Heh. I've never seen ER in anything before, but loved him here!
I confess I never understood the Eponine love - I don't hate her or anything but I never wished Marius picked her instead. Probably because I read the book before I stumbled upon the musical and so I always think of Eponine as the coarse, dirty woman she is in the book (which is a lot more realistic take on someone growing up in the slums) and can never buy the prettified musical version. Just as I have no idea if I'd have shipped Marius/Cosette from the musical if I didn't ship them from the book, which goes into a lot lot more detail about them.
ETA: I am sure people ship book Eponine and Marius too, but I am not one of them. Marius is clearly a person of his class and time (see his initial reaction to Valjean), and despite his involvement with the uprising, would never even conceive marrying a barely literate slum dweller with mileage (and is, thankfully, not the type of man to sleep around with her).
I couldn't agree more!! Hugh Jackman really was the weak link for me, while I didn't mind Russell Crowe nearly as much as everyone else seemed to. His singing is definitely the weakest, but ... his eyes!! They killed me. I know a lot of people have been very impressed with Hugh Jackman, but like you, I couldn't get past the fact that he wasn't Colm Wilkinson. I've never actually seen the musical or read the book, but I saw the PBS 10th Anniversary Concert special when I was 15 and DEVOURED the soundtrack on repeat for many many years afterwards, so that's what Les Miserables is in my head. I went with a friend who had never seen/heard it before, and she loved it a great deal - I think my potential enjoyment was clouded with my over-familiarity.
I find Eddie Redmayne absolutely magnetic! He was so lovely in the movie, and I find him the same way in many other things I've seen him in. For me, he's what makes the Pillars of the Earth miniseries worth watching - he steals almost even scene, even when he has no dialogue.
Heey, I watched this just yesterday! I rather liked Russell Crowe in this one as well, although I am partial toward Hugh Jackman, heh. But you're right, Crowe does have good screen presence. I wanted to laugh every time he started singing (not because of him per se, but something just seemed off), but I pretty much hung on his every word during his songs.
Thanks for sharing these passages, btw. I was pretty meh to their romance in the movie, mostly because every time I saw Cosette, my mind thought nothing but "She was so much cuter as a little girl!" and "It's the Mean Girls girl!" lol. But these passages are quite beautiful.
Somewhat random, but the girl who plays Eponine... I think everyone's fixating on her waist, but I was blown away most by her biceps. My goodness, I wish I had upper arms like that.
I was amused because clearly the 19th-century gutters had plenty to eat and amazing skin care :)
They had to compress a huge novel into a 2+ hr musical so a lot of stuff understandably got cut - I really do love the romance in the book but I think if I came into the musical without having read it, I'd be going 'that's it?' I did keep thinking 'it' Lily from Veronica Mars! She is going to cheat on you with your Dad, Marius!' (Though since his father is dead, I suppose it's OK).
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That passage is gorgeous, though honestly I find Cosette a bit frustrating - as an adult, I kept wishing he'd go for Eponine instead.
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I confess I never understood the Eponine love - I don't hate her or anything but I never wished Marius picked her instead. Probably because I read the book before I stumbled upon the musical and so I always think of Eponine as the coarse, dirty woman she is in the book (which is a lot more realistic take on someone growing up in the slums) and can never buy the prettified musical version. Just as I have no idea if I'd have shipped Marius/Cosette from the musical if I didn't ship them from the book, which goes into a lot lot more detail about them.
ETA: I am sure people ship book Eponine and Marius too, but I am not one of them. Marius is clearly a person of his class and time (see his initial reaction to Valjean), and despite his involvement with the uprising, would never even conceive marrying a barely literate slum dweller with mileage (and is, thankfully, not the type of man to sleep around with her).
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Release dates never made sense to me.
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I find Eddie Redmayne absolutely magnetic! He was so lovely in the movie, and I find him the same way in many other things I've seen him in. For me, he's what makes the Pillars of the Earth miniseries worth watching - he steals almost even scene, even when he has no dialogue.
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Yeah, Jackman was OK but all I could do is hear Wilkinson in my head and it ruined it for me.
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Thanks for sharing these passages, btw. I was pretty meh to their romance in the movie, mostly because every time I saw Cosette, my mind thought nothing but "She was so much cuter as a little girl!" and "It's the Mean Girls girl!" lol. But these passages are quite beautiful.
Somewhat random, but the girl who plays Eponine... I think everyone's fixating on her waist, but I was blown away most by her biceps. My goodness, I wish I had upper arms like that.
Reply
They had to compress a huge novel into a 2+ hr musical so a lot of stuff understandably got cut - I really do love the romance in the book but I think if I came into the musical without having read it, I'd be going 'that's it?' I did keep thinking 'it' Lily from Veronica Mars! She is going to cheat on you with your Dad, Marius!' (Though since his father is dead, I suppose it's OK).
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