Les Miserables 2012
I was trying to see Django Unchained, but it was sold out, and Lincoln didn’t start for another hour, so Les Mis seemed like a good choice. This musical has been on stage for a long time, but I never saw it, and wasn’t that familiar with the story of the novels or movies, though I might have read the book and seen part of one of the many movies based on the novel.
The problem with reviewing a movie is whether you should rate the quality of the movie or how much you liked it, and I think it would be dishonest to do anything other than offer an opinion based primarily on how much I liked it. So that said, I didn’t like it that much. The story itself is all over the place and quite long (no doubt the novel was too). There are a lot of parts that seem tacked on to the central story of a guy trying to escape his past. A big part of that plot early on is very depressing and sad. There are some good songs, including “I Dreamed a Dream,” and “Master of the House,” but a lot of what could have been dialogue is sung instead, a technique from Opera that I’m not crazy about. And when you first see a stern Russell Crowe who then breaks into song, it just feels weird. As far as I can tell, the performances are good though with so many big names, I wonder if the choices were made based on singing ability or star power. Some picks seem weak, especially the young man in the romance. Even Hugh Jackman seems a little out of his element, playing a guy who is supposed to be really strong, but Jackman is pretty gaunt (though nowhere as gaunt as poor Anne Hathaway). He still played the part well. The comic relief in the form of Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter seems like it came from a completely different movie (and that movie, unfortunately, is Sweeney Todd). The romance, that might somehow save the movie, is just love at first sight and then they sing at each other. Yawn.
Still, despite the story going all over the place, it stays interesting. The performances with this very heavy material, made more difficult by having to sing your way through it, are all good. Russell Crowe can wear the heck out of a French uniform, and the singing is decent. So I think this is high quality work, but I didn’t care for it. I’ll give it a B-.
Written: 30 Dec 2012
Owned on: Digital