Les Misérables: So, what did you think?- Page 5

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 11:00am

BTW - I think the live singing only worked "kinda". I think for Hathaway, Barks and Tveit it was magical.

For Jackman, Crowe and even Redmayne (I found his specific singing face very distracting for some reason, though his voice was great), it was not as successful (IMO only).

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 11:06am

Redmayne and Jackman have a lot of tension in their faces when they sing. I actually didn't have a problem with the shots being too close technically, but too close artistically since the camera was picking up all these nervous ticks and head shaking from those two singers.

I don't need to see the earthquake going on inside their heads and necks (instead of their diaphragms) in order to produce those constricted sounds.

They both have good voices. Neither one of them sing correctly (not that this matters for musical theatre unless you want to sustain an operatic-level role eight times a week).

With Crowe, I wish he had been comfortable enough with his singing to ACT the part better. A pre-record would have helped him a little with that. And it would have gotten rid of the Katharine Hepburn closeups during the introspective power ballads.

[DEClarke]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 11:20am

Initial Reactions: The film is great! So intimate! So emotional! I love this new take in the music—not epic, more introspective! Changed song order works really well. "Dog Eats Dog" not missed. Shortened "Turning" is great transition. Loved how this experience felt so NEW despite being so familiar with the material!

The film utilizes a lot of close up shots and puts a nice introspective spin on most of the music. It's fantastic! All the actors are great, and I wish Crowe was getting more press. While he is not vocally as strong as the others, he does great things with the score!

Reactions after about 12 hours of mulling it over: First off, you know it's good because I can't stop thinking about it, and I want to see it again! The introsepctive, conversational, quietly downplayed vocal stylings were refreshing in this adaptation. I never missed the bombastic Broadway-style belting. All in all, I'm excited that now I'll have a whole new take on the Les Miserables - Musical score. I like the film version for different reasons than I like the stage version, and the scores will appeal to me on different days for different reasons.

Qualms with the movie: Marius finally sold me on "Empty Chairs and Empty Tables." Until then, he sounds a little muppet-y.

Qualms with other people's posts about the movie: I like Russel Crowe's Javert because it was so rigidly static. Javert is perhaps one of the most unchanging characters ever written, and Crowe's voice and acting acumen captured that perfectly.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 11:23am

Russell Crowe had no business being in this movie. VICI the robot from Small Wonder could have emoted better. Amanda Seyfried fared just as bad, as she was pitchy and warbled so horrendously I wanted to just slap her. She was right in the interviews she's given where she said she was told she wasn't right for the part. I thought Hugh Jackman was fine, if a bit over the top at the end and right after reading Marius' note (both times illicited laughter from my Manhattan-base audience).

The new song Suddenly is horrendous. It's boring and doesn't match anything else in the score. They should have just written a song for the end credits if they wanted an Academy Award eligible song.

Structurally, I thought the scene placement was fine. The only two scenes that didn't seem to work structurally were from Eponine. It just magically started raining, without any warning, everytime she had a song. On My Own seemed to come out of nowhere, and A Little Fall of Rain seemed bizarre because, up to that point, it seems like Marius barely knows her. I think too much was cut from the student "revolutionaries," with much of the music not flowing well, and transitions between songs were horribly non-existent. It's hard to sympathize with them when you don't know what they are fighting for.

I did like how Do You Hear the People Sing lead to the rise of the barricades...however it was too contrived that the barricades weren't built until then...as if the army and police wouldn't have been able to stop them before that could occur.

I found Gavroche's death heartbreaking...and Javert seeing him lying dead was the only time Russel Crowe seemed to realize he was in a movie and needed to act. I also thought it was great how once the students realized all was lost they tried to get away...the fear of their mortality was a brilliant directorial choice.

