I saw the film on Saturday with my boyfriend. More on him later.
Here's what I liked:
1)the inclusion of parts from the book: I already knew the elephant mold would be there, but I was thrilled at all of the little things, like "Master of the House" being set at Christmastime, Cosette getting the doll from the window shop, the chase scene into the convent, the snow down Fantine's dress, Enjolras calling out "French Revolution!"...you get the idea. I've reread the book so many times, so the book lover in me squee'd at how much was included.
2)Fantine, Marius, Gavroche, Eponine- out of this group, Eponine has always been my favorite character. When I first saw the stage version/read the book when I was 11, I had a hard time feeling sorry for Fantine. It didn't help that the actress I saw seemed to be in her 40s or so (that's what she looked like photos and how she read onstage). There have been only two Fantines to move me: Ruthie Henshall from the 10th Anniversary, and now Anne Hathaway. I loved that she fought back against the Foreman, and I enjoyed the movement of "I Dreamed a Dream" as well. And it made sense to me that she would be crying so much. Really rooting for her to get the Oscar.
Eddie Redmayne was a pleasant surprise. Marius is a thankless role if the right actor isn't playing him, and I enjoyed how he appeared in the film. I will say that there were a few times where he did sound like Kermit the Frog, but not too badly. Slightly disappointed that so many of his interactions with Eponine were cut; as my boyfriend said, it just made him look like a jerk (and yes, that's how he sort of is in the book).
As for Gavroche, it's the first time I've liked him since the book! I hate how he is portrayed onstage- this little snot-nosed kid with a Cockney accent who hangs out with the students. But here, he was cute and likeable, and it was great how he was included during "A Little Fall of Rain." I just wish they had kept in his "Watch out for old Thenardier..." though I liked the new lyrics there as well.
Eponine: Samantha Barks is awesome. That is all.
3)Some of the changes: the staging of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" was a high point for me. I liked some of the new lyrics. The Bishop in place of Eponine during the Finale made sense, even though I am a huge Eponine fan. Putting the Thenardiers in as student 'sympathizers' during "One Day More" worked very well.
Here's what I didn't like:
1)Valjean, Javert- Hugh Jackman was very good during several parts, and it would be intriguing to see if he would ever do the role onstage. But at the same time, there were several moments where his singing was strained. And it was pretty obvious.
Russell Crowe- how did this man get cast as Javert? I'll admit, I came into the movie a little biased, because Javert is my other favorite character, and I adore Philip Quast and Terrence Mann's portrayals on record, and Todd Alan Johnson and Andrew Varela from the tours. But my God. What I said about Jackman straining, I found Crowe to be so much worse. During his Suicide, I was actually saying out loud, "Just jump already!" And I have never said that before about M'sieur L'Inspectur. :-p I so wish they had relied on the star power of Jackman, Hathaway, HBC, and SBC's names, and cast someone from the stage as Javert. The "Confrontation" was so weak because of the differences in vocal strength between the two men. And was it me, or did they have Crowe's voice louder than everyone else's during "One Day More"?
Also: why did Javert have a beard? Back in the 19th century, men would not have had beards, especially not police officers/military. Maybe a thin mustache ala Napoleon III (as the history major boyfriend pointed out), but not a beard. And why did Javert get a new uniform/hat every time he walked through a doorway? :-p
2)the cutting/omission of lyrics. There were several parts that should have been left in. For example, the whole section with Thenardier and Patron Minette in "Attack of Rue Plumet" should have been there; otherwise, they either randomly pop up out of nowhere, or it seems that they've followed Eponine. Also, as others have noted, during "Every Day," Marius's lines before Cosette says "Don't think about it, Marius" were sorely needed. I didn't mind "Dog Eats Dog" being cut (less of that weird accent flip-flopping from SBC), though.
3)it was too short- I'm not a fan of this recent trend of making the show/movie shorter. You lose a lot of plot development/understanding that way. I disliked the cuts made in the 25th anniversary tour, and I disliked them as well in the movie.
4)the new song, "Suddenly"-it just seemed sort of bland and thus not too memorable. During this part of the movie, I kept remembering how Hugo portrays Valjean's growing affection for little Cosette, instead of focusing on the song.
5)Colm Wilkinson, Aaron Tveit, and Samantha Barks having to hold back- we all know what they can do, and it was unfortunate that they had to mute their singing to an extent. I really missed having an Enjolras who could boom out his lyrics and truly be inspirational. Not Tevit's fault, though. I blame the director.
All in all, it was about good as one could expect for a movie version. Still holding out for a full soundtrack to be released. And I'm looking forward to the Oscar nominations.
Now for the boyfriend: he does like musical theatre, but prior to seeing the movie, he was unfamiliar with the music or the overall story, beyond seeing the 1998 Liam Neeson trainwreck. As a result, I was interested in what he would think. And guess what? There's a new Mizzie in the world, folks! He did like Jackman's singing and agreed with me about the straining, and despite being unfamiliar with the score, he could tell that the role of Javert 'was meant for a more powerful voice.' BF also asked several questions about the plot due to the cuts in lyrics, which I was able to answer (but should not have had to). He also enjoyed Colm Wilkinson and Samantha Barks. Not a fan of Cosette, though; he agrees that for being a central character, she really doesn't have much to do or sing. And he thought the Thenardiers were a bit too over the top; in his words, "it's like Tim Burton hijacked part of the movie."
To make up for Russell Crowe's singing, I let him borrow my 10th Anniversary Concert CDs so he could hear a real Javert, and he's already listened to the whole thing twice(and likes almost everyone in the cast). I may never get my CDs back. :-p
And he has also watched the 2000 miniseries with Gerard Depardieu and John Malkovich (which is fabulous if you haven't seen it), and he has expressed interest in seeing the stage version someday, along with reading the book. So, if nothing else, the movie has brought us closer together on a musical/book I dearly love.
Updated On: 1/2/13 at 12:58 AM
