http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhXsJjVdj1E
A hilarious take at the “Confrontation” Song
Disclaimer: I am a little bit of a musical theatre snob. Blessed(?) with a performing arts singer sister, I was spoiled with musical theatrics my entire childhood. So I apologize if I come off a bit snobbish…
Disclaimer 2: Les Miserables was one of the first theatre experiences I remember being completely enthralled, completely taken aback, completely taken out of my element and completely blown away. It was the first time in my young life that the power of the musical interludes, mixed with the staging, lighting and vocal performances, completely blindsided me…where I experienced goosebumps and unprovoked gasps and uncontrollable sobbing. Les Miserables is dear to me. And thus this movie review begins…
THE GOOD: Holy crap, if Anne Hathaway doesn’t win an Oscar or a Golden Globe or some sort of shiny award, you will know the ballot box’s been stuffed…I thought I was going to dislike her as Fantine, I thought she’d be “eh”, I mean, she’s an actress, not a singer…holy crap. Thank goodness Tom Hooper (director) didn’t cut away from her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream”…the entire song was done in one glorious take. Not.One.Cut. She was THAT.GOOD. It was the only time in the whole movie that I shed a tear and got goosebumps. Breathtaking performance. Bravo to her. Cause damn, she just proved her worth in a three-minute song.
THE BAD: Russell Crowe. Yikes. I get it, you needed another name to carry the film. People like Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway are not going to carry a blockbuster. But from the minute he opened his mouth, it was laughable. Horrible. SNL-skit worthy. He’s not a singer. The close-ups, fine. But he ruined Javier for me. Completely. There was no tension with his pursuit of Valjean, no sympathy for his character that you feel in the staged version. And singing in a band does not a Javier make. His singing was comical. It ruined “Stars” for me. It ruined the confrontation song for me. He was the crayon that did not belong in this box.
THE GOOD: Giovanni Ribisi’s doppleganger, Aaron Tveit, was enthralling as Enjolras. Eddie Redmayne as Marius…great voice, great bone structure. Hugh Jackman, great at acting, couldn’t quite hold his own with some of the notes. Sacha Baron Cohen deserves some sort of award for his turn as the innkeeper, cause he was damn funny and you know he was improvising the whole thing. And for all you Les Mis fanatics out there, don’t miss the bookends with Colm Wilkinson (the original and truly best Valjean).
THE BAD: I hate to say it, but the directing was a miss for me. Too many cuts between intimate moments and relying too much on the grandeur of the revolution and less on the music. It’s a hard thing, to direct a musical for film. It’s one thing to sing and act on the stage. It’s quite another to sing and act when an extreme closeup is happening. Bravo to him for allowing the true talent of the films (Hathaway, Redmayne) to shine in one long glorious solo takes. But you started to see that his directing was covering up Crowe’s lack of emotion while singing…Jackman’s inability to hit the high notes during “Bring Him Home”. It was a tough job, and I’m afraid he was only “eh” for me. That’s the trouble with musicals, you have to let them breathe. Take an intermission. Pause of applause. Very hard to translate that onto film.
Nothing will ever take away from seeing Les Mis in a theatre setting. Although Redmayne’s “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” was heart wrenching, nothing will make you start sobbing more than the staging of it. Even thought Eponine’s solos were ok, nothing will tug at your heartstrings more than seeing her across the stage pinning for Marius while he sings with Cosette. And what else is missing here is the swell of an orchestra where its almost too loud, but just loud enough to enter your being and stay there forever. Nothing will replace the staging, the orchestration, the all-encompassing aura that is the theatrical version of Les Mis. The movie wasn’t bad, it just didn’t live up to the name and prestige that comes from the words, Les Miserables. Do yourself a favor and spend the $50 that you would spend on movie tickets/popcorn/etc, and witness the magic of the theatre for yourself. You might just agree with this theatre snob after all.
