Hello to all my readers!
So, as promised, I will write a quick review of Les
Miserables. I realize there is less substantial information than is normally
included in one of these reviews.
Please be aware that I am writing more than a month after seeing the movie,
and in between essays for school. I ask for a little lenience from
you, my faithful readers.
So… the positives
I love Les Miserables.
It is a beautiful story about struggle and redemption, and hope. The music of the play is able to
magnificently convey the emotions and struggles of the characters. I was pleasantly surprised by some of
the singing in the movie. Anne
Hathaway did a very good job as Fantine; I was pleasantly surprised at the
emotion she was able to convey in the part while simultaneously performing
beautifully. While I knew that
Anne Hathaway had a decent voice, I was worried that the music would overpower
her, but she rose to the challenge and brought life and heart to the
character. Russel Crowe was also
surprisingly good as a singer.
Sometimes the songs did not fit his range well, but he coped with the
situation well. His acting
performance was also stellar, although as far as acting goes, Hugh Jackman
stole the show. Samantha Barks
reprised her role as Eponine from the 25th anniversary of the play,
and played the character well. Her voice was very good, and her performance had
every young man I spoke with afterward wondering why Marius chose Cosette
instead of Eponine. Other standout
vocal performances were Eddie Redmayne as Marius, and the entire ABC club. Acting wise, Hugh Jackman outperformed everyone else. His portrayal of Jean Valjean was
heart-wrenching as he showed the transition from convict to mayor to father,
and the transformations that take place in the character after his meeting with
the Bishop and after his adoption of Cosette. The scene at the death of Fantine where Valjean and Javerre
are engaged in a battle both musically and physically is a stunning scene, in
my opinion the best in the whole movie, although the final scene and Valjean’s
death is also fantastic.
On the other hand…
While Redmayne arguably the best singer of the main
characters, his portrayal of Marius was flat in comparison with the remarkable
acting performances of Jackman, Hathaway, Crowe, and Barks. Jackman had the opposite problem,
turning in a brilliant acting performance but producing only a mediocre vocal
one. Part of the problem seemed to
be that the songs were outside his vocal range. Crowe had a similar problem, although he seemed to handle
the situation better than Jackman.
Overall, I would recommend going to see Les Miserables. If you
are completely unfamiliar with the story there will never be a better chance to
immerse yourself in the world, and for those who are familiar with the story,
it is an opportunity to revisit old friends and enemies in this powerful
musical. If nothing else, go for
the story… everything else is dependent on that… and this is one of the best.
Well, back to reality.
