It's true, as soon as Act III comes along, and Cosette and all them are all growed up, the minute it reaches Eponine I start tearing up like a little girl.
Incidentally I went to see Les Miserable this last Monday.
(Who'd a guessed?!)
Anyway, I know that there are various film reviews coming out about how mediocre as a film it is, and that yaddayaddayaddaopinionstuff.
I want to give my take on it, so put all that aside for now as you read this, gentlereaders, but first a bit of background.
For years the only bit of the musical I had was the Original London Cast Recording on CD that I had gotten in my Drum Corps days, I think it was 1996. I'd never seen the play, and managed to steer clear of the film adaptations for fear of them spoiling those recordings. I had no idea it was more of an opera than a musical, I didn't care. Colm Wilkinson was the fuckin' man, HE was Jean Valjean, and that was it. I didn't know that there were more songs than what was on the recording in the play, but hey, it told the whole story. Hell, I could envision it in my head, and that was enough.
And yet, for all that, I was tear free. I still liked Eponine the best, though.
I missed the Tenth Anniversary Concert, but years later managed to get a hold of it...and then it started. As soon as "In My Life" hits I'm in tears.
Les Miserable the film adaptation of the musical had the same effect.
It's not just the music, it's the whole of the film succeeding in evoking emotion, or maybe it's just me. Yeah, there were alterations from the play to the musical, but except for some line changes and switches they weren't an issue.
And a fan or not, being drawn in like that despite what reviews I had seen had said, having that effect on me means a lot. I cared, I gave a damn, and that's what a good film is supposed to make you do. Russell Crowe was a decent Javert (Even though his voice lacked the authority the character calls for) I had no issues with Hugh Jackman as Valjean.
The direction was...well...Look, Mr Hooper, honestly the dutch angles worked for me...but goddamn, you paid all that money on EXCELLENT set design and production, SHOW IT! It shouldn't be Les Closeup!
And who the hell knew Anne Hathaway had that voice?
That all being said, go see it. I can't guarantee you'll like it, some of you purists won't. And if you don't like musicals, well, as I said this is more an opera, so it's 98% singing. All I can say is that the cast and crew put their all into it, and came out with something they can be proud of regardless of awards. Your mileage may vary, though, depending on preferences.
In other news I'm still working on the film review I intended to be the first here, but researching an almost 50 year old film is proving rather hard, and I have to watch it again. I don't want it to be a rote summary, as it's one of my favorite films of all time so I want to do it right.
Until next time, mes amis.
