It Is The Music Of A People!
Firstly, let me share the saga of my attempts to see Les Miserables. My sister and I made plans with my sis-in-law to go on Christmas Day with her and my brother. But my brother refused because he was boycotting places that make people work on Christmas. He refused even after I said that I was excited to see it with him since we originally saw it on Broadway together and fell in love with it together and anyways, we never do anything as a family like this anymore. It seems his liberalism has gone nuclear.
So my sister and I went anyways and the theater was packed. We kept asking people to move down for us, because I can’t climb over people to get to a seat in the middle. No one would move for us. They kept saying the seats were saved or telling us to climb over, despite that I am obviously physically handicapped. We got a worker and she tried to get people to move down for us, but eventually we had to leave without seeing the movie. The employee was so apologetic, gave us our money back and two free passes for the movie. She also said if we came for the next showing, she would just let us in for free and we could save our passes. We couldn’t go back because we had to pick The Nephew up, but she was very nice about it all. Not so nice were the viewers in the theater who turned us away on Christmas Day.
So then we intended to go see it on Friday, before my sister left for her trip to NY. On Thursday, my sister started vomiting and was sick all day. Like, really sick. Like she couldn’t even hold down a sip of water. There was no way we were making it to the movie, despite that my sister spent all day on Friday saying she felt good enough to go and then shortly changing her mind. She came home from NY on Wednesday completely over the flu, but had lost her voice. We went to the movie anyways and during the previews, she started coughing and couldn’t stop. I thought she was going to have to get up and leave, after all of that trouble. Luckily she managed to calm it down about ten minutes into the movie.
So now, at last, I have seen the movie!
I can’t explain to you what this musical means to me. It is my favorite of all time. Les Miserables hits me in a way nothing else ever has. And the movie was amazing. I thought I might be thrown by the fact that they sing the songs differently, in subtle ways, because they are acting it on a more close-up level. Like instead of belting out a note I usually love, Jackman let his voice break on it in a quiet way, as his emotion was breaking itself. Despite it not being note for note the musical I know, I liked how they did that. It added so much emotion to it and I think it would have been weird otherwise, when you could see the emotion right up on their faces. I don’t know if I’m explaining it well, but it really added something.
And like Marius has never been my favorite - I don’t take well to the whole love sick thing - but in the movie I really felt for him. The scene where he is singing about the empty tables of his dead friends had me in tears. The emotion on his face and in his voice was so raw. Eponine was wonderful as well and her ‘On My Own’ rendition is the perfect example of how this movie worked. I even liked Russell Crowe in his part which I was very nervous about because most of the time when I see him acting, all I can see is ’Russell Crowe’, and also because Javert is one of my favorites. But his death scene broke my heart perfectly and I even got goosebumps during his first solo number. But when I really lost my shit was during Enjorlas’ last stand, when he raises the flag up. He is my favorite and I cried for his final rebellion. Also the whole ‘Do You Hear The People Sing’ number had me wanting to stand up and cheer. My favorite number in the whole musical and they delivered it with such a punch - I know I’ll be rewatching that scene on DVD over and over again.
The little girl they got to play young Cosette looked so much like those iconic images from the old posters too that it really struck me. And the kid playing Gavroche was so awesome and strong and wee at the same time - though I admit to thinking how we should dress The Nephew up as Gavroche next Halloween. I mean, he knows all the words to all Gavroche’s songs anyways. And I’d be remiss in not mentioning Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway’s performances, as they were wrought with emotions and beautifully sung - my sister says she cried every time Fantine had a song. Mostly I was grinning like a loon, sometimes even while crying, and I did have to fist pump the air a little after the last number because they hit it home so hard.
I fucking love this musical like it is my whole heart and I left the theater with a grin on my face, so take that as my short review right there.
So my sister and I went anyways and the theater was packed. We kept asking people to move down for us, because I can’t climb over people to get to a seat in the middle. No one would move for us. They kept saying the seats were saved or telling us to climb over, despite that I am obviously physically handicapped. We got a worker and she tried to get people to move down for us, but eventually we had to leave without seeing the movie. The employee was so apologetic, gave us our money back and two free passes for the movie. She also said if we came for the next showing, she would just let us in for free and we could save our passes. We couldn’t go back because we had to pick The Nephew up, but she was very nice about it all. Not so nice were the viewers in the theater who turned us away on Christmas Day.
So then we intended to go see it on Friday, before my sister left for her trip to NY. On Thursday, my sister started vomiting and was sick all day. Like, really sick. Like she couldn’t even hold down a sip of water. There was no way we were making it to the movie, despite that my sister spent all day on Friday saying she felt good enough to go and then shortly changing her mind. She came home from NY on Wednesday completely over the flu, but had lost her voice. We went to the movie anyways and during the previews, she started coughing and couldn’t stop. I thought she was going to have to get up and leave, after all of that trouble. Luckily she managed to calm it down about ten minutes into the movie.
So now, at last, I have seen the movie!
I can’t explain to you what this musical means to me. It is my favorite of all time. Les Miserables hits me in a way nothing else ever has. And the movie was amazing. I thought I might be thrown by the fact that they sing the songs differently, in subtle ways, because they are acting it on a more close-up level. Like instead of belting out a note I usually love, Jackman let his voice break on it in a quiet way, as his emotion was breaking itself. Despite it not being note for note the musical I know, I liked how they did that. It added so much emotion to it and I think it would have been weird otherwise, when you could see the emotion right up on their faces. I don’t know if I’m explaining it well, but it really added something.
And like Marius has never been my favorite - I don’t take well to the whole love sick thing - but in the movie I really felt for him. The scene where he is singing about the empty tables of his dead friends had me in tears. The emotion on his face and in his voice was so raw. Eponine was wonderful as well and her ‘On My Own’ rendition is the perfect example of how this movie worked. I even liked Russell Crowe in his part which I was very nervous about because most of the time when I see him acting, all I can see is ’Russell Crowe’, and also because Javert is one of my favorites. But his death scene broke my heart perfectly and I even got goosebumps during his first solo number. But when I really lost my shit was during Enjorlas’ last stand, when he raises the flag up. He is my favorite and I cried for his final rebellion. Also the whole ‘Do You Hear The People Sing’ number had me wanting to stand up and cheer. My favorite number in the whole musical and they delivered it with such a punch - I know I’ll be rewatching that scene on DVD over and over again.
The little girl they got to play young Cosette looked so much like those iconic images from the old posters too that it really struck me. And the kid playing Gavroche was so awesome and strong and wee at the same time - though I admit to thinking how we should dress The Nephew up as Gavroche next Halloween. I mean, he knows all the words to all Gavroche’s songs anyways. And I’d be remiss in not mentioning Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway’s performances, as they were wrought with emotions and beautifully sung - my sister says she cried every time Fantine had a song. Mostly I was grinning like a loon, sometimes even while crying, and I did have to fist pump the air a little after the last number because they hit it home so hard.
I fucking love this musical like it is my whole heart and I left the theater with a grin on my face, so take that as my short review right there.