However, another aspect that didn't work was Javert as a spy. Both Eponine and Gavroche know who Javert is, and both are present at the barricades when he volunteers to find out the plans. I know it's a minor quibble, but it still annoyed me. Master of the House didn't work for me because there didn't seem to be any energy. I did like the "gags" in the scene, but it was just lacking. It was clearly a directorial problem, because the acting was great.

Marius commenting to Cosette, wondering about how he survived the barricade, was also inexplicably cut. Doing so makes Cosette's line about not worrying about it and his subsequent lines to Thenardier about Valjean rescuing hime make no sense. Beggars at the Feast was clearly just thrown in, because it made no sense, and the only fun part about it was SBC's ad-lib "How dare you?"

I loved how we see Valjean demonstrate his strength in front of Javert before being paroled, and how Valjean's unaware of Fantine's dismissal because he is distracted by Javert's arrival. I agree with most that it makes more sense that the Bishop should be there at the end instead of Eponine, but it seemed a little too contrived since we only see him that one time at the beginning. A quick dialogue exchange to Valjean that he had dies would have at least given it some credibility.

All in all it was decent adaptation, though I found myself comparing it to the non-musical Liam Neeson version. I know it's based on the same source, but there were scenes in the non-musical that showed up in the musical that weren't in the stage version, which made it seem like "borrowing" (of course, the non-musical looks like it took much of its structure from the musical anyway). I did enjoy the film for the most part, but that was my reaction.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 11:31am

"Russell Crowe had no business being in this movie."

Wholeheartedly agree. I don't understand why or how he was cast. I've been a fan of Crowe, but this isn't his role.

[faithzilla]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 11:37am

Wow I love hearing everyone's opinions!

I loved it. I only had a few problems. I hated Amanda Seyfried. So. Much. Every time she sang I wanted to punch her in the throat. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were not funny. Helena only provided maybe two laugh lines. Master of the House did not play well on film AT ALL. And that meat grinder? Too far...

I agree that Crowe was not great. I also agree that the close ups got tiresome. However, it was PERFECT for I Dreamed a Dream. Just throwing that camera on Hathaway and letting her do her thing was the best choice they made.

The last issue was Bring Him Home. Yawn.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 11:44am

"is there such a thing as an unconvicted felon?"

Techinically, yes. If you steal something, you are still guilty of theft because you actually did it. It is something you are regardless of whether or not you get caught and are convicted.

[peachesr82]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 12:34pm

As it turns out I won't get to see this until February when it opens in France, but I will get to see in a cinema a few streets away from where the real rebellion happened so it should be quite special.
Anyway, I'm asking this genuinely because I'm curious. To those who think Crowe was miscast. Given that they seemed very determined to have someone equally as famous as Jackman playing Javert, and I completely understand that, who would you have cast instead?
Because honestly, while I think Crowe is out of his depth even having not seen it, I'm struggling to think of any actors who are that famous who could have taken on the role. And yes, I know they could have picked someone less famous and I'm sure you can come up with a dozen names that could do that but clearly they wanted a star.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 1:11pm

I agree with much of what has been said about "Master of the House." I was especially bothered that Hooper allowed SBC to break the fourth wall and sing to the camera (I believe he's under the bed?), which is the only moment this happens in the film.

The meat grinder seemed like a silly SWEENEY reference that played a little uncomfortably. I did quite like Carter's take on her verse in the song-- the seduction thing. Different from anything I've seen done before at least.

[all that jazz]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 1:17pm

I saw it last night and I can honestly say it was the best cinematographic experience of my life. First of all, I live in Puerto Rico where musicals are usually not appreciated and sometimes are shown only in exclusive "fine arts" theaters. It completely blew me away not just to see a sold out audience on Christmas Day, but to see every single person in that room crying and and applauding, yes APPLAUDING!!!!

I understand what some of the critics had to say about the "flashy" cinematography and I must admit, when the film started I was kind of apprehensive about it, but that all went away as soon as At the end of the day started. I feel like the frantic cutting and extreme close ups added a kind of edgy and modern touch to such a grand and ethereal story. It even reminded me a little of the great Bob Fosse, who was also sometimes criticized for his raze dazzle style of filming. I think Hooper's style is not for everyone and it's still developing but I'm definitely anxious to see some of his next films.

