Les Mis!
Non-spoilery version: I was a total wreck by the time the movie ended. But in a good way.
To get the negative out of the way: I was not a big fan of Hooper's "Give singers a tonsillectomy with the camera" method of filming the songs. People aren't always pretty when they sing, and sometimes it made the more emotional moments feel mawkish and overdone.
Other than that, though, the film was epic and gorgeous. The actors all fit their parts beautifully. That's not to say they all had the right voices, though. Russell Crowe just did not have the vocal chops for Javert, and he did not look comfortable singing it. That said, though, as I went in with low expectations, he actually ended up impressing me in certain moments. Javert's darker, rougher moments worked well, including the suicide sequence. Also, Crowe and Hooper injected a little more humanity into Javert, who is not a villain. An antagonist, certainly, but not a villain.
Hugh Jackman was wonderful as Valjean. He has a gorgeous voice, and, being an old song-and-dance man, he's perfectly comfortable performing in this way. I don't think there's another film actor today who could've done the role as well. There were moments when I wasn't sure if his voice was exactly right. "Bring Him Home" should be sung in falsetto, and Jackman doesn't have that delicate head voice. I actually liked the reprise better because it was softer and sweeter-sounding.
While I'm praising the cast, Anne Hathaway deserves the Oscar she's going to get. Fantine's sequence is what set me to crying in the first place. It's one thing to watch from a distance as Fantine spirals downward, but it's another to be intimately close as she does so. The change in the "Lovely Ladies" sequence to bring it closer to the book - Fantine selling both her hair and her teeth - makes it all the more brutal and visceral. And then transferring "I Dreamed a Dream" to being sung in the immediate aftermath of her turning her first trick, as she realizes this is her life now, and all she's left with is the hope that she can keep Cosette alive, knowing she herself can never escape? Powerful. Small wonder she's half-mad when Valjean finds her and redeems his mistake.
The rest of the cast was perfect, too. SBC and HBC as the Thenardiers? Inspired. You don't need great voices, just great characters, for those roles. They're the actual villains in LM - selfish people who drained the life out of Fantine while treating her daughter like a slave, con artists, grifters and corpse-robbers. They're fun, but they're loathsome. Samantha Barks was a touching Eponine, and her voice is gorgeous. Amanda Seyfried did a great job as Cosette. Her fast vibrato is the type of thing that annoys me, but it wasn't really an issue most of the time, and, hey - she hit all the high notes beautifully. And Aaron Tveit was the perfect Enjolras. You need a really angelic tenor for that role, and he was wonderful.
Eddie Redmayne, though, was the real standout for me. He has a beautiful, rich voice, more of a second tenor than Tveit's high tenor. He also has a wonderfully expressive face. It all combined to make an "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" to die for. Not a dry eye in the house.
For the musical itself and the choices they made, overall, I approved. I've seen the stage musical three times and practically had the soundtrack memorized, so I knew when changes were made. I don't blame them for cutting down some of the songs, even if I'd have liked to have heard the whole thing. You've got to make some sacrifices to keep the movie moving. I also noted the added bits of dialogue, both spoken and sung, and was glad the musical's creators were on hand for that. Sometimes, things need updating.
Several of the songs were moved, too. I mentioned "I Dreamed a Dream", but equally effective was moving "Do You Hear the People Sing?" to during General Lamarque's funeral. Beautifully done. Other, smaller alterations were made, too, like adding the character of Marius's grandfather and even giving him a part in the reprise of "A Heart Full of Love".
The best, though, the absolute peak of the brilliance, was in taking Eponine out of Valjean's death scene and adding in the Bishop. I was pretty much lost when Fantine showed up, but the Bishop wrecked me. It was a perfect addition. Eponine never really made sense, anyway. The audience gets attached to her, yes, but Valjean never met her. Bringing in the Bishop to bookend Valjean's life was a stroke of genius, IMHO. Plus, Colm Wilkinson.
