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Les Miserables (2012) film adaptation of the musical

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Hodor Cleric of Banjo from Westeros Since: Dec, 1969
Cleric of Banjo
#176: Dec 25th 2012 at 8:26:40 PM

I saw it earlier today and overall liked it a lot. I thought Crowe was quite good, as was pretty much everyone else- I thought it did a really good job adding realistic background/actions to the songs. I think I liked the added Pet the Dog moment for Javert. It is somewhat out-of-character, but it does add some additional complexity to his Heel Realization. Granted, part of the point of Javert is that he isn't a very complex guy.

The Thenadiers were definitely the weakest, although not as bad as I had feared from some of the reviews. I wish they had cast actors to play them more traditionally and not cut so many of their lines/added details. Not really a spoiler, but Mme. Thenardier cons people by being seductive, which would be quite alien behavior to the character in the book/probably every previous take on the role.

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CPFMfan I am serious. This is my serious face. from A Whale's Vagina Since: Aug, 2010
I am serious. This is my serious face.
#177: Dec 25th 2012 at 8:32:42 PM

I also liked that added Pet the Dog moment, though I wished they would've taken a cue from the book and had him arrest Thenardier and have his wife die in jail. Whatever, at least he didn't get money from Marius.

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Hodor Cleric of Banjo from Westeros Since: Dec, 1969
Cleric of Banjo
#178: Dec 25th 2012 at 8:35:01 PM

I was kind of disappointed that they didn't get money from him. I guess it would make things more of a downer (even though their song is hilarious), but the point is that totally amoral people like them can and do succeed (not that being amoral is a guarantee to success, as their periods of poverty can attest, but it isn't a bar to it either.

Edit- On another note, thinking that maybe the film should have its own page, as it does use some different tropes than previous stage productions.

edited 25th Dec '12 8:38:34 PM by Hodor

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CPFMfan I am serious. This is my serious face. from A Whale's Vagina Since: Aug, 2010
I am serious. This is my serious face.
#179: Dec 25th 2012 at 8:41:34 PM

Well, that still is intact, more or less, the implication being that they'll continue to be serial criminals. In fact they're more karma-free than they were in the book, where they're arrested and one of them dies.

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dazai Since: Jan, 2001
#180: Dec 25th 2012 at 10:42:39 PM

Saw it earlier tonight and enjoyed it though there were parts of it that were quite choppy to me and they cut out some of my favorite short songs. Hugh Jackman's voice annoyed me as he seemed unable in to decide on what vocal range he should sing in. Russel's voice took some getting use to but I enjoyed him. His version of the suicide made me wince as you actually hear his neck/bones breaking when he lands in the river. But overall the landscape and the realism of the city and the conflict were what had me sold on it.

CPFMfan I am serious. This is my serious face. from A Whale's Vagina Since: Aug, 2010
I am serious. This is my serious face.
#181: Dec 25th 2012 at 11:37:23 PM

Ditto. I was expecting them to cut away and throw in a splash sound effect, but nope, you see and hear his bones snap and his lifeless body float across the Seine.

Also, I never found Jackman annoying. It took some getting used to after Alfie Boe, but I did come to love his performance.

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Hodor Cleric of Banjo from Westeros Since: Dec, 1969
Cleric of Banjo
#182: Dec 26th 2012 at 7:11:40 AM

I was a bit unsure if the sickening thud/crunch you hear when he falls was narmy or not, in addition to his more "spectacular" death (as opposed to just drowning himself), but I think it worked- it really underscored the degree to which his suicide is a Dark Reprise of "Stars"

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ch00beh ??? from Who Knows Where Since: Jul, 2010
???
#183: Dec 26th 2012 at 9:34:28 PM

I just saw it. While I thought it was excellent, I think I would have liked it even more on stage. This is partially because I felt like all the secondary characters had the strongest voices.

"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." Twitter
dazai Since: Jan, 2001
#184: Dec 26th 2012 at 9:37:02 PM

I honestly didn't recognize Helena and Sasha as the Thenardiers until near the movies end, as I spent the majority trying to place where I'd seen them at. Oddly enough my favorite funny part with them has to be when Eponine's sitting at Mr Thenardier's side and has this cute smile on her face as her dad teaches her how to cheat people. It's the "I'm helping Daddy run the inn" look that sells it.

BrotherMycroft Dapper Gentleman Since: Jul, 2012
Dapper Gentleman
#185: Dec 27th 2012 at 12:21:43 PM

Saw the movie last night, and I have to say that right from the opening, I was a huge fan of it. Granted, part of my appreciation stems from how much I love the Les Misérables musical in general, but the acting ranged from generally solid to excellent, and the set design, costumes, cinematography, and so on were all nothing short of fantastic. The direction leaned towards shaky-cam a bit too often, I'll grant the critics that, but I was able to look past that without too much difficulty. All in all, I fully expect a few Oscars for this movie, and I'll be in line to buy the DVD as soon as possible!

"And every life is a special story of its own." —The Stargazer, Mass Effect 3
johnnyfog Actual Wrestling Legend from the Zocalo Since: Apr, 2010 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
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#186: Dec 27th 2012 at 1:52:02 PM

Jesuotaku had a coronary on Twitter over the editing choices.