All of the sets, costumes, the art direction, the make up, were absolutely breathtaking. The Thernadier's costumes and the sanctuary/church sets were standouts. It was overall a visually stunning film.

The orchestrations although not as powerful as I would've liked them didn't bother me that much. I thought the rearranging of the songs was smart and served the story. I was disappointed with some of the rewriting of the lyrics, particularly cutting drink with me and turning which are some of my favorite songs. But these are only minor details which people who are not familiar with the source material would not notice at all. I also appreciated the additions from the book.

Undoubtedly the film's best features were its stellar performances. Anne Hathaway gave the performance of a lifetime and one of the most memorable musical performances in the history of Hollywood. She will obviously win the Oscar. Another spectacular performance to me was Marius. Eddie Redmayne was just perfection, and added a much needed vocal power to the film. His voice was incredibly powerful, yet vulnerable and beautiful at the same time. ECAET had me in tears, it was honestly one of the best renditions I've ever heard. He is sure to get nominated, and I really hope he wins as well. Samantha Barks and Aaron Tveit were spot on perfection as well. I sobbed all the way through on my own and wanted to stand up and sing during red and black. The Thernadiers were terrific and I really appreciated the human emotions which subtly arose from underneath Helena's craziness. Cohen was not as outrageous as I would've liked him but he definately had me laughing, particularly when he found Valjean in the sewers. Crowe was definitely vocally underwhelming, and his suicide wasn't too powerful, but again I didn't expect much from him. Still, his voice was much better than I thought it would be and I kind of liked stars. Honestly if weren't familiar with the musical I wouldn't have a problem with it. The scene were he puts his medal on gavroche's corpse was very moving. Hugh Jackman was certainly not vocally at the level of Willkinson or Boe but he did not disappoint. His occasional glimpses of vocal power like the 24601 belting and bring him home were quite impressive. His finale was absolute perfection.
Overall the cast was very impressive and Oscar worthy. Even young Cossete and Gavroche were perfect.

As a whole the film was an unprecedented success and officially my new favorite movie. I will probably see it two or three times more during its run. I hope this landmark of a film will lead the way to a new golden age of movie musicals. It was certainly not perfect but some of the greatest milestones in musical's history like Meet me in St. Louis, An American in Paris and Singing in the Rain were not perfect. Musiclas portray human beings, and captures their esscence and emotions more than any other artform. A movie that provokes emotion in you and digs into you deppest despairs cannot be perfect.

Overall I give Les Mis... ??????????

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 1:39pm

"who would you have cast instead?"

I wouldn't have minded Joaquin Phoenix.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 1:53pm

I was especially bothered that Hooper allowed SBC to break the fourth wall and sing to the camera (I believe he's under the bed?), which is the only moment this happens in the film.

I guess it's a debatable point, but it sure felt like Jackman was singing directly to the camera during Valjean's Soliloquy.

[DAME]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:00pm

See.. I thought he was singing to me.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:00pm

Then, technically, Thank You Fosse! ;D

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:01pm

Lee Miser-Mad-Libs:

Saw LES MIZ last night and [past tense verb] it! Anne Hathaway was [adjective], and Russell Crowe [past tense intransitive verb]. The moment I saw [character]'s face, I thought "[Exclamation]!" The fact that the singing was live made some moments [adjective] and others [adverb] [adjective], while all the close-ups added to the sense of [noun]. I spent so much time thinking, "Wow, if only [celebrity] were playing [French name] in this!" My favorite part of the musical was always [song title], and the movie completely [past tense verb] it. My friend [girl's name] totally disagreed, but she doesn't know the show, so [verb] her. In summary, I have to say the movie was [adjective] and will probably win [number] Oscars, even though it should win [number]. Everyone should see it--even you, [boy's name, tagged]!--if only to [verb] its many [plural noun]. Good job, [celebrity]...and [celebrity], better luck next time.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:16pm

Yowza PJ! I TOT ally agree w u!! It's like we share the same mind!

