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darchildre) wrote2013-01-06 03:15 pm
darchildre) wrote2013-01-06 03:15 pm
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Today, the parentals and I went to Les Miserables.
You guys, I am completely incapable of being in any way objective about Les Miz. I literally cannot remember a time when I did not know the entire musical by heart - my parents had a Broadway recording when I was little that we played over and over in the car and on the stereo in the living room. I had a cassette tape of the London version. My sister Megan and I used to pore over the big hardbound libretto that was on the big living room bookshelf. We divided up all the parts and used to put on the soundtrack and act the whole thing out, like some kind of demented two man play. (There is no recording of this. Thank god.) To this day, it doesn't actually occur to me to ever sing Eponine's lines - that was Megan's favorite part. I'm pretty sure she has the same problem singing Javert. (Poor Katie was too young to know the words, so she got to be Dead!Fantine.) Les Miz was my first fancy theater experience. My parents took me to see the play in Philadelphia for my tenth birthday. I don't have clear memories of the performance, but I do distinctly remember standing outside and my mother cautioning me, "Now, Sara, you know that you can't sing along in the theater." I didn't sing along but I mouthed the words.
Which is what I did in the theater today. What I also did was cry. Pretty much through the whole thing - I basically started when I saw Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop and didn't stop entirely till the credits started rolling. I loved it. I mean, there are a few things that I didn't particularly care for, but mostly it was wonderful and made sob my eyes out, so I'm happy with it.
What I did not like:
- Okay, I read a lot of reviews that talked about the weakness in Russell Crowe's singing. And sure, that's there. But I read nothing that prepared me for Hugh Jackman's Bring Him Home, which I did not like at all. I realize that is a hard song to sing and that high notes are difficult, but sir, I can hear you straining for them and that's distracting.
- I've also read a lot of people talking about all the songs that are one long take with the camera pointed at the singer's face and yeah, that gets a little boring after a while. I mean, I imagine it does once the shock has worn off and one is not engaged in ugly sobbing.
- I realize that when you adapt a play to a film, things are going to be cut or rearranged or changed. That's fine - I liked some and disliked others but mostly they were okay. But there were two little things that got changed that actually bothered me: 1) The line is "I have bought your soul for God." It is important. 2) I missed the "Take my hand" during Fantine's Death. I have always loved the echoing of that during Valjean's deathscene and I missed that resonance.
- I always want Javert to be in the finale and he never is. This isn't a problem with the movie in particular, though, but with the show in general. (Also, speaking of Javert, I could have done without the crunch as he jumped into the Seine.)
What I did like (not in any way an exhaustive list):
- Did I mention Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop? I'm so glad they did that and so glad he got to sing the "To love another person is to see the face of God".
- Anne Hathaway is unbelievably amazing. Like, sobbing every time she was onscreen amazing.
- Lovely Ladies was not fun at all. The song is really rollicking and sometimes that loses the fact that it's also scary and sad. This one was scary and sad.
- Okay, there are definitely times where you can see Russell Crowe going, "Look, I can sing or I can act, I need you to pick one," but I quite liked his Javert. And sometimes, the weakness of the singing worked well for me - it brought a sort of quiet reserve to a character that sometimes gets a little too growly and bombastic. Javert has always been my favorite and although he wasn't perfect, he was certainly a Javert I can work with and enjoy.
- I think this movie is the first time I have ever actually liked Marius. I think it's because we got to really see him with the revolutionaries and his conflict with his grandfather before we saw him Cosette. Also, Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was heartwrenching.
- Oh man, Enjolras! He was perfect - so idealistic and tragically stupid and doomed. And they managed to suspend him upside down with the flag after he died, hurrah. (When he jumped up on Lamarque's coffin waving his flag, all I could think about was Reg Shoe's death in Night Watch, which did not make it any easier to stop crying.)
- Speaking of Enjolras, I was a little worried by the shuffling of act 2 because we had had One Day More and On My Own but not Do You Hear the People Sing, but then the way they ended up doing it was awesome.
( - I know there's Enjolras/Grantaire slash. I know that's a thing. If you have recs, would you mind sending them my way?)
- I love that it's not just Valjean who drives Javert to his death. It's seeing the results of this stupid, senseless violence that he's been a part of. I love that he gave Gavroche his medal. (I also loved the blank despair on the face of the soldier who shot Gavroche as he tried to get the students to surrender.)
- And, well, pretty much every bit of Valjean's deathscene and the finale were perfect. We got to The Line and I'm pretty sure everyone in the theater sobbed.
It's not a perfect film but it is almost everything I wanted. I'm looking forward to getting the dvd and seeing if I can ever get through it without crying.
