took to make the iconic characters honest, and believable. Eddie Redmayne actually was NOT an annoying Marius (and for me, that's considered a feat). Aaron Tviett made a very dashing and charismatic Enjolras. Don't hurt me, but I normally I don't care for the character of Eponine (if I have to listen to Frances Ruffle one more time I will have a major migrane for days), but this changed after seeing Samantha Banks. She gave a beautiful, heart breaking performance. I think she is the best Eponine out of the many I have heard and listened to.As for Amanda Seinfield as Cosette, she just fulfilled my problem with actresses playing Cosette. Although the character can be protrayed as very strong-willed woman, every single actress just see's a bland ingenue and plays her as such. Seinfield is no exception. The Thenardiers were hilarious and provided much needed comic relief, yet that is the only role the movie gives them, the comic reliefs. The Thenardiers are actually very, very evil, if not, more so than Javert. They actually can be frightening and threatening, but this is not the case in the movie (hence the cutting of the song "Dog Eat Dog").
It was thrilling to watch the new ways the songs were filmed. I especially enjoyed the bawdy subplots during "Master of the House" and the gritty, even painful-to-watch romp of "Lovely Ladies." It creates mood, and sets environment fitting for the characters. The song cuts can feel a little choppy, and you sense that there are holes in several places, but its enough to get a full portrait of the story without either leaving any plot holes or having to watch a 4 hour movie.
Now here comes the opinion where I risk my life...I LIKE the new song, "Suddenly." Yes, I LIKE THE NEW SONG. I agree that it sounds different from the rest of the score (so does my least favorite Les Miz song, "Little People", mercifully re-done well in the film) and the composers wrote it to get a "Best Song" award just in case the film flopped. But it develops the Valjean-Cosette relationship very well. This relationship tends to be overlooked in the musical. The song, other than being a sweet little lullaby, helps us realize how much she changes Valjean's life and gives us more insight into why Valjean would go into the barricade for her ("I'm so afraid of failing you").
The set can sometimes be too large for the movies good, (Did they really intend that window to be there for Enjolras's death? Ugh) and theres not much variation in color, but it does it job pretty well. The costumes are fantastic (I loved the red motif in Valjeans prison garb and Fantine's prostitute dress). As a fan who actually took the time to read the book, I was delighted that the movie adds some elements from the book the musical leaves (like Marius's grandfather and Fantine selling her teeth, to name a few).
Overall, say what you will about the Les Miserables Film, I enjoyed it tremendously. This is a very difficult piece, yet the film is able to pull it off very well. It is epic and sometimes cheesy, but always honest and passionate. There are moments you will want to cringe, but it is either intending for you to cringe or makes up for that cringe. It is wonderful to see such good actors give the story breath and life anew, even though I already know this musical by heart. However, if you are a Les Miz purist and are expecting a very musically "pretty" version with pure, angelic singing, it would not be a good idea to watch it. But if you love Les Miz none the less, heck, if you are a musical fanatic, check it out and see what you think.
PS, OH SANTA
