Les Miserables: the movie
Jan. 25th, 2013 11:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cahnI FINALLY SAW THE MOVIE YOU GUYS IT WAS AWESOME
I was expecting to think it was overwrought and enjoy it principally for its potential for mockery (and, mind you, there was some of that) but... but... it had two things going for it. One is that the people who made the movie clearly, clearly, loved the musical and the book, and for that I adore them SO MUCH. The other thing that it had going for it was that despite all the cynicism and judgmentalness and analytic distance I've built up since I saw Les Mis for the first time, as soon as the first orchestral notes boomed in I was grinning like a maniac, a large part of me instantly reverted RIGHT BACK to twelve-year-old OMG I AM IN LOVE. So, um. Loved the movie!
I do think, mind you, there are certain things one needs to know if one desperately loves the musical, as I do:
-Russell Crowe just. JUST. He's basically the complete polar opposite of Terrence Mann? And of book!Javert. Crowe's Javert is stolid and duty-bound, and so is his singing (Russell Crowe cannot sing or voice-act at all, but I guess at least he got everything on pitch), but he's missing the strict passion for duty, the harsh overwhelming probity, that makes Javert himself. Also, WHAT WAS UP with Crowe putting a flower on dead Gavroche, Javert would never do that, Valjean saving him or not, in a million years. Also, what the heck swordfight during Confrontation, did we suddenly fall into a Dumas novel?
(I knew Crowe couldn't sing going in, and I'm glad I did, because I love Javert so fiercely that this might have ruined the movie for me had I not been able to prepare myself. I didn't, however, know about the Gavroche thing, which occasioned a bunch of arm-flailing on my part. And I knew about the swordfight but I still flailed about!)
-It really got me off-balance sometimes when they changed the words. Like at the beginning, "You have your yellow ticket of leave, you are a thief/ I stole a loaf of bread" becomes, as far as I could tell, somemthing like "You have your yellow ticket of leave and whenever you go to a town you have to show it to the authorities and..." bwuh? I mean... I see why they did it, but it the fact there was NO METER was a little distracting. Also they never explained, AGAIN, like the musical, why he tore up his passport. (I knew that going in, and I was glad.) It was one thing they didn't change in a movie where they actually tried to change a lot of small things that didn't make sense about the musical, which I really appreciated in general! (See also later discussion of the brand!)
It was actually awfully cool to watch it after reading the book.
-I was totally stoked for Colm Wilkinson playing the Bishop, although I was very distracted by a) he is way shorter than Jackman, and b) his voice has gotten kind of quavery. Still it was really cool! Also I loved the look we got from Baptistine as Jackman is slurping up his meal. MOVIE, THAT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME.
-Okay, I did my whole rant about Russell Crowe and what I thought was severe assassination of Javert's character in general, but I really really liked that they put in his trying to resign.
-In general I liked a lot of the interpolated lines, most of which seem to elucidate things about the book -- my other favorite was that they put in a couple of lines about how Valjean really REALLY hates that Marius is going to take Cosette away from him, though I have to say I laughed silently when he was then all "Oh hey, I have to meet him!" as if he's saying they should play some golf together or something. I have no idea how that line came off to someone who hasn't read the book.
-I was glad that they took out all reference to "the brand upon his skin" for Champmathieu, because this never made any sense at all to me in the musical -- if he has the brand, then he's a convict, yeah? And then Valjean's sacrifice for him basically does no good whatsoever!
-The new song "Suddenly" did not fit the musical music at ALL, it was really WEIRD and pop-like, but still I really liked this nod to Valjean and how his life completely changes because Cosette is in it. Also, Hugh Jackman TOTALLY ROCKS. Just in general.
-Please tell me that there is going to be an Extended Version DVD that is, like, 4 hours long. There were several bits they cut ("Don't judge a girl on how she looks/I know a lot of things, I do") that to my ear made other parts not make nearly as much sense ("You see, I told you so/There're lots of things I know")
-OMG Marius gets to be actually likeable! I'd forgotten how different Musical!Marius is from Book!Marius -- it's clear that he's buddies with Eponine, he hangs out with her and knows things about her life; he actually has friends! He actually considers all the ABC guys his friends! Awwwww! Even though I have a whole theory about jerk!Marius in the book, and to me it was clearly a thought-out authorial choice by Hugo, I have to say that I enjoyed this Marius way, WAY more. (But he still gets to threaten to blow up the barricade! LOVE!)
