Les Mis at the O2
Got this for Christmas and it's ace, with a few drawbacks. Primarily among them is that Marius has a very weird accent... it puts me off a bit. Fortunately he seems able to control it while Eponine's dying and so he doesn't ruin his most powerful scene. It's not like I have a favourite Marius which he's not imitating (unlike with Valjean). It's just that the accent is weird with a beard.
Another little bug I feel is that the Valjean character's performance in the first acts is too angry for me. I prefer it when he's crushed by the realization of what he's done to the priest, but this actor makes him furious about it and it loses its resonance for me. Oh, and don't get me started on his 'Bring Him Home' performance. It's just not that good. It's a song that, when sung well, is capable of giving me chills and bringing a tear to my eye every time. He gives the whole performance away. There's no passion, no desire. It should be Valjean begging God to intervene and save Marius but the way he sings it it's more 'feh, if you've nothing better to do, you know'. Maybe he has the same issues with Marius' accent and doesn't really want him saved?
Another thing is they take away Gavrosh's death. I love that bit and it's just gone totally.
Also, maybe it's just an inner racist inside me, but an American black man playing javert doesn't work in my head. Don't get me wrong, I close my eyes and he's a great singer who has quite a good control over his American accent when singing, so it's only a little bit off-putting, but I got a DVD, not a cast recording CD, so I want to watch it and the visuals make it harder to get involved. It's not right...
Matt Lucas is amazing as Thenardier though. Really cracking performance. I thought he was familiar when I first watched it and it wasn't until he took off his hat and I saw his shiny bald head that it clicked who he was.
Also... is it just me who thinks Cosette should be better looking than Eponine? In this one they got it close, Cosette and Eponine were about on par, looks-wise. Or maybe I'm wrong. Should Eponine be better looking and it expose the dick that Marius really is by him going for Cosette instead, just because she's a lady and Eponine is from the streets? I don't know. Whatever it's supposed to be, invariably I'd have been with Eponine rather than Cosette if I were Marius. ;)
Anyway, that's enough procrastinating and avoiding writing my essay for now...
Another little bug I feel is that the Valjean character's performance in the first acts is too angry for me. I prefer it when he's crushed by the realization of what he's done to the priest, but this actor makes him furious about it and it loses its resonance for me. Oh, and don't get me started on his 'Bring Him Home' performance. It's just not that good. It's a song that, when sung well, is capable of giving me chills and bringing a tear to my eye every time. He gives the whole performance away. There's no passion, no desire. It should be Valjean begging God to intervene and save Marius but the way he sings it it's more 'feh, if you've nothing better to do, you know'. Maybe he has the same issues with Marius' accent and doesn't really want him saved?
Another thing is they take away Gavrosh's death. I love that bit and it's just gone totally.
Also, maybe it's just an inner racist inside me, but an American black man playing javert doesn't work in my head. Don't get me wrong, I close my eyes and he's a great singer who has quite a good control over his American accent when singing, so it's only a little bit off-putting, but I got a DVD, not a cast recording CD, so I want to watch it and the visuals make it harder to get involved. It's not right...
Matt Lucas is amazing as Thenardier though. Really cracking performance. I thought he was familiar when I first watched it and it wasn't until he took off his hat and I saw his shiny bald head that it clicked who he was.
Also... is it just me who thinks Cosette should be better looking than Eponine? In this one they got it close, Cosette and Eponine were about on par, looks-wise. Or maybe I'm wrong. Should Eponine be better looking and it expose the dick that Marius really is by him going for Cosette instead, just because she's a lady and Eponine is from the streets? I don't know. Whatever it's supposed to be, invariably I'd have been with Eponine rather than Cosette if I were Marius. ;)
Anyway, that's enough procrastinating and avoiding writing my essay for now...