Les Miserables (Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Sasha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter) – Modern musicals have a checkered history of transforming to the big screen. From A Chorus Line to Rent to Evita to Mamma Mia! and The Producers (version 2), audiences do not flock to the film versions of popular Broadway and West End shows although Phantom of the Opera did surprisingly well despite mediocre reviews. It took an old musical, Chicago, to rejuvenate the musical movie genre.
So it was with skepticism that I went to see Les Miserables, that depressing-as-all- get-out story of Jean Valjean and the origins of the French Revolution. I wasn’t overwhelmed by the play or its score (except for I Dream The Dream), but the film amazed me. Les Miz is an opera; all of its dialogue is sung. That can be unnerving, particular on film (see Evita), but director Tom Hooper (Oscar winner for The King’s Speech) and the cast took great pains to make sure that the audience could understand every word. This is one great advantage of film over the theater. In person, a musical requires exceptional acoustics, which most theaters don’t have, while film has Dolby and other digital sound systems that provide perfect quality.
The multi-year storyline is elaborate and a bit disjointed. But in short, a good man, Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who stole bread to feed his sister’s daughter in mid-19th century France ends up in prison for 19 years before receiving parole. The commandant of the prison, Javert (Russell Crowe) loathes the man and vows to punish Valjean later. The Frenchman changes names, redeems himself, becomes a wealthy businessman, and will seemingly triumph. But an error in judgment leads a former employee, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), to sell her body and soul to support her daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Adams as a child, Amanda Seyfried as a young woman). Fantine leads a short and difficult life. But when Valjean realizes what he did, he raises the daughter as his own and vows to protect her through all of the tough times. Valjean must reinvent himself time after time as Javert pursues him, putting Cosette in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the seeds of the Revolution are sewn by young, adrenalin-driven men led by Enjolras (Aaron Tveit) and Marius (Eddie Redmayne). The latter falls in love with Cosette based merely on a glance, and she is equally smitten. As Valjean tries to elude Javert with Cosette in tow, the Revolution begins, Marius is wounded, and Valjean faces his greatest fear.
With almost all musicals where the story (the “book” in theatrical terms) is just a means to move from song to song, Les Miz is different, if not unique. The plot is actually the heart of this musical and it is compelling. So what separates Les Miz, the film, from the failed adaptations of the past? There are three things. First, the scope is amazing – massive cast, gorgeous scenery, wonderful special effects, fantastic costumes, grand scale. Secondly, the pacing is first-rate. Musicals are long but they also have intermissions. Hooper manages to present all three acts as distinct pieces, giving the audience a collective and emotional release between acts. He does this by opening each act with a bright, massive scene. At 2 hours and 37 minutes, Les Miz borders on the edge of tushy-numbing but it is never boring.
The third distinction, of course, is the cast. Hugh Jackman is a certain Oscar nominee as Valjean. He must be on the screen for well over two hours. His voice shows incredible range, power, and confidence. Moving from Wolverine to Valjean is an incredible feat. To do it with such conviction and commitment is mind-numbing for this Australian 44-year-old star of stage and screen. Fellow Aussie Russell Crowe appears to be inspired casting as Javert, decked out in his Master and Commander outfit. If only he sang better. It is not that he is Pierce Brosnan (Mamma Mia!) bad – not by any means – but he always seems to be “forcing it.” His pitch is good; his range is fine; but his doesn’t seem to have the quality of Jackman or the two female starts, Hathaway and Seyfried. His background shows no musical theater.
On the other hand, Anne Hathaway was musically trained. She may be the most multi-talented actress of her era (she is only 30). Losing dangerous amounts of weight to play this role, Hathaway plays the tortured Fantine perfectly and gets the chance to sing the best song (the previously mentioned I Dream The Dream) early in the film before (here comes the spoiler) dying in one of many melodramatic moments. As Cosette, Amanda Seyfried (pronounced Sigh’ frid) shows off her singing talent again (she was wonderful in Mamma Mia!) as a love-struck soprano.
The biggest surprise might be Eddie Redmayne as Marius. Redmayne made his mark as Marilyn Monroe’s guide and love interest, Colin Clark, in My Week With Marilyn. At 30, he looks much younger and has a sweet tenor voice that exhibits emotion and sensitivity.
Of course, this depressing a movie needs comic relief. It comes from a pair of off-ball thieving characters, an innkeeper, Thenardier and his wife. Played by two talented odd balls, Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, they connive, steal, squeal, and romp while getting the only fun songs of the play/movie. Neither appears before Act II but as you would guess, they steal their scenes.
For such a long film, the audience was mesmerized. There was hardly a sound in a packed theater. The film’s early box office results prove that the audience attracted is far wider than I would have expected. Fully half of the audience in my showing was under 30, which bodes well for its worldwide gross. This is an absolutely marvelous movie that even those of you not fond of musicals should thoroughly enjoy.