7 Days of "Les Miserables": Day 7: The 2012 Movie Adaptation
Well here we are, the 7th day of my "7 Days of Les Miserables". Do you know what that means? IT MEANS I HAVE WATCHED/LISTENED TO "LES MIS" FOR THE PAST 7 DAYS. I AM GOING TO HAVE THE SONGS IN MY HEAD FOR WEEKS. With that semi positive thought in mind, it has been really cool to listen to how the musical "LES MISERABLES" has grown over the past 30 years since it opened on the West End on October 8, 2015 (today). And now....perhaps the most anticipated (for me) "Les Miserables" review.....the 2012 movie.
This is one of those movies where it's strengths are really it's strengths....and its weakness are really it's weaknesses. By that, I mean the weaknesses really bring the movie down. I feel like the hugest weaknesses come from the movie itself, not just the cast. The biggest thing I noticed that a lot of the scene changes are really abrupt. There are many scenes where it feels like there is still a lot of time left in the scene, but then it quickly cuts to the next scene and it feels really weird. Another thing to add to the movie's abruptness is that there are sections of songs that they are cutting to shorten up the run time....In other musical movies and stage shows, when they do this, they work it out so that it transitions to the part of the song they are skipping to smoothly. Yeah, in this the cuts/skips are not smooth at all. It just happens out of nowhere. It sounds a bit like a CD player just totally skipping over a part of a song. This was most noticeable during "The ABC Cafe (Red and Black)".
Hugh Jackman played Jean Valjean. I think that he did a good job. I do remember him having musical moments that were not so nice, but none that I can remember off the top of my head. I think that he plays the most realistic Valjean that I have seen, so far. I can see why other people do not enjoy Jackman's portrayal, but I personally enjoyed his performance very much.
Anne Hathaway does a very beautiful job as Fantine. She gives a very emotional performance, so emotional that her performance of "I Dreamed a Dream brought me to tears, as did her death scene (Oops, spoiler: EVERYONE DIES). She has a very good voice and is a killer actress, but what really gets you, is her real tears during her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream".
If you thought Samantha Barks was an amazing Eponine in the 25th Anniversary Concert...then you'll love her in this! Like Anne Hathaway, she gives a very emotional performance. Another song that gets you (but not enough to cry) is "On My Own", just watching her cry that song in the rain is just so beautiful, and you just feel so bad for her....She is just phenomenal.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter (Thenardier and Madame Thenardier) are weird....not the bad kind of weird, the good kind of weird. Both of them were very Beetlejuicy, if that makes sense.
The weakest links in the cast are Russel Crowe (Javert) and Amanda Seyfried. Russel Crowe is just God awful in general. Amanda Seyfried does do a well job acting the role (and its hard to do that with the role of Cosette), but she can't really sing.......
Rounding out the cast is Eddie Redmayne (Marius), Aaron Tveit (Enjorlas), and Daniel Huttlestone (Gaveroche). They all do wonderful in their roles.
NOTES:
- I actually prefer where "I Dreamed a Dream" is placed in the movie, it gives the song more meaning.
- I really like the the orchestrations during the "Come On Captain" section of "Lovely Ladies", they just sound so innocent and it really adds a lot to the emotion, in my opinion (because ya know, Fantine became a prostitute to support her daughter).
- I really liked how they did the casts' teeth. Realistically, these people wouldn't have perfect teeth.
- THERE WAS A RANDOM COW IN THE STREET WHILE THEY WERE BUILDING THE BARRICADE
This a really visually stunning movie. The sets are gorgeous, and there some really good shots in this movie. The orchestra is also stunning. Probably, the best orchestra that I have heard play the orchestrations of "Les Miserables". Without all of all the previously stated flaws, it could have beem one of the greatest stage to screen adaptations ever, but alas...it was not.
I give it 4 stars. I have already stated all of the reasons why it is not perfect.
THE CAST OF THE 2012 FILM ADAPTATION OF "LES MISERABLES"
Jean Valjean- HUGH JACKMAN
Javert- RUSSELL CROWE
Fantine- ANNE HATHAWAY
Young Cosette- ISABELLE ALLEN
Madame Thenardier- HELENA BONHAM CARTER
Thenardier- SACHA BARON COHEN
Enjorlas- AARON TVEIT
Marius- EDDIE REDMAYNE
Eponine- SAMANTHA BARKS
Cosette- AMANDA SEYFRIED
P.S.: Keep an eye out for my next reviews, which are The Kids n Co. production of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and The UTEP Dinner Theatre's production of "West Side Story". Thank you!
