ONE DAY MORE - complete song from film — Page 3

Overall, I like it. I do have to admit though, that I've heard better when performed in a theater-setting. However, being that most of these stars are not really professional singers, I think this is pretty good. And I like how they put the scenes all together, it works better than I thought it would.

I was pleasantly surprised by Edward Redmayne - he can really sing! Aaron Tveit and Samantha Barks sound great in my opinion! The three of them will be great in the movie and I can't wait to see their performances. Russel Crowe is not bad, I was really worried because of what I have been hearing, but I don't think he's bad at all. I have definitely seen worse (Gerard Butler as Phantom - I love him as an actor, but his singing in there was lacking for me, and Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia, I don't know what to say about that...). Amanda Seyfried is okay, and since she does not really have any solos in the movie, I don't think I mind. Hugh Jackman on the other hand, I am a bit worried about. I saw a clip of Who Am I, and then this, and I can't say that he impressed me... Not that I have any serious problems with him, but his voice just doesn't seem powerful enough to carry this role. I really hope he'll change my mind once I watch the movie in full length.

I think this movie is going to be great nevertheless. I can't wait to watch it.

Very underwhelming; especially Hugh's "One Day More(s)" at the end. I also expected a lot more from Aaron.

I actually didn't mind Amanda. LOVED Samantha.

---

I saw the movie tonight and this number was kind of underwhelming, but like lull89 just said, it does serve a different purpose in the film, since one of its aims isn't to send you cheering into the lobby at intermission.

I can see how the constant cutting is kind of jarring/annoying to some, but I think maybe someone that problem is just built into the song. Unlike the Tonight Quintet, which doesn't have everyone singing over everyone else until the end, this entire song is people singing over each other. Maybe a different director could have solved the problem more effectively, but like Someone in a Tree2 said, I think Tom Hooper gets it right more often than he gets it wrong. I do think there could have a few less cuts to Valjean's single "one day more"s, though.

Like I said in the reviews thread, this movie is not going to be everyone's cup of tea and I think a lot that will have to with expectations and pre-conceived notions. Fortunately, I got what I wanted out of it and really really enjoyed it.

Its placement reminds me a lot of the WSS Quintet going in to the Rumble - this goes in to Do You Hear The People Sing and the start of the battle. I think Samantha Barks could have belted her lyrics in the counterpoint - live singing or not. It needs to be powerful. I really don't mind Russel or Amanda, but HBC is not cutting it for me.

---

Hugh's singing and acting during this song just didn't do anything for me....I even cringed in the beginning.

Samantha Barks and Aaron Tveit were the only ones I truly liked.

I see a lot of people only liking Samantha and Aaron in this clip because their performances feel real/in the moment.

And a lot of people finding Hugh Jackman's performance to be "amateurish".

Now, the filmmakers really need to understand WHY this is.
Why does Hugh's performance come across as amateurish?

I think it is because his acting and singing are disconnected. He is a wonderful actor and tries really hard but this is something that has to come naturally. If it doesn't, it makes the audience cringe. Many things are wrong with his performance and make it feel very forced. In every sentence there are strangely placed words/intonations, it seems like a trick, a technique, holding a note for just too long with a fake vibrato keeps kicking me out of the story all the time. It does not feel real/natural.

I think there are only 3 people in this film that have the ability to make this material believable/natural and connect the acting with the singing in a believable way. Anne, Aaron and Samantha.

As a filmmaker you want to take the audience on a journey, you want them to believe every word. When are they going to learn that being a wonderful actor is not good enough to be convincing in a musical movie? It is all about the singing, and every little wrong intonated word or note can ruin it. Because the audience sees and hears every little word.

I would also like to add that I find Hughs performance way too theatrical. Like he is singing on a stage and tries to reach the backrow by giving the last word of each sentence an extra forced (not natural) vibrato. I have seen many stage Valjeans giving a much more "film-like" performance, more subtle and real.

Updated On: 12/19/12 at 09:05 AM

On stage the number was entirely stylized, building to the familiar crescendo and tableau with the lockstep choreographic precision. What I sense here is a strong desire to remove what was always the operetta component, to stress instead the storytelling. Yet as someone above wisely posted, the number basically re-states the positions of the characters without really moving them forward, Javert excepted (never thought of that until I just read it here). For all its theatrical power and uplift, the song contains little or no new information. To make that work on film, it needs to activate the players in specific contexts. I get it.

---

Dave19, you still haven't seen the movie, right?

Does this film bury Samantha's Eponine? I'm kinda surprised there isn't a Golden Globes nod, her character has a great arc.. I guess no-one is allowed to outshine Lady Hathaway. She looks and sounds incredible.

Hathaway may be getting the best reviews because she's the only one lucky enough not to be in this number.

This would not be the first time word of mouth from advance screenings has been extremely positive but word of mouth later on is not. Why? Perhaps because people are so excited to see something early on that they can't help talking it up? Perhaps those who see something early on and don't love it are less likely to speak their minds?

Thanks for calling me horrible and negative. Here's a question:

Why is it perfectly acceptable for someone to watch just a clip and find it extremely exciting and well done and then volunteer that opinion? But it is "horrible and negative" for someone to watch a clip and find it inept and then volunteer that opinion?

There is nothing wrong with anyone watching a clip, having a response to it - positive, negative or anything in between - and registering their beliefs. If there were something objectionable, there would be no reason for having people weigh in on a thread about a clip.

Or do you simply prefer a thread where a clip is shown, only people who love or like it weigh in, and those who have a different point of view keep their mouths shut?

Updated On: 12/19/12 at 04:53 PM

You accuse me of being consistently negative. I'm curious. What are you basing that on? I'd be very surprised if I have that reputation either on bww or in life, but for some reason you seem to peg me as some kind of curmudgeon.

Next you accuse me and my ilk - I wasn't aware I had an ilk - of electing to find fault with something - in this case a rather lengthy clip from Les Mis showing most if not all of "One Day More" - in order to parade a presumption of my intellect.

Why do you think that? Merely because I might disagree with you about the clip? Isn't it at least possible that I genuinely find the number to be badly done and am expressing that opinion?

I have not questioned the genuineness of anyone who, unlike me, enjoys this clip. Why should you question my genuineness because I didn't enjoy it?

Finally you exalt those who, when confronted with something they find badly done, keep their mouths shut. As if the adage "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" applies.

I don't agree with you that those who can't say something nice should be obliged to say nothing at all. Or that the reticence of those who prefer to not speak negatively about something somehow speaks better for them by evincing a lack of pretension and genuine intellect.

Next you accuse me of not being polite.

If I have been impolite, I'd be the first to apologize. But I am not aware that I have been.

Ironically, you're the one who resorted to impoliteness by referring to me and Kad as "horrible."

Updated On: 12/19/12 at 06:07 PM

Just watched this. It sounds weird because it's literally just the singing and the music over the footage. It sounds much different in the film with the actual background noises in place.

But after seeing this last night, ODM was in fact a rousing number and a highlight of this film. It's just not translating on this tiny internet video with edited sound.

Updated On: 12/19/12 at 06:58 PM