Les Misérables - Review

It's quite a surprise to think that it's taken this long to finally get a film adaptation of Les Misérables, one of theater's most successful musicals. The musical, of course based on the classic novel by Victor Hugo, saw a thirty-plus year run on Broadway along with productions in Britain, Paris, and all over really. While I have always wanted to see a stage production of Les Miz, it has unfortunately not happened. I would have loved to get the chance to see it, but I never lived in an area near where it was playing. So if your a fan of the play and are wondering how it compares to it's movie counterpart, I cannot answer that as of now. Still, the movie has actually been getting a fair deal of positive buzz, with mostly good reviews, enthusiastic responses from audiences, and eight Oscar nominations. Though I don't personally know that many extreme Les Miz fans, it seems like those said fans have overall reacted quite positively to what they received with this adaptation. There's definitely plenty to work with here to make a good, possibly great movie musical for the ages. With that being said, what did I think of the movie? It's actually pretty good... for the most part.

Set in 19th century France, Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean, who is first introduced as a convicted felon just completing a 19 year prison sentence. Upon receiving his freedom, Valjean struggles to find work and nearly starves to death. Desperate to start a new life, Valjean breaks his parole, forms a new identity, and flees to leaving his previous life behind. He is pursued, however, by Javert (Russell Crowe), the police inspector with a fierce determination to catch Valjean and throw him back into prison for breaking his parole. Meanwhile, Valjean meets up with Fantine (Anne Hathaway), an end-of-her-rope woman turned to prostitution in order to support her young daughter, currently in the care of two corrupt innkeepers. Valjean, seeing this as his chance at redemption, determines himself to help Fantine's little girl, named Cosette. With Valjean still haunted by past and Javert on a relentless hunt to take him in, his freedom and redemption may come at a bigger cost than first realized.

Listen, I know that the stage musical (and likely by extension, this film adaptation), has a large and very enthusiastic fanbase. So, I will preface this review by re-stating what I mentioned above... namely, I did like the movie! Didn't love it, not one of the year's best, and certainly not one of the best musicals ever made, but an overall above average film slightly elevated by some strong elements. Making movies in general is hard, making films based on stage productions or musicals, especially one as "show-y" and bombastic as Les Miz, is an incredible challenge. Plays that are known for giant spectacle or large epic production numbers like (based on what I've heard) Les Miz have certain styles that don't translate particularly well on film. I often think of Andrew Lloyd Weber's adaptation of Phantom of the Opera as a good example. It's a great play, not so much because of subtlety or nuance, but rather because the grand scale, huge special effects, are operatic musical numbers are a blast to watch live. The 2004 film adaptation tried to recreate that same feeling, and while it was a worthy effort, it didn't really work. That sort of bombastic spectacle looks really overblown and often kind of goofy on film. Les Miz, fares a little better on that front, but falls victim to many similar problems. The songs themselves are great, the ideas are interesting, and most of the actors are good, but the ambitious style and abstract storytelling just doesn't translate as well as I hoped.

I'll start off by talking about what I did like... the cast. Hugh Jackman is probably best known as the claw-wielding mutant Wolverine from the X-Men movies. While he is frequently cast in action films, many didn't know that the guy has a background in musical theater. With a few stints on Broadway, the guy has shown he's a legitimate triple threat... a great actor, talented singer, and enjoyable dancer as well. Make no mistake, he was a damn good choice for the role of Valjean. Jackman sells the dramatic scenes are carries musical numbers like the true talent he is. Anne Hathaway's performance as Fantine has received widespread praise as well. Despite only being the film for about fifteen minutes, she sells every minute of her brief role to perfection. When she sings what is arguably the play's most memorable song, "I Dreamed A Dream," the whole sequence is just a close up of Hathaway with no cutaways or anything. Had it not been for her spot on acting, that sequence would not have worked, but Hathaway's voice and range of emotions is just perfect and stands as one of the film's most memorable moments. Short role for sure, but Hathaway is just so perfect, it's one of the film's few truly great qualities.

The rest of the cast is a bit hit and miss, but overall they work. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter play the scam artists/innkeepers caring for Cosette, providing a fun musical number and some welcome moments of comic relief. Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne are also solid as the two lovebirds caught in the turmoil of the 1832 Paris Uprising. Overall I can't really complaint... except for Russell Crowe. This is a real bummer, because Crowe is one hell of an actor who is no stranger to overblown period pieces (like Gladiator for instance). Unfortunately, apparently someone didn't tell him that he had to sing here... because he really can't. While it's not the worst voice I've ever heard, vocals clearly aren't the guy's strong point. It wouldn't be so bad if he only had one or two musical numbers, but since most of the film's dialogue is done melodically, you're constantly subjected to the Crowe's off key numbers. Had it not been for Crowe, I might have rated this film a bit higher. Still aside from the one exception, most of the movie's success came down to the film's cast selling the hell out of their roles. That is what ultimately saves the film from mediocrity.

The rest of the movie also has its ups and downs. One thing I haven't mentioned yet is something I do find quite interesting about the film. That is that is one of the few film musicals to feature live singing. In most movie musicals, actors pre-record their songs in a studio and lip sync to their previously recorded tracks while filming. For Les Miz, the live singing really gave the actors a chance to bring some real emotion to their songs, namely Fantine's aforementioned number. The songs may not work as well as a soundtrack or without the movie to provide context, but for the movie itself, they work. The production design is pretty good, with some impressive sets and artistic designs. The same can be said for the creative costume designs as well. The cinematography and editing, however, is more than a little flawed. For a reason I can't explain, the film has way more dutch angles than was needed. There were some times I was thinking, geez this movie has almost as many as Battlefield Earth (but not quite). There's not a whole lot of rhythm to the editing either (this being a musical, that's kind of a problem). Plus the action and battle scenes toward the end are presented so erratically that they become kind of disorienting and hard to follow. The story itself kind of convoluted as well. I like the basic themes and ideas, and the characters present some intriguing set ups, but the abstract style, while probably effective on stage, just doesn't work as well here. It starts off as Valjean's story of redemption and retribution but then inexplicably becomes about Cosette and Marius along with the 1832 uprising with little explanation or logic. Plus, the film runs at almost three hours. This leads to more than a few noticeable dull moments that really hurt the film's pacing. In the end, it somewhat comes together but there's a lot of flaws along the way.

So Les Misérables... it's good, but not great. There are some really strong performances, some memorable songs, and some real artisitc ambition at play here. There's also some really confusing moments, some not-so-memorable songs, and very flawed pacing. Still, I am glad that I saw it. I think most will find something to enjoy from it too. So I give it a recommendation, but not a particularly enthusiastic one.

My Score: 3 out of 5