This is one of those movies where it's strengths are really it's strengths....and its weakness are really it's weaknesses. By that, I mean the weaknesses really bring the movie down. I feel like the hugest weaknesses come from the movie itself, not just the cast. The biggest thing I noticed that a lot of the scene changes are really abrupt. There are many scenes where it feels like there is still a lot of time left in the scene, but then it quickly cuts to the next scene and it feels really weird. Another thing to add to the movie's abruptness is that there are sections of songs that they are cutting to shorten up the run time....In other musical movies and stage shows, when they do this, they work it out so that it transitions to the part of the song they are skipping to smoothly. Yeah, in this the cuts/skips are not smooth at all. It just happens out of nowhere. It sounds a bit like a CD player just totally skipping over a part of a song. This was most noticeable during "The ABC Cafe (Red and Black)".
Hugh Jackman played Jean Valjean. I think that he did a good job. I do remember him having musical moments that were not so nice, but none that I can remember off the top of my head. I think that he plays the most realistic Valjean that I have seen, so far. I can see why other people do not enjoy Jackman's portrayal, but I personally enjoyed his performance very much.
Anne Hathaway does a very beautiful job as Fantine. She gives a very emotional performance, so emotional that her performance of "I Dreamed a Dream brought me to tears, as did her death scene (Oops, spoiler: EVERYONE DIES). She has a very good voice and is a killer actress, but what really gets you, is her real tears during her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream".
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| Anne Hathaway in the role of Fantine |
If you thought Samantha Barks was an amazing Eponine in the 25th Anniversary Concert...then you'll love her in this! Like Anne Hathaway, she gives a very emotional performance. Another song that gets you (but not enough to cry) is "On My Own", just watching her cry that song in the rain is just so beautiful, and you just feel so bad for her....She is just phenomenal.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter (Thenardier and Madame Thenardier) are weird....not the bad kind of weird, the good kind of weird. Both of them were very Beetlejuicy, if that makes sense.
The weakest links in the cast are Russel Crowe (Javert) and Amanda Seyfried. Russel Crowe is just God awful in general. Amanda Seyfried does do a well job acting the role (and its hard to do that with the role of Cosette), but she can't really sing.......
Rounding out the cast is Eddie Redmayne (Marius), Aaron Tveit (Enjorlas), and Daniel Huttlestone (Gaveroche). They all do wonderful in their roles.
NOTES:
- I actually prefer where "I Dreamed a Dream" is placed in the movie, it gives the song more meaning.
- I really like the the orchestrations during the "Come On Captain" section of "Lovely Ladies", they just sound so innocent and it really adds a lot to the emotion, in my opinion (because ya know, Fantine became a prostitute to support her daughter).
- I really liked how they did the casts' teeth. Realistically, these people wouldn't have perfect teeth.
- THERE WAS A RANDOM COW IN THE STREET WHILE THEY WERE BUILDING THE BARRICADE
This a really visually stunning movie. The sets are gorgeous, and there some really good shots in this movie. The orchestra is also stunning. Probably, the best orchestra that I have heard play the orchestrations of "Les Miserables". Without all of all the previously stated flaws, it could have beem one of the greatest stage to screen adaptations ever, but alas...it was not.
I give it 4 stars. I have already stated all of the reasons why it is not perfect.
THE CAST OF THE 2012 FILM ADAPTATION OF "LES MISERABLES"
Jean Valjean- HUGH JACKMAN
Javert- RUSSELL CROWE
Fantine- ANNE HATHAWAY
Young Cosette- ISABELLE ALLEN
Madame Thenardier- HELENA BONHAM CARTER
Thenardier- SACHA BARON COHEN
Enjorlas- AARON TVEIT
Marius- EDDIE REDMAYNE
Eponine- SAMANTHA BARKS
Cosette- AMANDA SEYFRIED
P.S.: Keep an eye out for my next reviews, which are The Kids n Co. production of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and The UTEP Dinner Theatre's production of "West Side Story". Thank you!
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