I also loved Eddie Redmayne more than Michael Ball, because he retains the awkwardness from the book and makes it loveable, without descending into the ANGSTY THROBBINESS of Ball (which, uh, also canon! so cannot fault Ball), and that's just fine with me! Though if you had told me I would come out saying that, I wouldn't have believed you :)
-I... couldn't tell any of the students apart. Even Grantaire, despite his death scene (WHICH SO MUCH LOVE) seemed to have rather less personality than in the musical.
-Okay, question for all of you who have watched the movie: does Valjean shoot the sniper in the "First Attack" scene? Because I thought he just pointed out the sniper and someone else shot him (I remember there being a closeup of a gun, but it not being entirely clear who was firing it). But J swore up and down that Valjean actually shot him.
When I thought Valjean didn't shoot him (and it's certainly true that Jackman doesn't shoot anyone during the actual battle, which is a change from the musical, where he's aiming and firing like everyone else, I think?) I was really happy. This has been the one thing that has always bugged me about the musical more than anything -- lthough I understand doing the book mattress-saving thing wouldn't really work in a musical, it's totally OOC for Valjean to go around killing soldiers. The book even points this out in great detail, with various of the Amis getting annoyed that Valjean never, actually, shoots anyone.
-So, I adore Hugh Jackman like anything, but I have to admit his "Bring Me Home" was, um, not all that...
-Speaking of Marius being actually nice and likeable, I have to say that I loooooooved that they changed the book in that the way they filmed it and the dialogue they added absolved Marius of almost all responsibility for Valjean's death. I mean, again, I think Hugo did it for a reason, but I LOVE THIS MARIUS AND I LOVE THAT I AM ABLE TO LOVE THIS MARIUS, OKAY?
-Hugh Jackman BROKE MY HEART at the end. There was an almost audible cracking of my heart into two pieces when he did his trio part in the "Heart Full of Love" reprise (which somehow, despite having the musical practically memorized, surprised me anyway) -- because they totally set it up with the lines they added before about how Marius is going to take Cosette away and also with "Suddenly" even if as a song it's not brilliant, and because I had read the book beforehand and cried buckets during this part in the book -- and the rest of the movie finished the job. And Fantine at the end was gorgeous and awesome. And THE BISHOP. THE BISHOP. I knew this going in, that he was going to be present at the end (which AAAAAAAH) and I wish I hadn't, but it was still marvelous. (also: AAAAAAAAAAH Hugh Jackman's face, that dawning look of yearning amazed hope as the Bishop holds out his hand to him)
ETA because I have way too much to say about this movie:
-One Day More, while I still loved it like whoa OBVIOUSLY, didn't work so well. J and I thought it was because of two things: a) Crowe doesn't have the voice to carry the bass underlying line of "One day more to revolution..." and b) Jackman couldn't sustain the "One day moooooore" impossibly long like it is on the recording.
-Eponine really really distracted me because her face was way too clean!
-I really, really loved that Javert showed up while Fantine is talking about her problems and M. le Maire gets all distracted, which is awesome because it explains why he doesn't help her out which is COMPLETELY INEXPLICABLE in the musical as it stands!
-one more thing: I absolutely ABSOLUTELY loved that they put in the bit from the book where he gets the rope from the emergency kit and rappels into the convent with Cosette (and then Fauchelevent's all "Hey remember me?" and Valjean's all "Bwa?") but it clearly was a little bit weird for people who hadn't, like, JUST READ the book (J was confused: "Where did he get the rope from?")
ETA2: I was reminded that I should also say that while Hugh Jackman made my heart break in the "Heart Full of Love" reprise, at almost the same time I burst out laughing when, in the same song, M. Gillenormand started singing totally randomly, and I was totally all "who the HECK is this dude?" (I mean, I knew who he was! And I'm totally thrilled they included him! But he had had exactly one speaking line in the movie up to that point, and then he just kind of appeared and started singing out of nowhere!
I could talk about this movie forever, but in conclusion: LOVE.
I was expecting to think it was overwrought and enjoy it principally for its potential for mockery (and, mind you, there was some of that) but... but... it had two things going for it. One is that the people who made the movie clearly, clearly, loved the musical and the book, and for that I adore them SO MUCH. The other thing that it had going for it was that despite all the cynicism and judgmentalness and analytic distance I've built up since I saw Les Mis for the first time, as soon as the first orchestral notes boomed in I was grinning like a maniac, a large part of me instantly reverted RIGHT BACK to twelve-year-old OMG I AM IN LOVE. So, um. Loved the movie!
