Opinion on Anne Hatheway's performance in Les Miserable. Is it Iconic?

Did she change the way people see fantine? Is her performance on the level of Rita Moreno in West Side Story and CZJ in Chicago? Is it one of the best musical performances on film? let alone film in general? What say u?

So u think its iconic?

I personally thought it was overwrought.

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"What say u?"

Ummm...well, I have yet to see Les Mis, but it seems that she gives a pretty good, if not solid performance, I personally prefer her verison of I Dreamed a Dream better than other Fantines.

As well-accliamed as it was, I don't think it will erase the more popular belty version from the world's eye.

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I thought it was a pretty incredible performance, the first time I've been moved by that song. Thank god they didn't go with the belty version from the show, for me it was the first time I'd felt Fantine really had hit rock bottom. With the close ups there was no where to hide, every emotion from that song showed on her face and in her voice. Probably the best example of how live singing can add to a performance

She was fantastic in the movie!! Not sure if anyone would cast that performance for the stage though because she doesn't have that voice.

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"She was fantastic in the movie!! Not sure if anyone would cast that performance for the stage though because she doesn't have that voice"

Ah but that's the beauty of film. You couldn't do Hatheway's performance 8 times a week.

Again, I have not seen the film, so I can't really criticize the film, but. Why would they need to be cast in a stage production? Film is an entirely different medium.

But, from what I've seen, I do have a slight problem with the film's close ups...I do not need to see Hugh Jackman's throat jiggle. . .

"The movie was awful, and all of them were cast due to their star power. It's what sells and there's nothing wrong with that, but not one person (with the exception of Aaron Tveit), would have ever been cast in a stage production of Les Mis."

You are so simple-minded! If the cast were doing it onstage, it'd be very different! And director Tom Hooper had openly expressed this in an interview about the close-ups: "The close-ups were an option. We shot each scene in more than one way. We were never tied to using close-ups over and over. But each time we used them, it felt more emotional. It allowed the character to be in the center of each scene and not flinch from them as they went on a journey of discovery with the audience. We made a cut with fewer close-ups and then switched it up. (The sequence with the song) I Dreamed a Dream had more of a medium shot tracking slowly to a close-up. That song went to a whole new level. People assume you don't think these things through. I spend my life thinking through every eventuality."

Updated On: 10/5/14 at 02:18 PM

So true, Sutton. I blame Top Hooper. I admired his ambition for the project, but most everything just fell flat.

Yeah poor Crowe. His singing didn't bother me all that much, but his acting just wasn't right. But what still gets me is what they did to the orchestra. You have a 70 piece orchestra and you can barely hear them!

^ They made him look super unattractive too. A feat I never thought possible. Yes, the orchestra was muted.