'Les Miserables': Worth the wait
Dec. 26th, 2012 09:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
litlover12The first time I saw the stage version of Les Miserables, my program had a little insert with that famous drawing of Cosette and the caption, "In 1992, she will be going to the cinema."
Yes, well, it took a little longer than that. Twenty years longer. But it was worth every minute of that wait. If you've read reviews of the new movie, you've probably seen many of the critics carping about Tom Hooper's extensive use of closeups, lack of establishing shots, off-center camera angles, etc. With all due respect to the critics, I say: Ignore them completely. They're off their rockers. Tom Hooper is a freaking GENIUS. I am so glad now that the film took this long to make, because I cannot imagine anyone doing a better job with it. His style and his vision suited the material to perfection.
(And you just know that if he hadn't gone for the closeups, camera angles, and so forth, they'd have accused him of taking the safe and boring route!)
A few thoughts while they're fresh in my mind . . .
I am kind of glad now that I read all those reviews, because I went in having some idea of what to expect, even though I was pretty sure I was going to like it more than the critics did!
I'm particularly glad that I read all the criticism of Russell Crowe, because that lowered my expectations of him. :-) And frankly, going in with them lowered -- I really didn't think he was bad at all. I certainly didn't think he was the weakest link in the cast, as many people did. To my mind, the weakest link was Sacha Baron Cohen as Thenardier. His voice wasn't bad, but as far as the total performance went, he just seemed to be phoning it in. Helena Bonham Carter acted circles around him.
The rest of the cast was strong across the board. Hugh Jackman was a brilliant choice for Valjean. He wasn't even recognizable at the beginning, and then he made Valjean's transformation and growing maturity so believable and wonderful. And when he was going away near the end, and sort of collapsed onto his luggage -- oh man, way to yank my beating heart right out of my chest.
But alhough Valjean was, is, and always will be my favorite character, somehow I cried more at Anne Hathaway's Fantine. You can't not cry for her. It's like the tears simply won't stop coming whenever she's on the screen -- the poor woman is just so wrecked.
It makes my heart happy that they cast Colm Wilkinson, the original stage Valjean, as the bishop -- it's little details like this that tell you the filmmakers really care about the source material and the audience and getting the whole thing right . . . unlike some other musical filmmakers I could name (*cough*AndrewLloydWebber*cough*). And Wilkinson was so good. You could tell, just a little, that he was a theater actor not quite used to moderating his facial expressions . . . but he was still SO good. Especially at the end, when Valjean went to him . . . that was lovely.
Little Isabelle Allen as young Cosette was a revelation -- she made me cry (like mother, like daughter) when she whispered the line "She says, Cosette, I love you very much." But she also made me laugh with her feistiness. Little Cosette, feisty! It was a terrific choice by the director or the actress or whoever came up with it -- she just hated the Thenardiers and she wasn't interested in hiding it AT ALL. Speaking of, I've never seen "The Thenardier Waltz" done so well before in any production. Jackman hits just the right note, letting the shrewd ex-con come to the fore -- he knows all the tricks far too well to be taken in. It's a level of nuance I've never seen in that scene before, and it's perfect.
Let's see, who else stood out . . . oh, Aaron Tveit! I could not possibly be happier for him, being cast in a blockbuster movie musical like this, and giving a stellar performance, and getting so much recognition for it. Twice now I've seen him on Broadway, and both times I thought he deserved a Tony nomination, and both times he's been snubbed. Well, Tony voters, who's got the last laugh now?
And Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks were every bit as good as you've probably heard. (Although I could have done without Marius looking so much like an eager puppy when Valjean was revealing his identity. He was all "Ooh, the nice man's going to tell me a story!" and it was just a bit over the top!) Honestly, aside from Cohen, it was exceedingly difficult to find a bad performance here. By the way, I forgot to look for Frances Ruffelle, the original Eponine, who had a cameo during "Lovely Ladies." I'll have to do that next time, because oh yes, my friends, there WILL be a next time. And a time after that, and a time after that . . .
I love that Valjean went to the church back at the convent to die, and I love that he always seemed to have a crucifix near him. The faith elements of the story kept their prominent place, which is good, because they really are essential!
Valjean and older Cosette were really good together, but there is never enough of the two of them for my taste. Their relationship, for me, forms much (if not all) of the heart of the story, and they got a couple of moments that were very nice -- I love when she half-glimpses the number tattooed on his arm and he quickly pulls his sleeve down. (Like I said, I am all about the details.) But they just don't get enough time together, and too much of what they do get is wasted on his having to be strict with her. It's a situation that may need to be remedied with some fanfic . . .
It was nice that they brought in so much stuff from the original novel -- even very small things, as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rachkmc was pointing out the other day (on Facebook, not on LJ). Things like Cosette having a very pretty, elaborate room and Valjean having a bare room with hardly anything but a bed and the crucifix in it. And the sort of dismissive look on his face when Cosette sang "You are loving and gentle and good." It expressed the humility of his character so well.
