REVIEW: Les Miserables
Theatre kids rejoice, Hollywood finally produced the musical version of Les Miserables starring Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and of course Hugh Jackman. How did the movie stand up against such a reknowned musical, one that ended it’s Broadway career twice, with a 2014 revival in the works? Was the movie fueled with “the blood of angry men,” or should we the audience in fact “look down, look down,” at the floor in shame?
So first and foremost the fact that the movie was shot with the intention of allowing the actors to sing on set as opposed to in a studio REALLY breathed new life into the movie musical genre. You could feel every raw emotion, and showed the sheer amount of work the actors had put into their roles. The director clearly wanted to show this off as the movie is dominated by headshots, and numerous musical numbers sung by talking heads rather than sweeping choreography and endless background shots of beautiful scenery. There are many moments which show the breathtaking scenery (the scene where Fantine turns to a life of prostitution, the barricade scenes) but at times because the cinematics of the movie are so focused on the actor one loses much of the scenery.
If Anne Hathaway doesn’t bring you to tears in “I Dreamed a Dream,” you may in fact be a sociopath. Hugh Jackman did work his ass off and played the role very honestly but it is so hard to set yourself apart from the countless number of Jean Valjeans in the world. On the whole, his performance worked perfectly fine, and you still felt something… but it still felt slightly lacking. Russell Crowe on the other hand worked very hard and didn’t sound bad. However it is very telling when most of the actors are given songs without any cutaways, such as Russell Crowe’s. He never looked or sounded terribly comfortable in the role, it’s almost as if he was holding back the entire time. The child actors/singers were phenomenal, Marius and Eponine were exquisite, Amanda Seyfried (teenage Cozette) was OK. She sounded too much like she was singing into a fan, but beyond that she played the part that was necessary… but Marius should’ve ended up with Eponine.
The major surprise of the movie however were Sascha Baron Coen and Helena Bonham Carter playing the inn keepers. While Coen isn’t a singer, the part doesn’t require a spectacular voice so much as it requires attitude. The chemistry between Coen and Carter steal the movie and (unlike Sweeney Todd) Helena Bonham Carter acted and looked like she was actually having fun!
Les Miserables isn’t for everyone. It’s a phenomenal story with incredible music and some of the most raw performances I’ve seen in a movie musical but if you’re not a fan of musicals, the technical aspects of filmmaking, or the French History/Revolutionary philosophy this might not appeal to you. But if you go into theaters wanting to feel something, you should see Les Mis while it’s still in theatres!