I do think, mind you, there are certain things one needs to know if one desperately loves the musical, as I do:
-Russell Crowe just. JUST. He's basically the complete polar opposite of Terrence Mann? And of book!Javert. Crowe's Javert is stolid and duty-bound, and so is his singing (Russell Crowe cannot sing or voice-act at all, but I guess at least he got everything on pitch), but he's missing the strict passion for duty, the harsh overwhelming probity, that makes Javert himself. Also, WHAT WAS UP with Crowe putting a flower on dead Gavroche, Javert would never do that, Valjean saving him or not, in a million years. Also, what the heck swordfight during Confrontation, did we suddenly fall into a Dumas novel?
(I knew Crowe couldn't sing going in, and I'm glad I did, because I love Javert so fiercely that this might have ruined the movie for me had I not been able to prepare myself. I didn't, however, know about the Gavroche thing, which occasioned a bunch of arm-flailing on my part. And I knew about the swordfight but I still flailed about!)
-It really got me off-balance sometimes when they changed the words. Like at the beginning, "You have your yellow ticket of leave, you are a thief/ I stole a loaf of bread" becomes, as far as I could tell, somemthing like "You have your yellow ticket of leave and whenever you go to a town you have to show it to the authorities and..." bwuh? I mean... I see why they did it, but it the fact there was NO METER was a little distracting. Also they never explained, AGAIN, like the musical, why he tore up his passport. (I knew that going in, and I was glad.) It was one thing they didn't change in a movie where they actually tried to change a lot of small things that didn't make sense about the musical, which I really appreciated in general! (See also later discussion of the brand!)
It was actually awfully cool to watch it after reading the book.
-I was totally stoked for Colm Wilkinson playing the Bishop, although I was very distracted by a) he is way shorter than Jackman, and b) his voice has gotten kind of quavery. Still it was really cool! Also I loved the look we got from Baptistine as Jackman is slurping up his meal. MOVIE, THAT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME.
-Okay, I did my whole rant about Russell Crowe and what I thought was severe assassination of Javert's character in general, but I really really liked that they put in his trying to resign.
-In general I liked a lot of the interpolated lines, most of which seem to elucidate things about the book -- my other favorite was that they put in a couple of lines about how Valjean really REALLY hates that Marius is going to take Cosette away from him, though I have to say I laughed silently when he was then all "Oh hey, I have to meet him!" as if he's saying they should play some golf together or something. I have no idea how that line came off to someone who hasn't read the book.
-I was glad that they took out all reference to "the brand upon his skin" for Champmathieu, because this never made any sense at all to me in the musical -- if he has the brand, then he's a convict, yeah? And then Valjean's sacrifice for him basically does no good whatsoever!
-The new song "Suddenly" did not fit the musical music at ALL, it was really WEIRD and pop-like, but still I really liked this nod to Valjean and how his life completely changes because Cosette is in it. Also, Hugh Jackman TOTALLY ROCKS. Just in general.
-Please tell me that there is going to be an Extended Version DVD that is, like, 4 hours long. There were several bits they cut ("Don't judge a girl on how she looks/I know a lot of things, I do") that to my ear made other parts not make nearly as much sense ("You see, I told you so/There're lots of things I know")
-OMG Marius gets to be actually likeable! I'd forgotten how different Musical!Marius is from Book!Marius -- it's clear that he's buddies with Eponine, he hangs out with her and knows things about her life; he actually has friends! He actually considers all the ABC guys his friends! Awwwww! Even though I have a whole theory about jerk!Marius in the book, and to me it was clearly a thought-out authorial choice by Hugo, I have to say that I enjoyed this Marius way, WAY more. (But he still gets to threaten to blow up the barricade! LOVE!)
I also loved Eddie Redmayne more than Michael Ball, because he retains the awkwardness from the book and makes it loveable, without descending into the ANGSTY THROBBINESS of Ball (which, uh, also canon! so cannot fault Ball), and that's just fine with me! Though if you had told me I would come out saying that, I wouldn't have believed you :)
-I... couldn't tell any of the students apart. Even Grantaire, despite his death scene (WHICH SO MUCH LOVE) seemed to have rather less personality than in the musical.
-Okay, question for all of you who have watched the movie: does Valjean shoot the sniper in the "First Attack" scene? Because I thought he just pointed out the sniper and someone else shot him (I remember there being a closeup of a gun, but it not being entirely clear who was firing it). But J swore up and down that Valjean actually shot him.
When I thought Valjean didn't shoot him (and it's certainly true that Jackman doesn't shoot anyone during the actual battle, which is a change from the musical, where he's aiming and firing like everyone else, I think?) I was really happy. This has been the one thing that has always bugged me about the musical more than anything -- lthough I understand doing the book mattress-saving thing wouldn't really work in a musical, it's totally OOC for Valjean to go around killing soldiers. The book even points this out in great detail, with various of the Amis getting annoyed that Valjean never, actually, shoots anyone.