You guys, I am completely incapable of being in any way objective about Les Miz. I literally cannot remember a time when I did not know the entire musical by heart - my parents had a Broadway recording when I was little that we played over and over in the car and on the stereo in the living room. I had a cassette tape of the London version. My sister Megan and I used to pore over the big hardbound libretto that was on the big living room bookshelf. We divided up all the parts and used to put on the soundtrack and act the whole thing out, like some kind of demented two man play. (There is no recording of this. Thank god.) To this day, it doesn't actually occur to me to ever sing Eponine's lines - that was Megan's favorite part. I'm pretty sure she has the same problem singing Javert. (Poor Katie was too young to know the words, so she got to be Dead!Fantine.) Les Miz was my first fancy theater experience. My parents took me to see the play in Philadelphia for my tenth birthday. I don't have clear memories of the performance, but I do distinctly remember standing outside and my mother cautioning me, "Now, Sara, you know that you can't sing along in the theater." I didn't sing along but I mouthed the words.
Which is what I did in the theater today. What I also did was cry. Pretty much through the whole thing - I basically started when I saw Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop and didn't stop entirely till the credits started rolling. I loved it. I mean, there are a few things that I didn't particularly care for, but mostly it was wonderful and made sob my eyes out, so I'm happy with it.
What I did not like:
- Okay, I read a lot of reviews that talked about the weakness in Russell Crowe's singing. And sure, that's there. But I read nothing that prepared me for Hugh Jackman's Bring Him Home, which I did not like at all. I realize that is a hard song to sing and that high notes are difficult, but sir, I can hear you straining for them and that's distracting.
- I've also read a lot of people talking about all the songs that are one long take with the camera pointed at the singer's face and yeah, that gets a little boring after a while. I mean, I imagine it does once the shock has worn off and one is not engaged in ugly sobbing.
- I realize that when you adapt a play to a film, things are going to be cut or rearranged or changed. That's fine - I liked some and disliked others but mostly they were okay. But there were two little things that got changed that actually bothered me: 1) The line is "I have bought your soul for God." It is important. 2) I missed the "Take my hand" during Fantine's Death. I have always loved the echoing of that during Valjean's deathscene and I missed that resonance.
- I always want Javert to be in the finale and he never is. This isn't a problem with the movie in particular, though, but with the show in general. (Also, speaking of Javert, I could have done without the crunch as he jumped into the Seine.)
What I did like (not in any way an exhaustive list):
- Did I mention Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop? I'm so glad they did that and so glad he got to sing the "To love another person is to see the face of God".
- Anne Hathaway is unbelievably amazing. Like, sobbing every time she was onscreen amazing.
- Lovely Ladies was not fun at all. The song is really rollicking and sometimes that loses the fact that it's also scary and sad. This one was scary and sad.
- Okay, there are definitely times where you can see Russell Crowe going, "Look, I can sing or I can act, I need you to pick one," but I quite liked his Javert. And sometimes, the weakness of the singing worked well for me - it brought a sort of quiet reserve to a character that sometimes gets a little too growly and bombastic. Javert has always been my favorite and although he wasn't perfect, he was certainly a Javert I can work with and enjoy.
- I think this movie is the first time I have ever actually liked Marius. I think it's because we got to really see him with the revolutionaries and his conflict with his grandfather before we saw him Cosette. Also, Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was heartwrenching.
- Oh man, Enjolras! He was perfect - so idealistic and tragically stupid and doomed. And they managed to suspend him upside down with the flag after he died, hurrah. (When he jumped up on Lamarque's coffin waving his flag, all I could think about was Reg Shoe's death in Night Watch, which did not make it any easier to stop crying.)
- Speaking of Enjolras, I was a little worried by the shuffling of act 2 because we had had One Day More and On My Own but not Do You Hear the People Sing, but then the way they ended up doing it was awesome.
( - I know there's Enjolras/Grantaire slash. I know that's a thing. If you have recs, would you mind sending them my way?)
- I love that it's not just Valjean who drives Javert to his death. It's seeing the results of this stupid, senseless violence that he's been a part of. I love that he gave Gavroche his medal. (I also loved the blank despair on the face of the soldier who shot Gavroche as he tried to get the students to surrender.)
- And, well, pretty much every bit of Valjean's deathscene and the finale were perfect. We got to The Line and I'm pretty sure everyone in the theater sobbed.
It's not a perfect film but it is almost everything I wanted. I'm looking forward to getting the dvd and seeing if I can ever get through it without crying.
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Enjolras was beautifully intense and serious and really ALL OF THEM WERE PERFECT in their painful doomedness and I felt like they did a good job really bringing home the ... Mariusness. Of Marius. ALSO that final moment with Grantaire going to die at Enjolras's side and that moment when their eyes meet and the soldiers let him cross the room and they face down death while he is waving the flag and asldkjfasljdfj is pretty much what I have to say about that.
I got excited typing the above and therefore needed to edit this post. Uh.
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