Editor's Note: This is a guest review by Kelly Ames. The Short Version:
Hooper’s film is a pleasing adaptation of the widely loved
staged musical. However, an already strong film could have been made stronger
by making different casting choices.
The Long Version:
My first encounter with the musical Les Misérables happened
when I had just turned 13 while in London, England. A girls choir I was a part
of decided to bring us to London for a week to see the sights and sing in
Westminster Abbey. It was pretty unreal. Especially seeing that I was twelve years
old and had to celebrate my first birthday as a teen away from my loving
family. All that was made more bearable by good friends, toilet paper
streamers, and the West End. Oh yes… my love of musicals took flight on this
excursion.
Marketing team, you've earned a slow clap.
Don’t get me wrong. We were
in the nosebleeds of nosebleed sections and needed to pay ten pence to use the
attached opera glasses to actually see what was happening on stage. But, you
know what? It didn’t matter. Boublil and Schönberg had written such an
incredibly captivating musical based on the Victor Hugo book that even a
just-turned 13 year-old adored it and could understand this story from miles
away (or at least it felt like it). The music catches me every time. I
immediately bought the soundtrack tape (cassettes. remember those?) and
repeatedly, REPEATEDLY borrowed the “Les Misérables” reference book and
libretto from the public library. I belted the entirety of the soundtrack from
memory and even tried singing ALL the parts in “One Day More”. (Yah, that’s not
even possible.) Now that you know that, you can understand that I was
ecstatic to hear a movie version was being filmed with no less than Hugh
Jackman. Though, I did get a little concerned when I heard some of the casting
choices...
Uh... why?
Fast-forward to now, and two good girlfriends/fellow Mommies and I are sitting in the theatre waiting for the show to start. I know Rick has already mentioned this, but since the arrival of our darling Izzy, we’ve needed to be more selective with our movie choices (HOLY COW, the amount of money we spent on entertainment and eating out before she arrived). When it’s a movie your significant other doesn’t really have an interest in seeing… good luck. So, I was super excited to be able to see this on the big screen before it left theatres.
Thank you, Oscars!
My thoughts? Simply put,
Wow. Hooper did such an admirable job of trying to stay true to the musical, as
well as the book, and even added his own flair. The cinematography marveled me
on more the one occasion, though there may have been one or two too many of the
sweeping vertical crane shots. Still, holy crap. I loved it. I cried continuously
in the theatre (that’s a good thing) even though I knew every single thing that
was going to happen. *sigh. Before I go on, I really have to mention the set
decoration. In the first 15 minutes of the film, want to know what your first
thought is besides, ‘Hugh Jackman, I adore you’? That thought would be: ‘Hmm,
glad I didn’t have to live there’. Dreary, disease, violence, abuse of power,
and rain. Always, ALWAYS raining!
Someone get Eponine an umbrella!
But, I’m an actor and that tends to be what I focus on. How
were the performances of Les Mis? Concisely, I could tell you it was a mixed
bag from ‘absolutely incredible’ to ‘why did they cast you again?’ Obviously,
I’ve made clear my love for Jackman. I had the immense pleasure of seeing him
perform in his one-man show in Toronto (thanks Hubs!) and could not get over
how excellent of an entertainer he was. Hearing that he was cast as Jean
Valjean set my heart a-flutter and I knew this film was in good hands. Jackman
really captured the essence of the character. He also really embraced the new
form of recording, where the cast had earpieces with live piano accompaniment
streaming in so that the performers could literally do whatever they wanted to
with the music. That meant musical decisions were being made based on the
character’s emotions and thought structure, not on what sounded best with the
orchestra. Seriously, watch this featurette:
Notable performances would be Samantha Barks as Eponine, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thénadiers, and a surprisingly compelling Anne Hathaway as Fantine. I didn’t know what to expect with Hathaway playing this tragic character due to the fact that I had heard her sing and it wasn’t mind-blowingly good. What I discovered was she devoted her entire soul to playing Fantine and that, though it may not always have been a vocally-pleasing sound, my gosh, did she nail it.
However, those thoughts do not extend to the entirety of the cast. Russell Crowe as Javert really left me wishing he gave more. Javert needs to be played with ferocity, strength and viciousness that I really felt Crowe didn’t even bother trying to attempt. I dug his choice of being a “good” and devoted man, but you need more. One example is the scene between Valjean and Javert in the hospital room after Fantine dies. In the original cast recording you can hear the strength needed for both characters. Particularly, when both parallel lines join on the word “Javert!”. They didn’t even TRY in the movie version which kind of left me with soul crushing disappointment. It’s called “The Confrontation,” for crying out loud.
Handy 'Confrontation' Comparison
1. How the movie did it:
2. The correct way to do it:
I’m not saying Crowe did a poor job of acting. I’m just
saying that his voice was not able to match his acting choices. I had similar feelings
for Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, as well. Good actor, but had a voice that distracted
me from her performance.
As to being true to the stage musical, I truly do feel
Hooper tried his best (considering some of the limitations of the actors
chosen). I know that there has been some flack from fans regarding the
additional songs and scenes, however I can appreciate how the additions work
cinematically. Particularly, when Hooper answered the question of how the heck
Valjean and Cosette get to Paris.
Another addition I adore is the Valjean song “Suddenly”. Call me a
sentimental fool, but I got weepy and remembered my own experiences holding my
own precious daughter for the first time and marveling at how much I loved
someone so deeply after just meeting them. I leave you with that and hope you
enjoyed my little guest review. Sorry to
my editior (aka Rick) for my long-windedness. :P