So, overall, a couple of quibbles, but I still loved it and would happily see it again.
To get the negative out of the way: I was not a big fan of Hooper's "Give singers a tonsillectomy with the camera" method of filming the songs. People aren't always pretty when they sing, and sometimes it made the more emotional moments feel mawkish and overdone.
Other than that, though, the film was epic and gorgeous. The actors all fit their parts beautifully. That's not to say they all had the right voices, though. Russell Crowe just did not have the vocal chops for Javert, and he did not look comfortable singing it. That said, though, as I went in with low expectations, he actually ended up impressing me in certain moments. Javert's darker, rougher moments worked well, including the suicide sequence. Also, Crowe and Hooper injected a little more humanity into Javert, who is not a villain. An antagonist, certainly, but not a villain.
Hugh Jackman was wonderful as Valjean. He has a gorgeous voice, and, being an old song-and-dance man, he's perfectly comfortable performing in this way. I don't think there's another film actor today who could've done the role as well. There were moments when I wasn't sure if his voice was exactly right. "Bring Him Home" should be sung in falsetto, and Jackman doesn't have that delicate head voice. I actually liked the reprise better because it was softer and sweeter-sounding.
While I'm praising the cast, Anne Hathaway deserves the Oscar she's going to get. Fantine's sequence is what set me to crying in the first place. It's one thing to watch from a distance as Fantine spirals downward, but it's another to be intimately close as she does so. The change in the "Lovely Ladies" sequence to bring it closer to the book - Fantine selling both her hair and her teeth - makes it all the more brutal and visceral. And then transferring "I Dreamed a Dream" to being sung in the immediate aftermath of her turning her first trick, as she realizes this is her life now, and all she's left with is the hope that she can keep Cosette alive, knowing she herself can never escape? Powerful. Small wonder she's half-mad when Valjean finds her and redeems his mistake.
The rest of the cast was perfect, too. SBC and HBC as the Thenardiers? Inspired. You don't need great voices, just great characters, for those roles. They're the actual villains in LM - selfish people who drained the life out of Fantine while treating her daughter like a slave, con artists, grifters and corpse-robbers. They're fun, but they're loathsome. Samantha Barks was a touching Eponine, and her voice is gorgeous. Amanda Seyfried did a great job as Cosette. Her fast vibrato is the type of thing that annoys me, but it wasn't really an issue most of the time, and, hey - she hit all the high notes beautifully. And Aaron Tveit was the perfect Enjolras. You need a really angelic tenor for that role, and he was wonderful.
Eddie Redmayne, though, was the real standout for me. He has a beautiful, rich voice, more of a second tenor than Tveit's high tenor. He also has a wonderfully expressive face. It all combined to make an "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" to die for. Not a dry eye in the house.
For the musical itself and the choices they made, overall, I approved. I've seen the stage musical three times and practically had the soundtrack memorized, so I knew when changes were made. I don't blame them for cutting down some of the songs, even if I'd have liked to have heard the whole thing. You've got to make some sacrifices to keep the movie moving. I also noted the added bits of dialogue, both spoken and sung, and was glad the musical's creators were on hand for that. Sometimes, things need updating.
Several of the songs were moved, too. I mentioned "I Dreamed a Dream", but equally effective was moving "Do You Hear the People Sing?" to during General Lamarque's funeral. Beautifully done. Other, smaller alterations were made, too, like adding the character of Marius's grandfather and even giving him a part in the reprise of "A Heart Full of Love".
The best, though, the absolute peak of the brilliance, was in taking Eponine out of Valjean's death scene and adding in the Bishop. I was pretty much lost when Fantine showed up, but the Bishop wrecked me. It was a perfect addition. Eponine never really made sense, anyway. The audience gets attached to her, yes, but Valjean never met her. Bringing in the Bishop to bookend Valjean's life was a stroke of genius, IMHO. Plus, Colm Wilkinson.
So, overall, a couple of quibbles, but I still loved it and would happily see it again.