-So, I adore Hugh Jackman like anything, but I have to admit his "Bring Me Home" was, um, not all that...
-Speaking of Marius being actually nice and likeable, I have to say that I loooooooved that they changed the book in that the way they filmed it and the dialogue they added absolved Marius of almost all responsibility for Valjean's death. I mean, again, I think Hugo did it for a reason, but I LOVE THIS MARIUS AND I LOVE THAT I AM ABLE TO LOVE THIS MARIUS, OKAY?
-Hugh Jackman BROKE MY HEART at the end. There was an almost audible cracking of my heart into two pieces when he did his trio part in the "Heart Full of Love" reprise (which somehow, despite having the musical practically memorized, surprised me anyway) -- because they totally set it up with the lines they added before about how Marius is going to take Cosette away and also with "Suddenly" even if as a song it's not brilliant, and because I had read the book beforehand and cried buckets during this part in the book -- and the rest of the movie finished the job. And Fantine at the end was gorgeous and awesome. And THE BISHOP. THE BISHOP. I knew this going in, that he was going to be present at the end (which AAAAAAAH) and I wish I hadn't, but it was still marvelous. (also: AAAAAAAAAAH Hugh Jackman's face, that dawning look of yearning amazed hope as the Bishop holds out his hand to him)
ETA because I have way too much to say about this movie:
-One Day More, while I still loved it like whoa OBVIOUSLY, didn't work so well. J and I thought it was because of two things: a) Crowe doesn't have the voice to carry the bass underlying line of "One day more to revolution..." and b) Jackman couldn't sustain the "One day moooooore" impossibly long like it is on the recording.
-Eponine really really distracted me because her face was way too clean!
-I really, really loved that Javert showed up while Fantine is talking about her problems and M. le Maire gets all distracted, which is awesome because it explains why he doesn't help her out which is COMPLETELY INEXPLICABLE in the musical as it stands!
-one more thing: I absolutely ABSOLUTELY loved that they put in the bit from the book where he gets the rope from the emergency kit and rappels into the convent with Cosette (and then Fauchelevent's all "Hey remember me?" and Valjean's all "Bwa?") but it clearly was a little bit weird for people who hadn't, like, JUST READ the book (J was confused: "Where did he get the rope from?")
ETA2: I was reminded that I should also say that while Hugh Jackman made my heart break in the "Heart Full of Love" reprise, at almost the same time I burst out laughing when, in the same song, M. Gillenormand started singing totally randomly, and I was totally all "who the HECK is this dude?" (I mean, I knew who he was! And I'm totally thrilled they included him! But he had had exactly one speaking line in the movie up to that point, and then he just kind of appeared and started singing out of nowhere!
I could talk about this movie forever, but in conclusion: LOVE.
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Date: 2013-01-26 05:50 pm (UTC)(Gavroche lives in an elephant? Moulin Rouge used that elephant too! Or Paris has multiple giant hollow elephants suitable for habitation. It's Paris, it's possible.)
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Date: 2013-01-26 09:47 pm (UTC)Will be interested to see what you think! (Also, if you can figure out if Valjean shoots the sniper (very shortly after he enters the barricade), that would make my day!)
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Date: 2013-01-27 05:43 am (UTC)Now I'm going to sob into my update page. It's Les Miz, everyone dies, I have no shame in crying over dead fictional characters (much).
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Date: 2013-01-27 05:51 am (UTC)NO SHAME. I was bawling like crazy myself because SO SAD, also see heart breaking into little tiny pieces. So I assume that means you liked it? :)
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Date: 2013-01-27 06:46 am (UTC)For a movie about a guy who was in jail for 19 years, Valjean's actual crimes are... petty theft and tearing up his parole. Okay, he stole the silver, but first, that was after a lot of rejection by polite society, and second, the Bishop retroactively gave it to him. In another 50 years, someone's going to revive Les Miz in an urban-core '80s context.
I have mixed feelings about the execution - hi Russell Crowe, we meet again, and once more it's the 19th century - but I totally approve of people spontaneously bursting into song.
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Date: 2013-01-27 09:46 pm (UTC)Russell Crowe, at last, we see each other plain! ...or something. Yeah, I have FEELINGS, negative ones, about Crowe, but other than that I was pretty happy with the execution :)
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Date: 2013-01-28 03:46 am (UTC)Yes, I think Valjean as one of several examples of the social injustice Hugo railed against got lost in late-night rambling.
Every now and then I forget how awesome musicals are, and then I have this fantastic rediscovery that good music is still entertaining.
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Date: 2013-01-28 04:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-27 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-27 09:48 pm (UTC)