Les Misérables

There is a lot of noise about the live singing on the set of the 2012 adaptation of “Les Misérables.” Every actor sang as the cameras are on as opposed to recording it in a studio first, and that’s a great achievement since many of the actors can sing greatly and don’t really need auto-tuning (unlike Emma Watson in the live action “Beauty and the Beast!!!”). Caitlin Hughes said in her review, “This live singing in combination with the film’s grand scope – finally, a film of the legendary Boublil/Schönberg musical! – is supposed to make this a great film. But, very sadly, it does not.” Despite the film has a lot of great talent and definitely is watchable, it’s under the direction of the often incredibly careless Tom Hooper and never becomes the epic masterpiece it originally trying to be.

The story is very evident (and quite involved), but Jean Valjean, played by Hugh Jackman, is finishing up his time in prison for breaking into a house and stealing a loaf of bread. He thinks he is free, but because of being on a strict parole from Inspector Javert, played by Russell Crowe, he cannot get a job after his parole is over. Valjean says he will get another chance, thanks to Colm Wilkinson saving him, and when we see him years later, he is living under another name as the mayor of a small town.

Valjean pays his good money when he helps factory worker-turned-beggar Fantine, played by Anne Hathaway. After Fantine dies, he gains custody of her young daughter Cosette (Isabelle Allen) out of an abusive boarding house under the command of Thénardier and his wife (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter).

Cosette does grow up (now played by Amanda Seyfried) and she falls in love with French Revolutionary Marius (Eddie Redmayne). However, can Valjean learn to let go of his adopted daughter, especially when they are always being followed by lawman Javert?

The main problem here is that Hooper in the end did a very poor job of directing. Hughes noted, “The film is shot in a staggering series of close-ups with little purpose – an odd choice, given the amount of the film budget that likely went to costumes and sets. The close-ups drastically shrink the potentially large scope of the film. It’s as if Hooper went to see The Expendables and took notes on how to make it look like someone left the TV on the “zoom” setting.”

Sadly, Hooper’s mistakes don’t end there. Hughes noted, “There are many clichéd shots of people singing off balconies à la Evita. There is even one shot that goes to the heavy-handed lengths of Javert singing off a rooftop next to a giant stone eagle.” Get the symbolism?

The sets and costumes are also really inconsistent, running the extent from highly stylized to “gritty” and realistic. If you see the sets of historical French landmarks like Notre Dame look like the real places and large portion of the main actors look really genuinely dressed. Hughes noted, “However, the prostitutes and the Thénardiers look like they stepped out of a Tim Burton movie, the poor people are so hideous that they look like zombies on The Walking Dead, and some of the village sets look like they were taken off the stage of the Broadway show in that they are extremely artificial-looking.” Because of the roughness, the look and feel of the film never quite mesh, especially when Hooper depends to his constant use of an obvious screen.

As you can tell, Hooper’s constant mistakes cannot obscure the amazing music that is played in the film, and most of the actors do an exceptional job at performing, both in action and in song. Jackman and Crowe are fine as the enemies Valjean and Javert and, at one part, they bring it in The Confrontation. Many jokes have been made on Crowe’s singing voice not being well, but he is actually very believable since he really acts in all of his songs and his voice never sounds forced or inauthentic. Hughes said, “Even though he’s been on Broadway in real life, Jackman could take a few pointers from Crowe – he warbles a bit too much and butchers classics like “Bring Him Home.”” I actually thought Jackman did a good job in that song.

With a few exceptions, the rest of the cast also delivers. Hathaway is a standout as Fantine and gives so much emotive power from her short time on screen. Hughes noted, “Seyfried and Redmayne work quite well as the vanilla young lovers Cosette and Marius, and their singing voices are more-than Broadway caliber.” However, the real starts are Samantha Barks (Eponine), Aaron Tveit (Enjolras) and Daniel Huttlestone (Gavroche). Barks and Huttlestone had previously starred in a London production of “Les Miséerables,” and Tveit starred in a Broadway production of “Catch Me If You Can.” Hughes mentioned, “Their French Revolutionaries breathe much-needed life into the film’s third act, and their voices capture an impassioned take on the material.”

Hughes noted, “On the other end of the spectrum, Sacha Baron Cohen is the only actor in the film who made the odd choice to intermittently alternate between the Thénardier-traditional cockney and a French accent.” Hooper probably should have leashed that one in.

“Les Misérables” is hands down a great musical, but it would have been interesting to see what a different director would have done with the material. At about two and a half hours, the film feels even longer, even though a lot of the songs were not included and the plot would likely be difficult for people not completely familiar with the book or the stage musical. There was a lot of expectation behind the release of this film, and it’s possible that many people will still like it and a lot of theater tickets must have been bought when it played in theaters, but it mainly is seen as a big missed opportunity to be something great.

In all honesty, I really did like this adaptation, despite that I have no knowledge of the previous material. I never read the book and I did see some YouTube clips of some stage performances of a few songs. I used to have a friend who was a fan of “Les Misérables,” so I only knew it from him. I still say check it out, but bear in mind, no one really had a unanimous decision on this adaptation. People liked it, hated it or were indifferent. However, I still say check it out and judge for based on your own thoughts.

Wait until next week when I wrap up “Russell Crowe Month” with a certain type of film that I have reviewed before.