tilly_stratford (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tilly_stratford) wrote2013-03-10 09:35 pm
tilly_stratford) wrote2013-03-10 09:35 pm
Entry tags:
Will you join in our crusade
I went to the movies and saw Les Misérables with my mum.
I've mentioned it before, I'm a recovering Les Mis obsessive (both book and musical). So when friends who've never cared one jot about musicals suddenly got obsessive about this one movie I was puzzled. Was it because the performances in it were so mind blowing, or just because the musical is so darn good?
Answer: A little bit of column A, a lot from column B. Or more precisely -
Look, instead of doing a regular pro-con list I'm gonna mix them up a bit, okay?
So!
+ ANNE HATHAWAY. LET US TALK ABOUT ANNE HATHAWAY. I know I always say the Oscars are useless at determining quality but if the Oscars did, she deserved every ounce of that award. For someone I had no idea could sing, that was still one of the better versions of 'I dreamed a dream' I've ever heard. And it was just one continuous shot of her, no embellishments and she choked me up. Wonderful!.
- Russell Crowe's performance was LAUGHABLE. Literally, I had to stop my own chuckling at some of his more nasal deliveries. I'm surprised he didn't spark some kind of internet meme from that performance. Nasal singing, and completely emotionless (I know Javert is supposed to be a hard, stern man but he's at least allowed to get angry or shocked). He just wasn't the least bit imposing or threatening, no matter how nice those uniforms were. 'Stars' was mangled while the director used every trick to try to lead your attention away from the terrible singing. (unconventional angles, CGI Paris, - compare with 'I dreamed a dream' where the performance carried the entire scene). When Javert committed suicide I threw my arms up in relief ("Finally!").
+ Colm Wilkinson cameo, what a surprise! When he appeared my mum and I both squealed like teenagers. And then a surprise return at the end!
- Why all the spoken dialogue? And mostly when the musical had verses that said what needed to be said anyway? One case in particular stood out during 'Valjean arrested/Valjean forgiven' when the policeman said some approximating the "Tell the Reverence your story, let us see if he's impressed" verse. Why not just sing it?
+ All the lovely book details, oh my gosh! The elephant statue, Fauchelevent the gardener, Marius' grandfather, Cosette's letter (and just because it's one little detail I've always loved even if it obviously wasn't included: Gavroche trusting Valjean with the letter because he wasn't wearing a hat). They could have gone all Hollywood and added stuff here and there, but they went straight to the source instead! What a good movie!
- The Thenardiers' ending. They eventually get their comeuppance in the book, but in the musical I've always liked the infuriating fact that they seem to wind up on top at the end. Instead, we get them pretending to be rich? Don't like.
+ Just so you won't think I hate everything that diverges from the musical I grew up with. I quite liked the new song, 'Suddenly'. I like that little pang of angst Valjean experiences as he realized he now has a child who depends on him. I'd like to hear a straighter sing-through of it though, as Jackman emoted a little too much for me to catch the melody.
- The Thenardiers, full stop. Weak-voiced Bonham-Carter and whatever Baron Cohen was doing (what was with that accent) just left me cold. I didn't really expect much though, as 'Master of the house' depends a lot on the actors' rapport with the audience.
+ GREAT child actors. Gavroche in particular, thought young Cosette did very good too.
- What was up with Javert tippy-toeing on the edge of the building during 'Stars'? I know they wanted to make a parallel to his suicide but balancing on bannisters is something children do, not Inspector Javert.
+ Hugh Jackman had the body for the role, which is the first time I've ever said that about a Valjean. As much as I love Colm Wilkinson and all the others, they hardly made you believe they could lift massive objects nobody else could budge. Though it really did feel weird lusting (slightly) after Valjean (unbuttoned shirt, mmm). Did get a giggle at him singing "TAKE ME NOW........ to Thy care" (and odd stuff going on with the Norwegian subtitles, like in 'Valjean's confession' when he sings "There is something now that must be done..." the subtitler actually used the archaic Norwegian word for "consummated" and Valjean shoots Marius This Look. Oh dear. Anyway, Hugh Jackman did an adequate performance. Struggled a lot with 'Bring him home' but won out on his acting ability in the end.
