Sunday, December 23, 2012

Les Miserables Review

The Blood of the Martyrs 
Austen Goslin


How does one translate one of the most well known, beloved, and bombastic musicals of all time from stage to screen? By taking it even farther of course, and that is exactly what Tom Hooper has done with Les Miserables.

An adaption of an adaption of an adaption, the film is based on the operetta, which is based on the Victor Hugo novel of the same name. Hugo's melodramatic opus is essentially a series of vignettes connected by the transformation of Jean Valjean from a bitter convict to a merciful saint, all set to the back drop of a post-revolutionary Paris. The story is a bit absurd, but that never stops it from inducing sobs from an entire theater full of people. Despite the clearly over the top story, it never feels out of place in a film whose dialog is nearly all handled in song.

Valjean is in nearly every scene of this two and a half hour epic, and Hugh Jackman makes every moment of it a treat. Having been given next to no serious acting roles, it is fascinating to see Jackman's, Tony winning stage presence translate so well to the silver screen. Jackman effortlessly manages to balance the beauty of the songs he sings and the emotion with which they deserve to be imbued.

As talented as Jackman is, it is most of the cast that surrounds him that makes this film so much fun to watch. This star studded cast includes Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the comical and blundering Thénardiers, whose lighthearted scenes do well to break up what is other wise a solid two hours of sadness. This film also plays host to a new comer of immense talent, Samantha Barks, who plays a hopeless lover of a boy already in love with another. This role demands every bit of attention for the few scenes she is in. Based on her already remarkable theater career, it is no surprise that she possesses one of the finest voices in the cast.

While most of the cast has overwhelming talent and plays their parts well, there are disappointing exceptions. One of these is Russel Crowe's Inspector Javert, the films almost unrelenting antagonist who seems to be almost entirely without consistent motivation. This is of course a problem with the adapted material itself, but it is one that should have been addressed when the re-writes occurred. While these rewrites may worry long time fans, they are entirely necessary, and help the films translation from stage. The second of the films few disappointments is the star crossed lovers, Marius and Cossette, both of whom struggle to rise to the talents of their fellow cast members. The few flaws are vastly out-weighed by the performance of Anne Hathaway.

Her turn as a mother struggling to support her daughter is breathtaking. From her songs to her sobs, she delivers easily the best performance of her career. For all of her almost half hour screen time, Hathaway shines orders of magnitude brighter than anyone else in the film.

All of these performances are captured rather gracelessly by director Tom Hooper. While his visual styling fits the story well, his framing is often awkward and pointless. He seems to have only two settings for the film: huge, epic, far shots, or way too close-ups. The few times he does find a middle ground, he turns the camera to odds angles that have no practical or narrative purpose. It seems as if he was consistently afraid that the singing in the film would turn people off, so the directing had to be startling and unique, however, this attempt falls flat more often than not. For all his faults Hooper's decision to make cast members sing live with the full orchestra gives the film the life that the story needs desperately in order to thrive.

Conclusion:
While its problems are sure to be overlooked by fans, those less familiar with grandiose, over the top nature of theater may find less to like. Despite its noticeable flaws, Les Miserables is a wonderfully acted and gorgeous film that seeks to return movie musicals to their former glory.



Note: Les Miserables was review at a pre-screening event hosted, for Stubs members only, by AMC Theaters.

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