Film Review: Les Miserables
Saturday, February 09, 2013
I learnt several things from my movie experience: 1) Javert, played by Russell Crowe, is the definition of persistent. 2) Contrary to popular reports, Russell Crowe can actually sing. 3) I am pretty sure I gained an allergic reaction to my tears. 4) Guys cry. It's not a myth. Don't worry; all will be explained as we continue on...
The first thing you should know about Les Mis is that it is probably comprised of 99.9% singing and very little else. Don't be put off - it works. For some reason, the music feels natural and the flow of conversation through the medium of song is effortless, thanks to Cameron Mackintosh and co. who produced the original stage version. I'd grown up with a majority of the songs embedded in my in-built knowledge - Castle on a Cloud from the primary school days, Do You Hear the People Sing? from the secondary school days, and I Dreamed a Dream from - well, Susan Boyle. Les Mis boasts one of my favourite soundtracks of any musical - from big ensemble pieces and intimate tearjerkers (On My Own) to tug at every heartstring in the cinema. It's sheer depth originates from the actual story, but is made very real by the soundtrack.
Big songs need big voices, however, so let's talk casting. The casting people realised this and went for big names. I'd heard about Hugh Jackman's Broadway one man show and of course, seen his Oscar and Tony Award Ceremony performances, so I was pretty pleased with his casting. In interviews, you hear the rest of the cast gush about what a leader he was and you can see that in the film too. The Les Mis story follows his life and change-around. He is singing from the opening number to the final curtain call; he sings with the pained past of his character and protagonist Jean Valjean. We also have Anne Hathaway the scenestealer. Although her screen time as troubled but loving mother Fantine is limited, she makes a lasting impact. We've all seen that hair chopping and that song in the trailers, which is enough to send goosebumps rippling through the audience. It's hard to believe it's the same Anne Hathaway of The Princess Diaries all those years ago and she is a more than credible contender for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. We also have Amanda Seyfried, who can obviously sing a la Mamma Mia, and her sweet innocent voice is a perfect match for Cosette, the adopted daughter of Valjean. Damn that girl can sing freakishly high.
Not all of the cast names are particularly known for their singing though. You can look at people like Russell Crowe and Eddie Redmayne and not automatically think "oh, they can sing" but they prove every critic wrong. With Eddie, I compared him to Nick Jonas who played Marius in the stage show I saw several years ago. Eddie made me cry in Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, Nick didn't. Redmayne 1, Jonas 0. And Russell Crowe wasn't the Pierce Brosnan of Mamma Mia at all (in other words, can't sing). Helena Bonham-Carter, in a role that was practically written for her, and Sacha Baron Cohen, are interestingly eccentric as the Thénardiers and maybe just slightly bonkers. Finally, Samantha Barks, who featured in the Beview Ones to Watch list of 2013, is the unsung heroine. No she does not have a big name - unless you count appearing in that reality show I'd Do Anything as the equivalence of Hollywood stardom. But she plays Eponine, the unfortunate bearer of unrequited love. She's a central character and I'm so glad the producers didn't opt for a big sparkly moviestar (rumour has it Taylor Swift auditioned?). I was lucky enough to see Samantha Barks as Eponine on stage, and she successfully transfers that magic onto the big screen. One to watch indeed!
What I really enjoyed about the story/film were its morals. Standing up for what you believe in. Helping others. Turning from past sins and making changes in your life for the better. Singing whenever you feel like it. The decision to take such an iconic musical and reproduce it on such a big scale is a risk that has definitely paid off. You'll see that the emotional songs feature a lot of close-up, and it's because we get to see every tear and crease of the forehead (and every single one of Mr Redmayne's freckles. Not complaining.) that we could never see in the theatre, not even with the shiny red 50p binoculas. The best part is that thousands of people can finally share in such a phenomenal musical. And maybe sing along, too.
Bev x
Ps. Point number 3). Yes I did sob my heart out on numerous occasions. So much so that my skin broke out into an allergic rash for the next few days...
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