- It was a little silly that the ABC students sat up all night planning to coup Lamarcque's funeral procession to start their glorious revolution, and only when the guards retaliated did they begin building the barricade. Like, a shot is fired and you see two chairs being thrown out of the windows... Seriously, those barricades should have been up long before. Minor niggle.
+ They put in my favourite line, by jove, even if it's usually ommitted: "Shoot me now or shoot me later, every schoolboy to his sport! I say death to every traitor! I renounce your People's Court!" Yay!
- Odd little changes to the lyrics here and there from what I'm used to, like Valjean telling Cosette "It's a story of one who turned from hating / A man who only learned to love / When you were in his keeping" instead of "It's the story of those who always loved you / Your mother gave her life for you and gave you to my keeping". The latter is Valjean focusing on Cosette, rather than talking about himself, which feels more fitting to me. And another, minor though it may be: The Bishop of Digne singing "I have a saved your soul for God" feels a lot more self-congratulating and odd to me than "I have bought your soul for God". Didn't like it, no sirree.
+ Adult Cosette had a very pleasant singing voice, and Eponine did well too. Marius was so-so but again, his acting pulled him through.
- I missed Eponine in the finale. I know that was the price to pay for Wilkinson making another appearance and in my heart of hearts it felt more fitting for Valjean to see the bishop who changed his life rather than a stranger who died on the barricades, but I missed a third female voice in that harmony.
+ This should by rights be in the "lovely bits pulled straight from the book" but Grantaire (I'm 95% sure it's Grantaire) waking up from a drunken stupour in time to face the guns of the enemy with Enjolras. Goosebumps moment. Another was Courfeyrac's rage and grief at Gavroche's death.
- Where were the women revolutionaries? That was such a sausage club, they even dropped the female chorus from 'Drink with me'.
+ That ending, gah, with all the dead singing on the barricade. That redeemed the movie all by itself, my mum and I were all giddy walking out.
So when the DVD comes, yeah I guess I'll have to splurge on it, even if there were elements that annoyed me to hell and back. In the meantime, mum has said we need to watch "the real one" (the tenth anniversary concert, you can't beat that Dream Cast) soon, and trying to remember the names of the ABC students made me realize it's high-time I reread the book (How many times have it been now? I stopped counting after the fourth read-through).
I've mentioned it before, I'm a recovering Les Mis obsessive (both book and musical). So when friends who've never cared one jot about musicals suddenly got obsessive about this one movie I was puzzled. Was it because the performances in it were so mind blowing, or just because the musical is so darn good?
Answer: A little bit of column A, a lot from column B. Or more precisely -
Look, instead of doing a regular pro-con list I'm gonna mix them up a bit, okay?
So!
+ ANNE HATHAWAY. LET US TALK ABOUT ANNE HATHAWAY. I know I always say the Oscars are useless at determining quality but if the Oscars did, she deserved every ounce of that award. For someone I had no idea could sing, that was still one of the better versions of 'I dreamed a dream' I've ever heard. And it was just one continuous shot of her, no embellishments and she choked me up. Wonderful!.
- Russell Crowe's performance was LAUGHABLE. Literally, I had to stop my own chuckling at some of his more nasal deliveries. I'm surprised he didn't spark some kind of internet meme from that performance. Nasal singing, and completely emotionless (I know Javert is supposed to be a hard, stern man but he's at least allowed to get angry or shocked). He just wasn't the least bit imposing or threatening, no matter how nice those uniforms were. 'Stars' was mangled while the director used every trick to try to lead your attention away from the terrible singing. (unconventional angles, CGI Paris, - compare with 'I dreamed a dream' where the performance carried the entire scene). When Javert committed suicide I threw my arms up in relief ("Finally!").
+ Colm Wilkinson cameo, what a surprise! When he appeared my mum and I both squealed like teenagers. And then a surprise return at the end!
- Why all the spoken dialogue? And mostly when the musical had verses that said what needed to be said anyway? One case in particular stood out during 'Valjean arrested/Valjean forgiven' when the policeman said some approximating the "Tell the Reverence your story, let us see if he's impressed" verse. Why not just sing it?