I guess I'd better cut this short before I bore you all to death and give away every single part of the movie, and make even more of a mess of my verb tenses than I already have. But I just had to gush for a while. I waited 20 years for this experience, darn it, and I'm savoring it to the full!
Yes, well, it took a little longer than that. Twenty years longer. But it was worth every minute of that wait. If you've read reviews of the new movie, you've probably seen many of the critics carping about Tom Hooper's extensive use of closeups, lack of establishing shots, off-center camera angles, etc. With all due respect to the critics, I say: Ignore them completely. They're off their rockers. Tom Hooper is a freaking GENIUS. I am so glad now that the film took this long to make, because I cannot imagine anyone doing a better job with it. His style and his vision suited the material to perfection.
(And you just know that if he hadn't gone for the closeups, camera angles, and so forth, they'd have accused him of taking the safe and boring route!)
A few thoughts while they're fresh in my mind . . .
I am kind of glad now that I read all those reviews, because I went in having some idea of what to expect, even though I was pretty sure I was going to like it more than the critics did!
I'm particularly glad that I read all the criticism of Russell Crowe, because that lowered my expectations of him. :-) And frankly, going in with them lowered -- I really didn't think he was bad at all. I certainly didn't think he was the weakest link in the cast, as many people did. To my mind, the weakest link was Sacha Baron Cohen as Thenardier. His voice wasn't bad, but as far as the total performance went, he just seemed to be phoning it in. Helena Bonham Carter acted circles around him.
The rest of the cast was strong across the board. Hugh Jackman was a brilliant choice for Valjean. He wasn't even recognizable at the beginning, and then he made Valjean's transformation and growing maturity so believable and wonderful. And when he was going away near the end, and sort of collapsed onto his luggage -- oh man, way to yank my beating heart right out of my chest.
But alhough Valjean was, is, and always will be my favorite character, somehow I cried more at Anne Hathaway's Fantine. You can't not cry for her. It's like the tears simply won't stop coming whenever she's on the screen -- the poor woman is just so wrecked.
It makes my heart happy that they cast Colm Wilkinson, the original stage Valjean, as the bishop -- it's little details like this that tell you the filmmakers really care about the source material and the audience and getting the whole thing right . . . unlike some other musical filmmakers I could name (*cough*AndrewLloydWebber*cough*). And Wilkinson was so good. You could tell, just a little, that he was a theater actor not quite used to moderating his facial expressions . . . but he was still SO good. Especially at the end, when Valjean went to him . . . that was lovely.
Little Isabelle Allen as young Cosette was a revelation -- she made me cry (like mother, like daughter) when she whispered the line "She says, Cosette, I love you very much." But she also made me laugh with her feistiness. Little Cosette, feisty! It was a terrific choice by the director or the actress or whoever came up with it -- she just hated the Thenardiers and she wasn't interested in hiding it AT ALL. Speaking of, I've never seen "The Thenardier Waltz" done so well before in any production. Jackman hits just the right note, letting the shrewd ex-con come to the fore -- he knows all the tricks far too well to be taken in. It's a level of nuance I've never seen in that scene before, and it's perfect.
Let's see, who else stood out . . . oh, Aaron Tveit! I could not possibly be happier for him, being cast in a blockbuster movie musical like this, and giving a stellar performance, and getting so much recognition for it. Twice now I've seen him on Broadway, and both times I thought he deserved a Tony nomination, and both times he's been snubbed. Well, Tony voters, who's got the last laugh now?
And Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks were every bit as good as you've probably heard. (Although I could have done without Marius looking so much like an eager puppy when Valjean was revealing his identity. He was all "Ooh, the nice man's going to tell me a story!" and it was just a bit over the top!) Honestly, aside from Cohen, it was exceedingly difficult to find a bad performance here. By the way, I forgot to look for Frances Ruffelle, the original Eponine, who had a cameo during "Lovely Ladies." I'll have to do that next time, because oh yes, my friends, there WILL be a next time. And a time after that, and a time after that . . .
I love that Valjean went to the church back at the convent to die, and I love that he always seemed to have a crucifix near him. The faith elements of the story kept their prominent place, which is good, because they really are essential!
Valjean and older Cosette were really good together, but there is never enough of the two of them for my taste. Their relationship, for me, forms much (if not all) of the heart of the story, and they got a couple of moments that were very nice -- I love when she half-glimpses the number tattooed on his arm and he quickly pulls his sleeve down. (Like I said, I am all about the details.) But they just don't get enough time together, and too much of what they do get is wasted on his having to be strict with her. It's a situation that may need to be remedied with some fanfic . . .
It was nice that they brought in so much stuff from the original novel -- even very small things, as
rachkmc was pointing out the other day (on Facebook, not on LJ). Things like Cosette having a very pretty, elaborate room and Valjean having a bare room with hardly anything but a bed and the crucifix in it. And the sort of dismissive look on his face when Cosette sang "You are loving and gentle and good." It expressed the humility of his character so well.I guess I'd better cut this short before I bore you all to death and give away every single part of the movie, and make even more of a mess of my verb tenses than I already have. But I just had to gush for a while. I waited 20 years for this experience, darn it, and I'm savoring it to the full!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 02:28 am (UTC)yes yes yes
Date: 2012-12-27 03:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 03:34 am (UTC)Re: yes yes yes
Date: 2012-12-27 03:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 04:02 am (UTC)jk. It was terrific to read you being so happy and excited about a book adaptation. ;)
no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 04:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 04:27 am (UTC)TTTHHPPPPTT to the critics! What are they whining about this time? He did a fine job here! No wonder he wants to punch people out all the time!
