*Warning - Post Contains SPOILERS*
This is going to be just one droplet in a flood of Les Mis Movie
reviews, but considering the emotive nature of the film, I think the word “reaction”
is more appropriate than “review”.
My first reaction is to how far the appeal of this movie has
stretched – far beyond the very dedicated but narrow viewership of musical
theatre fans alone. In my local cinema, on
the second night of its release, in a normally barren land for culture, it has
sold out to a roomful of people from all walks of life. I think what has
captured most people is simply the fact it’s a well made movie with an
intricately beautiful tapestry of a story at its core, woven around generations
of characters – more than a story about revolution or class or persecution,
it’s a story about people. The fact that it’s a musical is secondary, but
hopefully those who are enticed by the story or cinematography will fall in love
with the music as much as we, the theatre fans, do.
I was pleasantly
satisfied by Anne Hathaway’s Fantine. Reading back on my initial
thoughts on the trailer back in June, she was one I had big reservations about.
But it worked, thankfully. Fantine is such a desperately miserable character
that Hathway’s sweet, raw voice added to the sense of her fragility and
hopelessness and had me in tears for her pathetic lot in life.
Unfortunately I can’t say the same for Russell Crowe , I just cannot get onboard with his Javert. I tried
to have an open mind watching him but from the moment he sung his first line, I
just knew his voice didn’t suit the character. His acting was fine but the
vocals let it down and Javert is such an important part – perhaps the most
interesting character of them all.
Nor was I impressed with Amanda Seyfried as Cosette – she sounds like a fragile little lamb and
I think Cosette is stronger than that. Her voice is just not good enough for
those high notes she has to sustain. But, her part is small enough not to have
the same kind of impact on the movie that Crowe does.
I always had high hopes for Hugh Jackman’s Valjean, as he comes from a background of musical
theatre. I was nervous that he couldn’t cope with this iconic role at the start
but as the character picks himself up, his voice gets stronger with it and I
was relieved that it had been an acting choice to start weak. There were
moments when I thought he was trying a bit too hard with his singing – perhaps having
a bit too much of a warble and when
he was singing ‘Bring Him Home’ I couldn’t help but think “They have Colm on
set .... get him to do it” but that was unfair. While he’s no Colm when it
comes to singing, he did a damn good job of a song he must’ve been nervous to
put out there. As the central focus of the story, Jackman carried it well.
Sacha Baron Cohen & Helena Bonham Carter as the Thenardiers – this was always
going to be an excellent pairing, wasn’t it? Both have perfectly sinister,
comedic stylings to suit these sneaky, scheming characters. Sacha’s little one
liners are perfect mood lifters – the laughter was loud and almost hysterical (probably thanks to the momentary light
relief) when he called Cosette ‘Courgette’.
I don’t think anyone
will be surprised that I think Samantha Barks was just a perfect cast
choice as Eponine. I wondered how she’d fare with the subtle on screen acting
but she adapted with apparent ease and it’s a damn shame she hasn’t been
nominated for an Oscar in best supporting actress. Shame on the academy.
The students were also
all brilliant. Eddie Redmayne as Marius and Aaron Tveit as
Enjolras flew the flag for these characters with confidence and vocal ability
that shone. If you dropped either of them into the stage show now, I’d have no
complaints.
I liked the nod to
the stage show and theatre fans - after Enjolras is killed, he hangs from the
window in exactly the same manner as he hangs from the barricade.
The first 15 minutes of the film were quite slow and the
singing was weak, though this isn’t surprising given Hugh Jackman didn’t drink any water for 36 hours! I defy any singer
to sound good with unnourished vocal chords.
Even so, I was nervous – was this going to be another
disappointing rendition of a musical that has been “in my life” since I can
remember? (*cough* Schumacher’s Phantom)
It quickly picked up, though – I’d say from the moment the
factory scene begins – that’s not to put down Colm Wilkinson’s portrayal of the Bishop. As the original Valjean,
I’m so pleased he was given a place in this film and he did an amazing job of
what he was given. It’s just the story is still waiting to pick up at this
point.
I think the nature of this musical is that the more lives
that Valjean affects, the more paths he crosses, the richer the tale becomes.
From the factory scene onward, it became a fun game of ‘spot
the westenders’ who make up a good majority of the ensemble cast. They may not
have had the leading roles they’re used to
(excluding Sam Barks of course) but at least they’ve been acknowledged and
their presence is everywhere.
The linking scenes
between times and/or places was often really beautifully done both visually and
aurally. The one springing to mind right now is after Javert sings ‘Stars’ – the
combined impact of that last note blending into ‘Look Down’ while the camera
swoops across from Javert’s elevated platform overlooking the city, down, down into
the streets where the beggars roam.
Talking of ‘Look Down’ - what a brilliant little actor Daniel
Huttlestone is! And yet I’d heard
nothing about him before watching the film. The focus with the children has
been on young Cosette, Isabelle Allen; Probably because she is the “face” of
the movie - Her image has been the one plastered over busses and billboards
throughout the country and she has ‘shot’ to fame more dramatically than
Huttlestone who has been grafting away in professional productions for a few
years now. The moment he bounds onto the screen, challenging an upper class man
travelling through the slums, this experience is obvious in just one sweep of
his hand.
I couldn’t help
thinking of walking dead when all the beggars were pummelling the window though
- That’d be a twist we weren’t expecting.
There was a very poignant
moment, after Gavroche has been shot and laid out with the other student’s
bodies where Javert takes off his medal and places it on Gavroche’s lapel. This
is a subtle moment that could only be portrayed through the medium of film. It
signifies the start of Javerts spiral into doubting his world view and beliefs
and I thought it was a touching moment.
Fans of the stage
show will have noticed a few of the songs had been switched about. I was fine
with this as logistically it worked out for the story in the way it had been
done for the film. What I didn’t get is why they occasionally switched the lines around. For example, Valjean as
the mayor:-
Stage show – “I run a business of repute, I am the mayor of this town”
Movie – “I am the mayor of this town, I run a business of repute”
Why? This didn’t
seem necessary. It happened a few times, but this one really grated on my
ear. It didn’t flow as nicely.
It’s only minor
quibbles I have, really, with this film which I otherwise loved. The tell tale
sign of the impact this movie was having on the audience was the perfect
silence. I wondered whether there’d be popcorn rustling, awkward giggling and
whispering, singing along. But no, silence. Wonderful silence – during Hathaway’s
I Dreamed a Dream you could’ve heard a pin drop in that room and that makes me
so happy. This is a sign of people engrossed in the world of characters that I’ve
grown up with.
Tom Hooper has done
a fantastic job from all angles and this is as near to perfect for a film
adaption as I could have hoped. My sobbing during the finale was not just for
the emotion of the culmination of the story but because as a theatre fan this
is a film we can be proud of. Well done all involved. Let’s hope the new fans
will be inspired to see the stage show now and keep this show, that means so much
to so many, going for another 25 years (and more).