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:18pm

"Anyway, I'm asking this genuinely because I'm curious. To those who think Crowe was miscast. Given that they seemed very determined to have someone equally as famous as Jackman playing Javert, and I completely understand that, who would you have cast instead?"

I don't nec. think Crowe was miscast, but others who might have been interesting as Javert: Kelsey Grammer, Damian Lewis, Hugh Laurie, Robert Downey Jr., John C. Reilly, and, if he weren't playing Valjean, Hugh Jackman.

[Johnnycantdecide]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:21pm

I have been waiting for a Les Miserables movie since I saw 13. It was the first professional show I ever saw (the Broadway tour) and I would go home from school and google, almost everyday, “Les Miserables Movie”to see of there was any news.

Needless to say, I was terribly nervous/excited to finally see the film last night. As the lights were going down last night, my legs where shaking and I was all but praying that this was a good film.

I had problems with it but they are all pretty tiny and don’t really affect the outcome of the film as a whole (except two).

Let’s start with the script. This is a huge movie, spanning many years, and you can feel the “bigness” of it while watching it. It feels like an epic. Having read the script before seeing the film, there are things I hate that were cut. One involved Gavroche crying and commenting that Eponine was his sister after her death. I thought it was a really nice bit of detail.

My other problem was one of the two that really bummed me out: the omission of Dog Eat Dog. Les Miserables had this beautiful trinity of songs about God that the three adult male leads sing: Javert has his song about a militant God (Stars), Valjean about a merciful God (Bring Him Home), and Thenardier has a song about a God that is dead (Dog Eat Dog). No other song or musical passage was cut from the film and I can think of many that I would rather see cut. Time was obviously not much of a limitation due to the almost three hour running time so I don’t understand the cutting of this song.

Except for that quibble, the script is everything and more that could have been asked for. The rearrangement of songs works perfectly in a cinematic format and it was good to see the (almost) entire score there. It truly felt like the epic work that it is.

The inclusion of The Bishop over Eponine in the finale is brilliant and one that I hope is included in future stage productions.

There is a scene that is not in the musical featuring Crowe that was one of the best moments in the film for me. It was one of the most moving points in the entire film.

I have heard people complain about the direction/camera work in the film but I thought it was one of its greatest assets. It felt big went it needed to be big and it felt tiny and intimate at the same time.

Onto the acting.

Hugh Jackman is the captain of this film. There is no one else who could have played this role in the film. His Valjean is equal parts touching, merciful, and intimidating. I felt as though Jackman 100% lost himself in the role beautifully and his singing voice has everything I could have hoped for. I do wish they could have lowered Bring Him Home even one step, though. Bring Him Home should be the “act two” equivalent to I Dreamed a Dream but it did not seem to impact me as much as I wanted it to.

Believe the hype. Anne Hathaway is better than you could imagine. I don’t really know what else to say. I hope she has award speeches prepared because she is going to sweep. I Dreamed a Dream is one of the biggest highlights of the film and her performance is one that will be remembered as long as humans inhabit this earth. It’s that good.

Russell Crowe seems to be dividing almost everyone. I throughly enjoyed his performance and hopes he gets a supporting actor nomination. I did not expect a booming lyrical baritone out of his singing voice and I don’t think that type of performance would have worked with this film. His gravelly and very rigid singing worker perfectly for me. I teared up at his death and, like I said earlier, he has one of the most moving moments in the entire film (and its one that I refuse to spoil). I can’t think of any better casting.

I said earlier that Bring Him Home is not the emotional center peace of act two like I felt it would be. That honor instead goes to Eddie Redmayne’s Empty Chairs at Empty Tables. Redmayne is giving his star turn and is one of the best assets of the film. It’s hard to do the “love at first sight” thing and make it work but he finds a way to do so. He has an amazing voice and I loved watching him. He won’t but I feel like he should take home the best supporting actor Oscar.

