Les Misérables: So, what did you think? — Page 16

It didn't seem as vexing an issue when I saw the play, all the way back in 1987. The storytelling onstage didn't feel as incomplete as it did in the film, with its jump-cut of Valjean suddenly atop a mountain in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason.

THIS! There was a definite lack of fluidity in parts of the movie. For a two and a half hour long film, long chunks of it played like a SparkNotes version of the story. I cried, but I think I cried simply due to the power of the music, my personal feelings for the piece, the strength of the performances, and some of the well-filmed sequences (ie: the finale), not really because I felt for the characters.


And I couldn't agree more about Crowe. He seemed WAY too concerned with singing the part well (which he didn't really do) instead of acting. His Javert was in desperate need of a bit of fire under his ass and a bite that matched his bark. I still thought he was good, but not nearly as good as he could and should have been. I can deal with the mediocre singing, but his acting should have been a hell of a lot better.

And for the record, I thought the Thenardier stuff didn't really work at all. Like...none of it. The humor was staged way too theatrically and wasn't funny whatsoever and "Master of the House" was ... pretty bad. It was hammy, forced, and felt extremely disjointed from the rest of the film. This Thenardier lived in a world where he says "whatever" when his wife corrects him for calling Cosette by the wrong name. Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter were both trying way too hard, hamming it up in a way that didn't work at all for me. The pick-pocketing stuff came across as much more fluid, funny, and clever onstage. Here it just looks dumb. The awkward silences, where Hooper may as well have had someone walking around the movie theater holding up a blinking "LAUGH" sign, spread like wildfire throughout the packed theater I saw the film in. No one was laughing. I was almost cringing, come to think of it.

Updated On: 12/30/12 at 08:06 PM

Did anyone think that Eddie Redmayne was lipsynching to a Nelson Eddy record? His voice sounded so weird, like he was trying to sing opera.

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So I saw the movie twice this weekend, wanted to wait a couple days to get my thoughts in order before I posted. Here goes:
-Anne Hathaway as Fantine was truly phenomenal. "I Dreamed a Dream" was so wrenching and I appreciated the rough quality, as well as the new placement. This was one time I thought the close-up style really added to the emotional impact. I hope she does win the Oscar.
-Hugh Jackman was alright. I thought he acted well, and did the recitatives fine. But "Bring Him Home" sounded a bit forced and lacked the prayer-like quality. Perhaps it was his lack of falsetto. Still, respectable.
-I was pleasantly surprised by Eddie Redmayne. I found his Marius to be complicated, daring (when he threatened to blow up the barricade), and "Empty Chairs" broke my heart. I liked him more than most stage Mariuses.
-The standout vocals were of course Samantha Barks and Aaron Tveit. Glorious every time either one opened their mouth. Both also were excellent acting.
-enjoyed the "who's who" of West End actors. Especially Hadley Fraser as the French army captain- he seemed less villainous than we think of the big bad army.
-I really like that they added in some of the bits from the book cut onstage; namely, the deaths of Enjolras and Grantaire, as well as Eponine. Eponine dying to save Marius was more moving than her death delivering the letter, and made her less of a girl with a crush and more of a brave woman willing to die if it would save someone she loved (a bit like Fantine). And I was glad to see Grantaire choose to die with Enjolras, especially since they cut his character moment in "Drink with Me". And it was so sad to see Enjolras, the charismatic and courageous firebrand, reach for human contact at the last moment of his life: one hand on the flag, one gripping Grantaire's wrist. Just reinforced the theme of love and loyalty.
-Russell Crowe: intimidating speaking, almost laughable singing. But the moment with the medal in Gavroche killed me. Also, the Thenadiers were a bit disappointing. Just didn't quite click for some reason.
-Not a fan of "Suddenly". It stuck out too much, and just wasn't that great of a song.
-I sobbed at the finale. Both times. And so did most of the sold out theater. Something about that moment just is a gut punch to me: it's so sad but at the same time incredibly hopeful.
-Overall, I really was moved and enjoyed the movie both times. A few shooting choices annoyed me, but not too much to take away my genuine enjoyment.

Updated On: 12/30/12 at 08:36 PM

On balance, I liked it. There are some wonderful moments and some very awkward ones. Hathaway does not disappoint. The kids and Barks are wonderful. Most of the performances are actually far better than I expected (although I didn't like Cohen and Bonham Carter). Many of the clips I saw (and hated) worked much better in context and on a large screen. However, there is so much bad editing. All too often, Hooper is incapable of bringing to life scenes involving more than one or two characters (with some notable exceptions, I particularly liked what he did with Red and Black, for instance).

Updated On: 12/30/12 at 10:07 PM

And I'd call it "heavy handed even for material that isn't exactly subtle to begin with".

But I have more problems with Javert's loud spine crack more than his steps.

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"Why are people going to see Les Miz?"

Chooka, for me personally, I went to see it because I've seen the stage version several times. I would have seen it even if it was completely unknown. Everyone that I know personally who has seen it is the same. They are seeing it because it's Les Miz.

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It's called "foreshadowing".

Yes. And I thought it was an interesting character moment, demonstrating that Javert was so sure of himself that not even a ledge frightened him. To say that Javert is "sure of his own steps" does make it sound heavy-handed, but I didn't form that phrase until now.

And, honestly, Kad, if I hadn't read it here, I would not have known that was supposed to be Javert's spine cracking when he fell. I would have accepted it as a sound effect to enhance the moment without interpreting it literally.

Saw it again tonight, and I enjoyed it SOOO much more than I did the first time around. Crowe and Jackman were still pretty bad, but I got a lot more out of Carter and Cohen's Thenardiers this time around for some reason. I still wish the orchestrations were louder though.

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I didn't think it sounded like a spine cracking...just of a body hitting a hard surface. No one snickered at all when I saw it.

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I don't know if anyone has mentioned (or experienced) this, but in the theatre where I saw it, there were some giggles when Valjean reads Marius's letter to Cossette. And later, when Valjean is seeing Marius at the barricade and looking at him affectionately.

I was trying to figure out why people were laughing and, I wondered if they thought that Valjean thought that Marius's love letter was written to him (Valjean), and Valjean's later interest in Marius was, well, for his own benefit.

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Well, canmark, that just shows some people are idiots. I had no such laughter when I saw the show. In fact, I didn't experience a single moment of unjustified reaction.

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I think part of the giggling may have come from the fact that Marius has written this profoundly emotional letter to Cosette when he's spent about 3 minutes in her company.

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