Let me begin by telling you that I fell in love with Les Miserables when we read it in eighth grade English.
The story utterly captured my imagination, my heart, my soul.
I knew, at 14, that this was a story that would stay with me forever.
And yet, I was fairly surprised when I heard that it had been made into a Broadway musical.
Such incredible sadness in this story.
Hard to imagine how they would put this story to music.
Genius.
I have seen Les Miserables on Broadway six times and have sobbed my way through every single show.
The story, the unbelievable music.
The unbelievable music and the voices that have brought it to life.
Another disclaimer…I’m a musical crier.
Just the right voice hitting just the right note.
Music swelling to reach the point of no return.
It makes my breath hitch in my chest and I can’t breathe for a few seconds.
I’ve been known to even cry while singing beautiful pieces in church, not at my own part in it, but in being a part of the whole.
So, as soon as the trailers started hitting the internet for the movie version of Les Miserables, (not the Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush version that came out a few years ago, although that was pretty good for a non-musical version of the story), I was very excited.
Then, I saw the trailer that showed that the actors were actually singing as they were being filmed and that was what was going in the movie.
I was blown away by the possibility.
It gave them freedom to really feel the songs as they went and guide the music to the emotion and play off of the other characters.
Brilliant.
Last night, Real Man and I finally got to the theater to see it.
We figured that, since it’s been out for two weeks, we’d be relatively alone in the theater.
We wound up in the 2nd row.
Definitely not alone.
However, I have never been in a quieter theater.
From the moment the first note was sung, the audience was completely silent.
I liked it.
I liked it a lot.
I thought Anne Hathaway was phenomenal. Fantine was always one of my favorite characters and Anne Hathaway brought her to the screen perfectly.
I thought everyone else was also well-cast, and I loved the way some of the scenes were created to be expanded a bit to show things that you just can’t show on the stage.
Here’s what I missed.
The volume.
There is something about Broadway that utterly surrounds you with the music, and you just don’t get that in a theater.
And maybe it was the theater we were in, or maybe the good speakers were a few rows behind the second row, but I missed the volume.
When the music swelled, it didn’t really…swell.
When those beautiful voices were hitting those impossibly smooth notes, it didn’t quite hit my eardrums loudly enough.
“Do You Hear the People Sing” should be rocketing me out of my seat.
“One Day More” should make my skin wrinkle with goosebumps at the power of those voices coming together.
Yet, while the voices were all they could be and they were amazing, it just wasn’t loud enough for me.
It was almost like background.
And that took some of the enjoyment out of it for me.
When it eventually comes out on DVD, I’ll blast it.
Heck, maybe I’ll even buy surround sound just for that DVD, because that’s how this music is supposed to be heard.
But, even with that, the story remained the same.
It’s a story about loyalty, redemption, and the inherent goodness of people.
It’s about love.
It’s about friendship.
It’s about bravery.
There just isn’t a character in the story that you don’t want to embrace and say “It will be okay…I promise, it will.”
And for most of them, it isn’t okay, but then, there they all are at the end and suddenly, it is.
It is inspired and it reminds me, once again, that there is something inside all of us that strives for greatness and goodness, and if we go for it, we will be rewarded.
27 years ago, I encountered this story for the first time, and I have read it many, many times since then.
I have watched it live six times since then.
I have now watched it on film, and I have a feeling, I will do so many times again.
Victor Hugo…I wonder if he had any idea.
Lack of volume–exactly what I’ve read in the reviews. I have not seen it yet, but I applaud the actors for being brave enough to actually sing “live” on the big screen. I guess singing onstage doesn’t always translate as well to singing for the movie camera.
Comment by Michelle Cook King — January 6, 2013 @ 11:13 am |
So brave and so impressive that they are multi- talented!
Comment by Amy — January 6, 2013 @ 12:11 pm |
Completely agree with your assessment! I, too, have a history with Les Mis, and, while this movie was stunning and I loved the casting choices and characters, I feel like I needed to be absolutely blown away by it like I had been during the play and book, and I’m not sure that the theatre atmosphere did the trick. All in all, you’re right, it was a great movie and I hope it wins mega awards–especially Anne Hathaway! 🙂
Comment by Amy Johnson — January 6, 2013 @ 1:14 pm |
Anne Hathaway’s performance brought me to tears. She’s so remarkable.
Comment by abozza — January 6, 2013 @ 4:20 pm |
We love Les Mis here too. When I met my husband years and years ago, in high school, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that he loved the soundtrack. (Considering he listened to a lot of Korn, Limp Bizkit, and heavy metal back then.) He got me into it, and we saw it on stage at Penobscot Theater and the Ogunquit Playhouse here in Maine. We’ve also watched a few of the previous film versions. We are looking forward to having a date night soon to see this new one.
Comment by thismummaslife — January 7, 2013 @ 12:32 am |
It’s worth it, for sure. Fantastic performances. Just, like I said, quiet.
Comment by abozza — January 7, 2013 @ 11:43 am |
Those were my same impressions as well Amy. Sadly I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. I definitely set my expectations too high. Since the performances were so intimate, perhaps it would be better to watch it in a more intimate setting – ie, my couch.
I felt that Russell Crowes performance was actually terrible. He brought no depth to the character and his singing was so monotone. He ruined one of my favorite songs – Stars. I read somewhere that he was approached for the role and had no desire to do it. The director had to convince him to do it, and his delivery felt as if he still didn’t care to do the role.
I think one of the best performances was “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” yet it was still missing that impact from the stage show that always makes me cry (his fallen friends entering and leaving the stage). And my fave character in the musical and movie is Enjolras. Love those scenes. And love the nod to the stage performance in his (spoiler) death scene.
Comment by Michaela — January 7, 2013 @ 7:37 pm |
I agree with every single thing you said, and Empty Chairs at Empty Tables makes me cry every time, as well, and I was disappointed with that scene, as well. Russell Crowe also fell flat, in my opinion.
Comment by abozza — January 7, 2013 @ 9:49 pm |