Amanda Seyfried makes the most out of what is usually a thankless role. Her voice, though heavy on fast vibrato, worked very well for the role and her chemistry with Redmayne was lovely.

Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen are every thing you would expect as the Thenariders. Their moments are so needed because the audience needs those laughs so badly. And they deliver them beautifully. I do wish we could have seen moments where they were a bit more sinister but I feel like the inclusion of Dog Eat Dog would have done that.

Special shout out to the brilliant Daniel Huttlestone who plays the young Gavroche. Around me in the theatre there were audible “NO!“‘s when the audience realized what his faith might be. I also loved George Blagden who was very moving as Grantaire.

Samantha Barks is a bit throwaway to me. We never really register with her character but she does very well with what she was given. I was not overly moved by her performance but I never really am with Eponine’s arch. I’m happy that they gave her a hero’s death, though. It made her character so much more likable. But, overall, Eponine just sort of fades into the background of the film.

And speaking of fading into the background, here is my second big problem with the film: Aaron Tveit as Enjolras. There was no power on us voice, no power in his choices, and did not for one second believed him capable of leading a revolution. He was the weakest point of the film for me and if they wanted to go with an unknown, so many better choices could have been made.

Overall, this is the movie that fans have been waiting for and the movie that will make millions of new fans for this piece. It is big while being small. It at times loud and at times soft. It knows when to move an audience and when to let them laugh. And it is 100% engaging.

Updated On: 12/26/12 at 02:21 PM

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:29pm

Henrik, I don't think any of those people have the comparative stature of Russell Crowe (except for RDJ) but going with the basic argument against RC (his voice), can any of those people you mentioned sing the role better than him?

[trentsketch]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:32pm

Why bother choreographing and staging a movie musical if you're just going to shoot every actor in close-up from the chest-up in every scene? Why bother? And every actor took pauses wide enough to drive a tractor trailer through in every song. Rubato, how does that work?

Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, and Eddie Redmayne were excellent. Master of the House and Lovely Ladies were great numbers. I liked the play on the bridge in Stars and Soliloquy. Really playing up the humor and relationships helped. But those solos that made acting looking like the hardest and most painful thing in the world to do? Woof.

Updated On: 12/26/12 at 02:32 PM

[sabrelady]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:38pm

Hugh Laurie as Javert would have been interesting. ( he was the 1st one to come to my mind when the ? re alternatives was asked) I know he has the singing chops ( I own his blues album) and the gravitas. Whether or not HE would have wanted to do it is another question entirely.

[all that jazz]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:47pm

I think either Antonio Banderas or Ricky Martin would've been amazing as Javert. And may sound a bit weird but I think John Travolta would've been incredible, and it would have been nice to have someone from another era of musicals.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:55pm

Martin would seem too young. Banderas would be ok- except for the few moments when Javert actually speaks- the Spanish accent wouldn't have worked. Well, for me anyways.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 2:56pm

I would love someone like Hugh Laurie as Javert, and I wouldn't even care if he were dubbed (well) on certain parts.

But here's his singing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV1Ymtz1a9w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AibZ6E13Iao

Maybe they tried to get him and he wasn't available. Who knows?

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 12/26/12 at 3:01pm

"Master of the House didn't work for me because there didn't seem to be any energy. I did like the "gags" in the scene, but it was just lacking. It was clearly a directorial problem, because the acting was great."


Everyone is commenting how ill impressed they were on "Master of the House", yes it was not what it could have been, but I just realized that it might have been because of HBC and SBC schedule. If I remember correctly this was one of the scenes filmed last because of their schedules...the lack of the energy may all had to do with how much time they had to film it. Sometimes you get to a point and say "ok, this is what is has to be", more than what you really want it to be!