Look, I'm not gonna lie. I usually don't like musicals. I respect them, and I appreciate the power of music to evoke emotion, but all too often I find the singing actually takes me out of the movie as opposed to emotionally connecting me. There are exceptions, of course. Singing in the Rain is a classic. I really enjoyed both Chicago and Dreamgirls. So what about Les Miserables? Would this all-star film based on one of Broadway's most beloved shows be one of the few musicals that crosses over?
Les Miserables is based on the classic novel by Victor Hugo. I'll keep the synopsis vague as to not ruin anything for those who don't know the story. Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) has just been released from 19-years imprisonment and decides to break parole in order to rebuild his life as a better man. Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) is a tough-as-nails soldier who devotes his life to catching the convict, ignoring all the visible signs of how Valjean's newfound compassion affects everyone around them. It's an epic story, spanning decades, and even includes a climactic battle set during the Paris Uprising in 1832.
The story sounded interesting so I was definitely curious, especially with this superb cast: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bodham Carter...this is quite a cast. And I was a big fan of director Tom Hooper's last movie, The King's Speech. But unfortunately, Les Miserables did not totally win me over.
First of all, there is a lot to like in this movie, starting with the cast. Everyone is absolutely superb, both in the acting and singing department. Hooper made a brave choice with the film by recording the songs live instead of recording them in the studio, which is the common practice with musicals. This experiment pays off in spades, giving the music an immediacy and raw emotional power that is missing when the songs are "produced" in a studio booth. Nowhere is this more evident than in Anne Hathaway's show-stopping "I Dreamed a Dream," which is about as raw as you can get.
I was also very impressed with the art direction and the overall look of the film. It's a superb looking film, and I wouldn't be surprised if it scooped up most of the Costume and Art Direction Awards.
What I liked most about Les Miserables was the epicness of it all. I truly felt like this movie was a massive journey and I had gotten to know these characters over two decades. When the movie ends, you do not feel like you've watched a movie; instead, you've experienced something. And that is kinda special. Ironically, this epic length is also the movie's greatest weakness. When the movie is not working, it just grinds to a halt...and it is those moments where I literally feel like I am spending twenty years with these people. There were a few times where I thought, "oh, please, Jean Valjean, if you have any real compassion, you would just stop singing and get on with it!"
There are a few other things I don't like. I had never seen the stage musical so a lot of this was fresh for me. And the songs are all quite good and memorable. But most musicals have dialogue between the songs. Not Les Miserables. This movie is all song. There might be all of six lines of non-singing dialogue in the whole film. I wouldn't mind this so much if the music were good, but I actually found much of the this 'inbetween' singing to be tuneless and meandering. I know many of you are screaming and smashing at your keyboards: BLASPHEMY!!! Look, I'm not badmouthing the music as a whole. The major songs are all pretty good, some of them superb, but the music inbetween the big numbers is just kind of painful.
So there you go: Les Miserables in the end is a mixed bag. When it is firing on all cylinders, it really is terrific. Usually this is when the show's major numbers are featured: "I Dreamed a Dream," "On My Own," and "One Day More" are stirring and wonderfully performed, and showcase the raw power that musicals can have when done well. But it just drags in a lot of other places, sometimes painfully so. But like I said in the beginning of the review, take my opinion with a grain of salt because musicals just aren't my thing!
But all that said, I do want to address a few points in SPOILER territory. For those who have seen the movie or know the play really well, here are the moments I liked and disliked.
Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bodham Carter stage the film's funniest scene when they perform "Master of the House," but with every subsequent scene they appear in, they become less and less amusing and more and more annoying. Until by the end, they were just tedious.
Damn. Hugh Jackman can sing. And I was a bit terrified by his chest hair. To be honest, I was surprised by most of the cast. They all have pretty terrific voices.
Anne Hathaway just won her Oscar. I am sure of it. She isn't in the film for very long, but she is so heart achingly good in "I Dreamed a Dream." It's downright haunting.
Almost as good is the relatively unknown (but not for long) member of the cast, Samantha Barks, as Eponine. She knocks "On My Own" out of the park!
I do want to defend Russell Crowe for a second. He seems to be catching some heat as Javert. I actually thought he was fine. It's a different role for him, and while his voice doesn't necessarily sound Broadway to me, I thought his singing got the job done. I think people are not responding well to him for a few reasons. His introduction is handled clumsily, with his singing literally coming out of nowhere, causing some snickering in the audience. And the director does not do Crowe any favors by staging his solo numbers in really goofy ways (i.e. always balancing on railings and silly blocking like that). In fact, while most of the camera work is fine, I was distracted by the horribly quick pullbacks that seemed to happen whenever the actors hit a big note. This was just awkward and clumsy and he does it to poor Russell Crowe constantly. It just seems like they are setting him up to fail.
Speaking of Crowe, I really like the confrontation in the hospital when Javert explains why he refuses to believe in Valjean's reformation. That Javert came from the same lowly background as Valjean, picked himself out of the muck, and transformed himself into a symbol of law and order...that explains a lot about his character and I think Crowe nails this moment.
Not meaning to go back to this, but those zoom outs really annoyed me!
And why the horribly gruesome bone-breaking sound effect when Javert dies. It was so loud, it was almost comical. And why do that to a poor character who just seemed to see the error of his ways??
Okay, SPOILER OVER.
MVP:
Well, I think I've already made it clear that my MVP is Anne Hathaway. "I Dreamed a Dream" is usually belted out by powerhouse singers. Every time I've heard it, it's produced as a big, huge number for a singer with a powerhouse voice. That doesn't make much sense in the movie, since Fantine is weak, desperate, and dying of tuberculous. Kinda hard to hit the big notes when you have tuberculous. So she takes the opposite approach. She doesn't push the song out, she pulls it in, makes it personal, ignores the power and just focused on the anguish and emotion. It's a remarkable performance. And yes, she is good in her other scenes, as well. But it is this performance that wins her my MVP (and probably the Oscar, too).
TRIVIA:
A lot of actresses auditioned to be in this movie. For Eponine, you had the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Hayden Panettierre, and Rachel Evan Wood. Supposedly, Taylor Swift was really close to getting the part. No offense to any of these ladies, but I think they cast this role perfectly. Samantha Barks, who had already played the part on stage, was perfect.
