3.5 Stars (of four)
Les Miserables is exactly what it claims to be in its advertisments, a great musical. One that could easily take its place among Hollywood's pantheon of great musicals like Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Singing In The Rain, Gigi, and Xanadu. Ha! Just kidding about that last one. But all kidding aside, Les Miserables really is good, IF you like musicals. As I have seen reported in other critics, it is designed with a hardcore audience in mind. I happen to be one of them. I have seen the play four times, once even in Spanish, and it never fails to evoke great emotions from me. This movie will appeal to all diehards who have seen and were moved by the original stage production. Whether it will appeal to others who have not seen it on the stage remains to be seen. But, like all movie musicals, this is audience manipulation at its finest. There are stirring calls to arms, heartbreaking laments and even some much needed humor here and there.
Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, Les Miserables takes place years after the French Revolution has occurred and the idealism of it has died with it. There is a new king on the throne and this one has apparently not learned any lessons from his predecessors. The people are starving and calling for revolution. In the midst of this, Jean Valjean (excellently protrayed by Hugh Jackman), is released from 20 years in prison and must carry papers that identify him as an ex-con. Because of this, nobody will have anything to do with him until a priest takes him in and gives him some silver to start his life over again. Valjean drops his name, breaks his parole, and starts a new life. Because he has broken parole, Inspector Javert (played with appropriate menace by Russell Crowe) doggedly pursues him across France over the years. Through a set of circumstances, Valjean helps a woman, Fantine (played by Anne Hathaway, in the highlight of the film), who is dying to look after her child Cosette (played by Amanda Seyfried). Flash forward about 15 years and a new revolution is brewing in Paris. Cosette falls in love with a young revolutionary named Marius in a chance meeting. The revolution happens and quickly falls apart, everyone but Marius is killed and heand Cosette are married. Unfortunately, such a quick summary of the story really leaves a lot to be desired. It is a large cast with intriguing personalities that come together in dramatic circumstances that run the gamut of all emotions. By the end, you really are emotionally drained, unless you have no soul. If that is the case, there's not much I can do for you.
Anyway, a lot has been made about this movie recording the actors live, rather than what is done in most musicals where actors sing their lines before in a studio and then lip sync on set. In this case, the rationale is that if you let the actors sing live, they will be able to ACT. This was a great plan. The results are spectacular. Comparing this rendition to the Joel Schumaker version of Phantom of the Opera, the Phantom is particularly lifeless. While it also has stirring and emotional music, the performances in that version are curiously lifeless, as if the actors were phoning it in. In Les Miserables, you really feel like you are in a Broadway production of the play. With the singing live, it gives the actors full range to act instead of making sure they sync to the music. Since there is not a bad actor in the cast, this serves the movie well. You are really pulled into the drama of what is happening because of this. This made all the difference in the world. Even better, movies allow for the closeup and different angles, which bring us even more into the emotions of the songs. You can't really get this in stage performance because the audience is so far away from the performers. Therefore, performers almost have to pantomime and emote in order to communicate those emotions. But in the movie, the closeup allows us to get very intimate with the performer, we can see every nuance in the face and eyes, so you don't have to be overly bombastic. Therefore, it feels more real. Compare the difference between William Shatner's acting (good stage acting), to Patrick Stewart's acting (good cinematic acting). It is quite jarring when you take stage acting and put it into television or movies. It seems hammy and scenery-chewing. This does not happen in Les Miserables. Charlie Chaplin once remarked you use the medium-shot in comedy and the close-up in drama. This is part of the subtle language of movies, and what worked then, works just as well today.
Now, I have spent a lot of time ballyhooing this movie and saying how great it is. But you look at the rating and it is only 3.5 stars out of 4. Why do you ask? For the very simple reason that while I recognize the need to have some star power in the movie, they are not very good singers. Oh, they can sing just fine, insofar as they can carry a tune and carry off each of their parts fairly well. But they are not singers. Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried are especially lacking in powerful chops. Hugh Jackman, once a song-and-dance man himself is quite good. But Anne Hathaway's rendition of I Dreamed A Dream is truly spectacular and moving. It is the centerpiece of the film. And, I noted with great satisfaction, that the lesser-quality version that is used in the commercials was not used in the final film. It is even better in the final film, something to be marveled at. But the true scene-stealers in the entire film are Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks, Marius and Eponine, respectively.While Redmayne is a cinematic actor, Barks is a theater actress and played Eponine in the 2010 Les Miserables in Concert. Both of these actors have amazing voices. While Redmayne especially seems miscast at first, as soon as he opens his mouth, his voice is incredibly strong and vibrant. Both of their performances are Oscar-worthy and will both, unfortunately, be overshadowed by the bigger marquee names in the cast. There are a couple of new additions in the music to help with the cinematic transitions that are good. There is also a really good addition in the end where Valjean, Cossette and Marius sing a trio that wraps up a motif in A Heart Full of Love which appears earlier. In fact, this movie does a very good job at recurring motifs throughout the story, much more so than the stage production does. This is, again, mostly to aid the transitions in cinema that you can't do on stage. But, there were also some very jarring and abrupt transtitions that really spoil a moment. Specifically, the song Turning before Marius sings Empty Chairs at Empy Tables. It suddenly moves to him and takes us totally out of the moment for a few seconds and ruins a mood. So, should you see it? If you like musicals, yes. If you are a fan of the original stage production, yes. I don't really know if it will convince non-fans. But, even if you are not emotionaly invested in the original production and are curious to see it, I would recommend it highly. You just may like it. I know I did.
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