Les Miserables: A Review

Hi friends! Well, after staying in the house for what seemed like an eternity, hubby and I decided we needed to get out of the house for awhile. So, it was decided we were going to see a movie. It was pretty easy to figure out which one we were going to see.

Let me back up a bit. I should give you a little bit of back story. If you know me, you likely know my love of musical theater. I feel like I practically grew up on stage, or in a dance rehearsal room. I feel like each person has "their musical", the one they know forward and backward. The one that has spoken to them on a level others haven't. For me, it's really a tie. RENT, and Beauty and the Beast. Rent seems like it was THE musical soundtrack of my high school life. EVERYONE had it. Everyone knew it. Shoot, even our class moto was "No other road, no other way. No day but today."

For my mother, it's Phantom of the Opera. I grew up listening to it, and because of her love of it, I now know every single note like the back of my hand. I also love it, but it doesn't speak to me the way Rent of B&tB does.

My husband, however, loves Les Miserables. It's like he was meant to be living in the time of the French Revolution anyway, but more importantly, the music speaks to him unlike anyone I've ever known. He knows every single note. Every single actor who has played his favorite characters. Through him, I've learned all the music as well, though I would be lying if I said I knew it as well as he does. When we learned many moons ago that they would be making it into a movie, hubby was excited but immediately skeptical. I mean, have you seen the Phantom movie? So, let's get back to the story at hand.

We saw Les Miserables. The theater was PACKED. Not a single seat left unoccupied, even in those rows directly under the screen. I feel like I should probably do some kind of report card, just so you get a better idea of what's going on:

CHARACTERS:
Hugh Jackman (Jean Val Jean): A+
This dude was made for this role. Mr. Jackman is already a Broadway alum, so I knew he would understand the gravity of this role, and the importance of live singing. He did not disappoint. He delivered every single note with the emotion you could only expect from someone who's used to doing 10 shows a week. Simply amazing.

Russell Crowe (Inspector Javert): C-
Bless his heart. He tried. This is an insanely hard role. With songs like "Stars" and "The Confrontation", I can imagine it was going to be really hard for whoever they got to play the part. But, this may have been a bit too much of a reach for Mr. Crowe. The songs are TOO big and the character is TOO important to the story for them not to be perfectly on point. He sounded like a poor high school kid trying to keep up with everyone else around him. "Javert's Suicide" (spoiler alert: he commits suicide.) was so lacking that at times you didn't even know what he was saying. Not very good when he's literally talking about key points in the plot. He wasn't the worst. Just wasn't that great, either.

Anne Hathaway (Fantine): A-
Wow. Here's a woman who gives everything for her performance. She LOOKED like she was going to die any second. Her delivery of "I Dreamed a Dream" wasn't the most beautiful thing you've ever heard, but if you could make it through without crying, I'm pretty sure you don't have a heart. You feel every single pain she's felt, and you really buy that this is a song of a woman at the end of her road, who really never did anything wrong. Heart wrenching, riveting, and still a very well-sung performance.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham-Carter (The Thenardiers): B-
The Thenardiers are the much-needed comedy relief in a musical filled with pretty much endless death. While you pretty much hate them, they're the ones you're supposed to laugh at. Cohen and Bonham-Carter have appeared in other musicals together in the past (hello, Sweeney Todd!), so there was no doubt they could pull it off. Here's the weird thing though: I didn't laugh at them as much I did during the stage show. They were far more tragic in the movie. Perhaps that's the direction they wanted to go, so I can't really fault them, but I felt like I really, really needed to laugh by that point.

Amanda Seyfried (Cosette): C+
To think she got her start on Mean Girls. She's sweet, very sweet. Her voice lacks a bit of control Les Mis fans are used to hearing in young Cosette. I'll be honest and say I can't grade her much more harshly since I missed a pretty big chunk of her performance in "In My Life" with the nose bleed of the century. Yes, the awesome dark circles around my eyes from days without sleep were coupled with blood smeared all over my face. I bet I looked like a zombie. It's not Amanda's fault though. Don't blame her.

Eddie Redmayne (Marius): C-
Sounded like Kermit the Frog. Sorry. Nice to look at. But this round goes to Michael Ball.

Aaron Tveit (Enjolras): A
Enjolras is actually one of my favorite characters. I have a thing for the semi-obscure characters. While he's in no way a background character, people tend to forget about him. And Aaron is INSANE. He hits it perfectly. No kidding. Dude is amazing, and even though they cut 'Drink With Me' so short that you barely get the chorus in there, he does it perfectly. Plus, he kicks "One Day More" right in the taco. Well done, sir.

Samantha Barks (Eponine): A
Another brilliant pick. While Hubby has a hard time with anyone but Lea Solonga in this role, we both really like Samantha. Her part in "A Little Fall of Rain" was beautiful, as was "On My Own." Well done. I sense a bright future on her horizon for sure!

All in all, it was really well done. Thankfully there was no "Dog Eat Dog", but some of the other songs I really love were cut short, or were very changed. I might have thought differently had I been able to breathe or if I hadn't had half a roll of toilet paper shoved up my nose, but I guess we'll have to see.

Hubby was pretty on the fence. He enjoyed it for what it was, but it cannot be compared to the stage production. Maybe that's the point though. Maybe it's supposed to be held on it's own. Without comparison.

Just a last little note: unless you REALLY know what this is about, and your kids are extremely well adjusted, don't bring them to see it. I saw a mother completely shocked and hurriedly rushing her children from the theater. People, this is a movie about war. Loss. The underbelly of all of the rotten parts of life. It's not a happy, frilly, musical about puppies and friendship. Life sucks.

So, if you've seen Les Mis, what are your thoughts? Share them in the comments below.