{"id":2420,"date":"2012-12-26T20:52:02","date_gmt":"2012-12-26T20:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scarlet-rhapsody.com\/?p=2420"},"modified":"2013-02-13T18:25:57","modified_gmt":"2013-02-13T18:25:57","slug":"singing-through-life-les-miserables-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scarlet-rhapsody.com\/?p=2420","title":{"rendered":"[Singing Through Life] Les Miserables (2012)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jackman's<\/a>

Jackman’s Valjean: Not the boy next door.<\/p><\/div>\n

Les Miserables has been a huge part of my life for as long as I have known. I’ve seen this show about four times and once at a concert version at the Hollywood Bowl. I\u2019m typically apprehensive about film adaptations of mega stage musicals. Phantom of the Opera was a calculated mess. Usually the low maintenance stage shows get the better film adaptation (ie: Evita, Dreamgirls, Chicago, etc). Like most Mizzies, I was afraid how the film version would turn out. How do you cram a three hour show into a feature length presentation? So much happens in the three hour libretto. Can Tom Hooper\u2019s version live up to expectation?<\/p>\n

\"Death,<\/a>

Death, death, and more death!<\/p><\/div>\n

I saw Les Miserables at the AMC on Tremont on opening day (December 25, 2012). The showings were all sold out for the evening. I was in a cinema of Mizzies. By the time credits rolled, everyone begun dishing their first impressions. Even on the subway ride home, people were talking about what worked and what didn\u2019t work. I let the feels sink in. My final thoughts can be summed up in, \u201cA good adaptation \u2013 great acting, decent singing \u2013 could have been worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"film-review-les-miserables.jpeg4-1280x960\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tom Hooper\u2019s adaptation of the epic musical is visually stunning. The trailers showed 19th<\/sup> century France in a very gritty time. What I did like is that from the get go, it differentiates the 18th<\/sup> century revolution and this one portrayed here. I\u2019ve known a lot of newbie Mizzies who thought it was about the Bastille and guillotines. I did like the set design and the attention to historical detail. I loved the costumes and the makeup. Javert\u2019s costumes through the years were nice to look at. \u00a0Jackman’s makeup from the young convict to the wise elder looked really good on screen. Overall, the transition of the technical aspects of stage set to screen is pretty awesome. As one review put it, even if you did a non-musical adaptation of Les Miserables, the sets worked. When things need to look sacred, they look glowing. When things need to be shitty, Valjean gets down and dirty (SWAMP MONSTER!).<\/p>\n

\"movies_les_miserables_still_7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Every fan I know has been nitpicking at the performances of the actors cast in the movie version since the trailers came out. Hugh Jackman\u2019s Jean Valjean is passable. I liked his acting and his singing is pretty decent. It was nice to have both a screen and stage veteran for the leading role. Overall, a decent performance, but he could have done better with some of the more emotional songs (\u201cBring Him Home\u201d and \u201cValjean\u2019s Soliloquy.\u201d) Russell Crowe was a huge miscast. While I do admit he looked very brooding and the camera loves him, I would have preferred if someone with a deeper baritone singing voice were cast as Javert. His version of \u201cStars\u201d was okay, but when he\u2019s pitted up against Phillip Quast, Norm Lewis, and Brian Stokes Mitchell, the stakes are fairly high. A fine actor and I loved how \u201cStars\u201d was filmed; just wish it was Brian Stokes Mitchell atop Paris.<\/p>\n

\"What<\/a>

What was with that cartoony thud when Javert died? At least he\u2019ll be reunited with Tugger.<\/p><\/div>\n

