Ok, disclaimer- I am a hard-core fan of Les Mis. I was raised on it. at 8 years old I new the musical backwards and forwards and was singing castle on a cloud and dreaming of the day when I'd play eponine on broadway. I have also been involved in, practicing, performing, music since I was a little kid so I'm going to allow myself to be very specific and nerdy with this post. You have been warned :)
So we saw Les Mis the other day. First I'd like to say that they did an AMAZING job in bringing this musical to the big screen while still staying true to the vision and feel of this musical-so much so that I would venture to say that if you're not a musical fan you prolly won't like this movie cause it's just that. the straight musical put to film. There are many long scenes where you're just looking at a close up of the actor singing-not a lot of cutting away or editing-they're done all in one shot which is pretty impressive musically speaking. Another feature that I really liked is that the actors sang everything live. Most movie musicals record in the studio and then lip-sync on set (phantom of the opera -ahem-and you can tell).
As far as the actors go i'd say none of them disappointed me which is really impressive cause this is a really hard musical with wide ranges and demanding roles. If I had to choose my favorite performances it would be Anne Hathoway (fontine) followed closely by Hugh Jackman (Jean Val Jean) and Samantha Barks (Eponine). Honorable mention must go to Amanda Seyfried who has a beautifully pure voice and handled the extremely high part of Cosette gracefully though when singing with other cast members her part was often lost/not quite strong enough. Marius, despite getting a little muppety/kermity when high, did a good job for the most part (though I have to admit I wished the main general guy at the barricade had played marius-had a MUCH more powerful and clear voice). I was most worried about Russell Crowe-he had the look of Javert sure, but could he pull off the extensive part-lots of speak/singing going on that can be a mouthful. I give him a B- (which to be perfectly honest is a pleasant surprise-I was expecting the worst). He had a really clear good voice, though lacking in real power. He did alright but I still was left wanting a lil more emotion in his big crescendos in stars-when instead you just get very pure long notes with little vibrato/musicality, but still- decent. The Thenardiers (innkeeper and his wife) were exactly what you would expect. Helena Carter has THE perfect look for the part-they may have sacrificed most musicality for that look, but hey-it's ok if they're parts aren't "pretty" right? Though I did notice Sacha Cohen (mr. Thenardier) had a decent voice.
As far as favorite number goes.....that's a toughy. It's prolly a toss up between I dreamed a dream and the finale at the end, though On my Own was really good as well. Both were very emotional and moving. I know everyone raves about "One Day More" (and normally that would be my choice as well, but I didn't quite feel it as much as I wanted to in this version....I don't know if it was the way they edited it or just the singers themselves/ the audio guy? but once the different parts started singing at the same time towards the end of the medley I just felt that they started to drown each other out and got muffled- I couldn't hear marius and cosette ("I did not live until today"at all and then eponine does her lil: "one more day all on my own"-could barely hear that and I REALLY couldn't hear the Thenaradiers etc. Now most people prolly didn't notice it, but when you know ALL the parts it's tough cause you know what's supposed to be going on and when it doesn't-you're left feeling like: hey.....and disappointed. Plus I felt like there wasn't enough energy, volume, in the singers or the orchestra for that part but hey, that's just me.
The finale nailed it. I dreamed a dream was of course heart breakingly-beautiful and I hope there are some awards won because of it. I liked her interpretation of it which proves that it doesn't have to be the international cast for me to like it :) Bring him home was pretty good though I kept wanting him to go to a softer falsetto place- it is after all a prayer, but still good. There were a few shortenings of songs-ya know, a verse cut here and there but most of the time it made sense why-kept the scenes from not dragging etc. The few new-added songs to explain the years with jean valjean and cosette's new life together were ok-I didn't quite feel that they fit THAT well but if you don't know the musical you prolly wouldn't notice.
(but in all seriousness 9 times out of 10 the International Cast of Les Mis is the BEST recording of les mis: the BEST javert, jean valjean, marius, fontine (though anne comes close) just all of it-so good. I would recommend that if you are in the market to buy this musical now, get the international cast full symphonic recording and then buy a few good songs from the movie version like I dreamed a dream that are unique- but really....few other songs hold a true candle to the broadway version. Sure the voices in the film are good enough along with sets etc to tell the story, but if you're relying on pure audio to tell the story-gotta go with broadway version- so much emotion and acting in their voices it's amazing.)
Ok there's my lil plug for the international cast haha.
Again, over all it was truly good-the best movie musical that is out there in recent years. I do have to mention in good conscience that the mature subject matter that usually keeps this musical away from high school renditions etc (ie: the prostitutes, sexual references, etc) is really hard to watch on the big screen. I'll be honest. If I wasn't a musical fan or knew anything about this musical and how amazing it is and had just walked into the theatre unknowingly, I wouldn't have made it to I dreamed a dream. I would have walked out. I realize everyone has their different sensitivities and maybe for you it's a minor blip that you can just ignore and that's cool (we all do it with our entertainment-for me, I can easily overlook violence or most moderate language-just am so used to it that I don't even notice it) but for me the scene leading up to I dreamed a dream was too much. Now I'm not saying they shouldn't have put it in-it's the story. you can't rewrite it. Could they have done what the musical does where you see fontine and some guy go off out of site, there's a pause and then you see him leave, and the song continues, where the camera could have panned around the ladies on the street? I guess, but I get it. It's the story.
It's just one thing to hear people reference an act that you don't see on a stage 100 feet away and another entirely to see it all splashed across the big screen. Again, I LOVE this musical, and I LOVED I dreamed a dream, but all that put aside, I don't think I'll own this one. I dunno...having kids changes the way you see movies. Now I see them and think....if I owned this...would I want jake to stumble upon it and watch this? How would I feel if he watched this? The answer? sick to my stomach.
Again, this isn't me trying to make you feel guilty for applauding this movie etc, I'm applauding the music and performances, just not going to seek out a repeat performance that's all. :)
so overall I give Les Mis a solid B+ (for reference: an A+ would be the caliber of the international cast)
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