He wasn't even recognizable at the beginning,
I know! How much mud and filth did this crew have to create, for goodness' sake!
And when he was going away near the end, and sort of collapsed onto his luggage -- oh man, way to yank my beating heart right out of my chest.
INORITE! The poor darling man!
It's like the tears simply won't stop coming whenever she's on the screen -- the poor woman is just so wrecked.
I started crying the minute I saw her face in the previews. I don't think I ever stopped.
And Wilkinson was so good. You could tell, just a little, that he was a theater actor not quite used to moderating his facial expressions . . . but he was still SO good. Especially at the end, when Valjean went to him . . . that was lovely.
Methinks he's a total ham. But when you're that good, who cares?
Little Isabelle Allen as young Cosette was a revelation
She was wonderful! Cute, but not "cutesy". Same for the little boy who played Gavroche.
Let's see, who else stood out . . . oh, Aaron Tveit!
I had to look him up because I don't know his name. He was the one in the red, that I always adore but forget the character's name? Aw, man, he just killed me! I wanted to grab him and say NOOOOOOOO! You are NOT going out there to die!
I loved how they switched up his death scene. I was wondering if the filmmakers were going to forget that iconic scene. And then I figured they couldn't, 'cause there would be riots. *g*
(Although I could have done without Marius looking so much like an eager puppy when Valjean was revealing his identity.
He was all Eager and/or Lovesick Puppy, all the time. But he was sweet, so he won me over. But that whole portion of the story always annoys me. I never buy the, 'We spotted each other across the street and now we're soulmates... even though we don't know a thing about each other!' If anything, he and Eponine would have made a good match, because they KNEW each other well! But, whatever. I put up with it because it's there. And the characters really are good, decent people, so you can't stay annoyed.
By the way, I forgot to look for Frances Ruffelle, the original Eponine, who had a cameo during "Lovely Ladies."
*notes*
I don't know her. I will look her up.
I love that Valjean went to the church back at the convent to die, and I love that he always seemed to have a crucifix near him. The faith elements of the story kept their prominent place, which is good, because they really are essential!
It was such a gorgeous location!
For all the suffering in this movie, God is always there, sometimes behind the scenes, sometimes blatantly, as through the Bishop's deliberate act of grace. It's remarkable how that one simple act set all this in motion. I guess HE is the real hero of the story!
Agreed that it was genius casting of Wilkinson. He's about a hundred and eleventy years old, but that's just for show here. I saw him on some talk show recently and he was playing guitar and revving up the crowd like the attention hog that he is. That dude will be singing until he literally drops dead. *g*
Have you read the book? I am *thisclose* to deciding I must do it. I started it years ago but gave up with the never ending descriptions of this street and that. It would go on for CHAPTERS at a time! I'm all for descriptiveness, but eventually, you do need to get to the point!
There are multiple versions/translations, so I will have to do research. I don't want an abridged version and I don't want a "dumbed down" version. I can read big words and 800+ page long books. We'll see what there is available.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 04:39 am (UTC)I don't think I'm going to be well enough to see it in a theater, but I'm definitely buying it when it comes out on dvd. Also I really need to find the book of it. I'm ready (I think) for the massive undertaking of reading such a long book. It's not like my illness is letting me do much else.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 05:03 am (UTC)That's why, even though I normally loathe abridgments, I make an exception for this book. I read the whole thing through once, and then I decided I should have stuck with the abridgment. :-) Because honestly, how much does one really need to know about the history of the Paris sewer system?
(No, I'm not making that up!)
Maybe you'd like to read it anyway, but I just thought you'd want to know all that going into it! In any event, I prefer the Norman Denny translation. I understand that it has a few minor abridgments (it's only MOSTLY unabridged! :-D ), but it's pretty complete, and readable without being too modernized.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 05:12 am (UTC)Sorry that the illness is continuing to take such a toll on you. I pray that relief and healing will come very soon.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 05:40 am (UTC)You're telling me! It drove me nuts!
Thanks for the rec. I think I will. Now I just have to decide whether to get the paperback or the NOOK version. Of course it's easier to use the NOOK than it is to lug around a fat paperback. But for me personally, I've found it's harder to remember stuff on the NOOK. Weird, since it's the same exact thing.
I'M GOING TO READ THIS BOOK EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!
no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 05:30 pm (UTC)(BTW, your icon is awesome! I miss Allie, I hope she's doing OK.)
no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 10:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-27 10:51 pm (UTC)I think Allie took some time off to work on a book, didn't she? I've missed her too!
no subject
Date: 2013-01-02 05:21 am (UTC)