+ All the lovely book details, oh my gosh! The elephant statue, Fauchelevent the gardener, Marius' grandfather, Cosette's letter (and just because it's one little detail I've always loved even if it obviously wasn't included: Gavroche trusting Valjean with the letter because he wasn't wearing a hat). They could have gone all Hollywood and added stuff here and there, but they went straight to the source instead! What a good movie!
- The Thenardiers' ending. They eventually get their comeuppance in the book, but in the musical I've always liked the infuriating fact that they seem to wind up on top at the end. Instead, we get them pretending to be rich? Don't like.
+ Just so you won't think I hate everything that diverges from the musical I grew up with. I quite liked the new song, 'Suddenly'. I like that little pang of angst Valjean experiences as he realized he now has a child who depends on him. I'd like to hear a straighter sing-through of it though, as Jackman emoted a little too much for me to catch the melody.
- The Thenardiers, full stop. Weak-voiced Bonham-Carter and whatever Baron Cohen was doing (what was with that accent) just left me cold. I didn't really expect much though, as 'Master of the house' depends a lot on the actors' rapport with the audience.
+ GREAT child actors. Gavroche in particular, thought young Cosette did very good too.
- What was up with Javert tippy-toeing on the edge of the building during 'Stars'? I know they wanted to make a parallel to his suicide but balancing on bannisters is something children do, not Inspector Javert.
+ Hugh Jackman had the body for the role, which is the first time I've ever said that about a Valjean. As much as I love Colm Wilkinson and all the others, they hardly made you believe they could lift massive objects nobody else could budge. Though it really did feel weird lusting (slightly) after Valjean (unbuttoned shirt, mmm). Did get a giggle at him singing "TAKE ME NOW........ to Thy care" (and odd stuff going on with the Norwegian subtitles, like in 'Valjean's confession' when he sings "There is something now that must be done..." the subtitler actually used the archaic Norwegian word for "consummated" and Valjean shoots Marius This Look. Oh dear. Anyway, Hugh Jackman did an adequate performance. Struggled a lot with 'Bring him home' but won out on his acting ability in the end.
- It was a little silly that the ABC students sat up all night planning to coup Lamarcque's funeral procession to start their glorious revolution, and only when the guards retaliated did they begin building the barricade. Like, a shot is fired and you see two chairs being thrown out of the windows... Seriously, those barricades should have been up long before. Minor niggle.
+ They put in my favourite line, by jove, even if it's usually ommitted: "Shoot me now or shoot me later, every schoolboy to his sport! I say death to every traitor! I renounce your People's Court!" Yay!
- Odd little changes to the lyrics here and there from what I'm used to, like Valjean telling Cosette "It's a story of one who turned from hating / A man who only learned to love / When you were in his keeping" instead of "It's the story of those who always loved you / Your mother gave her life for you and gave you to my keeping". The latter is Valjean focusing on Cosette, rather than talking about himself, which feels more fitting to me. And another, minor though it may be: The Bishop of Digne singing "I have a saved your soul for God" feels a lot more self-congratulating and odd to me than "I have bought your soul for God". Didn't like it, no sirree.
+ Adult Cosette had a very pleasant singing voice, and Eponine did well too. Marius was so-so but again, his acting pulled him through.
- I missed Eponine in the finale. I know that was the price to pay for Wilkinson making another appearance and in my heart of hearts it felt more fitting for Valjean to see the bishop who changed his life rather than a stranger who died on the barricades, but I missed a third female voice in that harmony.
+ This should by rights be in the "lovely bits pulled straight from the book" but Grantaire (I'm 95% sure it's Grantaire) waking up from a drunken stupour in time to face the guns of the enemy with Enjolras. Goosebumps moment. Another was Courfeyrac's rage and grief at Gavroche's death.
- Where were the women revolutionaries? That was such a sausage club, they even dropped the female chorus from 'Drink with me'.
+ That ending, gah, with all the dead singing on the barricade. That redeemed the movie all by itself, my mum and I were all giddy walking out.
So when the DVD comes, yeah I guess I'll have to splurge on it, even if there were elements that annoyed me to hell and back. In the meantime, mum has said we need to watch "the real one" (the tenth anniversary concert, you can't beat that Dream Cast) soon, and trying to remember the names of the ABC students made me realize it's high-time I reread the book (How many times have it been now? I stopped counting after the fourth read-through).