When I first hear Anne Hathaway\u2019s version of \u201cI Dreamed a Dream,\u201d it felt like a YouTube karaoke video. There actually is reason why this version is sung the way is sung. Some may argue this is a belter\u2019s piece. Then again, this is screen where anything too big can be seen as over the top (I\u2019m looking at you, Gerard Butler). \u00a0This falls right after \u201cLovely Ladies\u201d where Fantine has practically lost everything and given up herself for the sake of Cosette. I do appreciate that this was done in one take. It could have been cheesier if it was cut to Fantine flashbacks (“He slept a summer by my side”), but the single shot close up ala \u201cHead Over Feet\u201d did work for this emotional point in the movie. I\u2019m not sure if this softer version works with me; Fantine is in tears and devastated which works for the context of where the song is placed, but I\u2019m still unsure where it ranks among the likes of Lea Salonga and Alice Ripley. I felt that Hathaway could have played Fantine much stronger than a mouse in the factory sequence. I\u2019ve always seen Fantine as a very strong willed character; every decision she makes is for the sake of her child. Yet, each destructive decision breaks her physically apart. Part of me thinks sobbing through \u201cI Dreamed a Dream\u201d is Academy Award pandering and I know Hathaway has a lovely voice capeable of being on the ranks of Salonga and Ripley. Perhaps if I heard her sing this live at the 30th anniversary concert, I\u2019d probably would be much more moved. As a standalone, \u201cI Dreamed a Dream\u201d did not work for me as it did for critics.<\/p>\n

\"Still<\/a>

Still would have loved to have seen Hathaway cast as Christine in Phantom (2004).<\/p><\/div>\n

I have no real nitpicks with Cosette. She\u2019s my least favorite character. However, I did like the young Cosette\u2019s version of \u201cCastle on a Cloud\u201d and how that was staged as she looks over the children playing outside. She is apart from that world. Amanda Seyfried plays it well, but it\u2019s not a hard role to play. She looks the part and can pass off for Catwoman\u2019s daughter. There\u2019s something about Amanda Seyfried\u2019s doe-eyed look that really works with Cosette. However, I preferred the younger Cosette\u2019s interactions with Jean Valjean, particularly in the added scenes where Valjean and Cosette are making their escape into Paris. I\u2019m glad the movie covered that base. I\u2019ve seen this in almost every film adaptation of Les Miserables.<\/p>\n

\"She<\/a>

She totally looks like the SD Mika facemold from Volks. Sorry, doll nerding.<\/p><\/div>\n

Speaking of kids, Daniel Huttlestone also plays a very fun Gravoche. I did like his new verse in \u201cLook Down\u201d to clarify all the political unrest going on within the passage of time. It was fun to literally follow this character. Most reviews don\u2019t touch upon this little (no pun intended) detail, but Gravoche was very much fleshed out. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Eponine. I don\u2019t place the blame entirely on Samantha Barks. When I think of Eponine, I think of a boyish and playful type \u2013 the complete polar opposite of Cosette. She\u2019s the girl who gets friend zoned and the poster child of unrequited love (\u201cOn My Own\u201d). The movie turned her into Emo-nine. She acts depressed the whole time. Samantha played Eponine in her nobody\u2019s fool demeanor in the 25th<\/sup> anniversary concert, but this directional change just seemed so off. However, Samantha has a lovely voice, just so underutilized.<\/p>\n

\"Emonine<\/a>

Emonine Friendzoned<\/p><\/div>\n

As far as the barricade boys go, I loved Aaronjolaras. Like Samantha and Hugh, also a veteran of the stage. His blonde locks remind me of the Enjolaras caricature, Gregory, from the South Park movie. Aaron Tveit holds one of the strongest performances in this movie. I wish we could have seen more of the ABC revolutionaries. The ensemble pieces \u2013 \u201cDo You Hear the People Sing\u201d and \u201cOne Day More\u201d are nearly pitch perfect for their screen transition. I liked that \u201cDo You Hear the People Sing?\u201d was placed at Lamarque\u2019s funeral procession. On stage, it\u2019s awesome, but the screen version makes it epic. I felt the theatre chills. If I were to pick a favorite scene from the movie, it would be this sequence. \u00a0It also clarifies the whole \u201cWho the hell is Lamarque and why the hell should I care?\u201d notion from theatre noobs.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The resistance lives on!<\/p><\/div>\n

Eddie Redmayne was a surprise. He also held one of the stronger performances and I\u2019m not a huge fan of Marius. I liked how the movie established that he is a rich kid that hangs out with the destitute. Yet, I felt the friendship between him and Emonine could have been done so much better. Again, directional choices. Eddie Redmayne\u2019s \u201cEmpty Chairs at Empty Tables\u201d was very emotional and I actually do admit I liked it better than Hathaway\u2019s \u201cI Dreamed a Dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""I'm<\/a>

“I’m a Monsieur Thenardier. I like sex.” “But there’s not much there.”<\/p><\/div>\n

Last but not least, The Thenardiers. I had no doubt that Borat would make an awesome Thenardier. I was so-so about Helena Burtonia Carter. I hated her performance in Sweeney Todd, but I find it funny she looks like an out of it Angela Lansbury Lovett. I was really nervous how she would portray Thenardier, but this is passable. I tend to prefer my Madame Thenardiers to be gutsy monsters, whereas Helena Burtonia Carter plays it like a sassy Frenchie. She sings her verse of “Master of the House” to seduce an inn guest. Borat\u2019s Thenardier was just awesome to watch. I was disappointed that \u201cDog Eat Dog\u201d didn\u2019t make the final cut. This is a really grotesque piece on seizing the moment and taking advantage of the opportunity \u2013 even it means stealing riches from the dead. I\u2019m used to Borat singing comedy songs, so no doubt, \u201cMaster of the House\u201d was one of the most memorable sequences in the movie. I liked how Eponine was integrated in the song. It shows that she\u2019s familiar to The Ugly and her street smarts are all she really has. Yet, it would have made stronger if Eponine was not Emo-nine. Overall, Borat was awesome and Burtonia was passable.<\/p>\n

\"You're<\/a>

You’re getting there, Helena. Keep reaching for the stars.<\/p><\/div>\n

What I did like about this movie is it played up the spiritual side of Les Miserables. As much as I love the libretto, the theme I always got was everyone gets a second chance; it\u2019s up to us how we use that second chance. There\u2019s a lot of religious imagery that\u2019s used very well; from the time Valjean seeks sanctuary at Digne to the very end \u2013 \u201cTo love another person is to see the face of God.\u201d I never really thought about the spiritual themes of Les Miserables. Even at this time of the review, it\u2019s given me a lot to think about and a lot of look for the next time I see the stage version.<\/p>\n

\"And<\/a>

And may the force be with you, Colm<\/p><\/div>\n

While the movie does have its flaws and there are things that could have been better, it\u2019s by no means a horrible adaptation. It\u2019s still far better than other film adaptations and it\u2019s a visual masterpiece. Much like Alan Parker\u2019s Evita, the film goes big. The processions are big. I just wish there were some directional choices that could have been better \u2013 casting, character changes, etc, but otherwise it\u2019s still the same story. Songs are arranged to where they make sense in the pacing. It is a three hour tour de France, but it is well worth a look, especially if you are a self-proclaimed Mizzie.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, there\u2019s still the 25th<\/sup> Anniversary and 10th<\/sup> Anniversary concerts available if you prefer to hear the quintessential versions of the classics. Likewise, if Les Miserables is touring in your area, definitely see the musical the soonest you get. Save up, it\u2019s worth it. \u00a0As far as soundtracks go, I will stick to my cast recordings. It just feels awkward hearing Russell Crowe whisper in my ear.<\/p>\n

With that said, Makin’ Movies, Singin’ Songs, Fightin’ Jean Valjean!<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Eri<\/p>\n

erica @ scarlet-rhapsody.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Les Miserables has been a huge part of my life for as long as I have known. I’ve seen this show about four times and once at a concert version at the Hollywood Bowl. I\u2019m typically apprehensive about film adaptations…
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