I'm a skeptical squirrel
ch00beh ??? from Who Knows Where Since: Jul, 2010
???
#187: Dec 27th 2012 at 5:04:19 PM

I had a dream that Javert arrested me and sent me to elementary school :(

"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." Twitter
maxwellelvis Mad Scientist Wannabe from undisclosed location Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: In my bunk
Mad Scientist Wannabe
#188: Dec 27th 2012 at 5:16:43 PM

[up]"It is against the law to skip kindergarten!"

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great
DAStudent Since: Dec, 2012
#189: Dec 27th 2012 at 6:06:20 PM

Imagining Javert teaching a Kindergarten class now. grin

I'd say I'm being refined Into the web I descend Killing those I've left behind I have been Endarkened
johnnyfog Actual Wrestling Legend from the Zocalo Since: Apr, 2010 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Actual Wrestling Legend
#190: Dec 27th 2012 at 6:06:43 PM

He's like a...non....giving up...school guy!

I'm a skeptical squirrel
Frogger5 from The Whole Sort of General Mish Mash Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#191: Dec 28th 2012 at 11:25:36 PM

This film is good. Go see it. I reckon that they could have amped up the orchestra a bit at the beginning, and for certain numbers at the climax, but that was just a minor thing I noticed. But where the hell was little people? That's one of my favorite numbers! :(

Wanna see the random crap I get up to? Me neither. http://jesseskwilliams.tumblr.com/
KyleJacobs from DC - Southern efficiency, Northern charm Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#192: Dec 29th 2012 at 1:14:59 AM

Saw this movie yesterday, haven't gotten around to posting about it until now. I won't bother spoiler tagging this since all of you probably already know the story in some form or another. For the record, I have listened to the 1987 Broadway cast recording, seen the 10th anniversary concert, and watched the 1935 movie, but I've never actually seen the musical so I'm not sure how much of what I'm saying for the film applies to the stage show as well. I've been meaning to get around to the book, but... well, you know.

Things I liked:

  • The handling of Gavroche's death - it struck me less as what's described on the Tearjerker page as "the reality of Little People crashing down" and more Defiant to the End, snarling in the face of the guy who's about to shoot you.
  • Anne Hathaway's rendition of I Dreamed A Dream. Best I've ever heard, mostly because of how goddamn broken she comes off during it. Watch her face on the last line - that is exactly what it looks like when someone crosses the Despair Event Horizon mid sentence.
  • Javert's Pet the Dog moment. Given the content of this interview, I wouldn't be remotely surprised to find out that this scene was Russell Crowe's idea.
  • Loads of minor and sometimes not-so-minor changes that, while guaranteed to piss off the more die-hard fans, definitely help the story work better on film than it would without them. I particularly remember feeling that cutting Dog Eat Dog and the majority of Turning worked well to preserve the momentum after the battle. First, I think Dog Eat Dog is one of the weaker songs in the show, and second, I'd rather not stop the plot right in the middle of the climax to watch Thenardier being a dick, especially when we know Javert's in relatively hot pursuit. As for Turning, I found that stripping it down to half a verse let the film flow into Empty Chairs at Empty Tables better.
  • Building on the above, I noticed that this film seemed to have a noticeable flow to it that I don't usually see in musicals. It's a lot less disjointed than I've come to expect, partially due to the near total absence of spoken dialogue and partially because the music, dialogue, and plot are so well integrated.
  • The film's version of Do You Hear The People Sing is balls-out awesome - I won't spoil the specifics, but it definitely succeeds in reminding everyone why it's THE Angry Mob Song.
  • Hugh Jackman's Valjean. He's no Colm Wilkinson, and they didn't age him up as much as I would have liked
  • Hell, EVERYTHING NOT ON THE FOLLOWING LIST:

Things I disliked:

  • I'm not the biggest fan of Russell Crowe's voice - he's certainly able to carry a tune, but he didn't have the same kind of power and control that most of the rest of the cast did. Sacha Baron Cohen had something similar going on, but given who he's playing and his lack of awe-inspiring, epic, moving numbers, it's far more forgivable.
  • As always, the Marius-Cosette romance comes off as fairly shallow, and the characters in general feel somewhat simplistic. That said, this is more a problem with the musical itself than the film's exact treatment of it as far as I can tell.

Things I'm mixed or neutral on:

  • I'm not sure how I feel about the sure-to-become-somewhat-notorious Sickening "Crunch!" towards the end. On the one hand, it certainly gets the point across. On the other hand, it's potentially jarring almost to the point of Narm.

Overall I give this one an 8.5 out of 10 and heartily recommend it to anyone looking for some awesome music, great performances, or serious feels.

Frogger5 from The Whole Sort of General Mish Mash Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#193: Dec 29th 2012 at 2:27:19 AM

Totally agree with you on the Marius and Cosette relationship. I would like to read the book one day to see if it's told better. Both the musical and the film have me scratching my head and wondering why Marius didn't simply go for Eponine, and why he doesn't feel guilty as all hell when... yeah, stuff happens.

Do we have to worry about spoilers? It's a well known story, and surely most people who are interested in the film know of it?

Wanna see the random crap I get up to? Me neither. http://jesseskwilliams.tumblr.com/
ch00beh ??? from Who Knows Where Since: Jul, 2010
???
#194: Dec 29th 2012 at 3:25:00 AM

in every relationship there's a settler and a reacher. Marius doesn't want to be a settler when there's a fairytale situation going on.

edited 29th Dec '12 3:25:14 AM by ch00beh

"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." Twitter
WarriorEowyn from Victoria Since: Oct, 2010
#195: Dec 29th 2012 at 8:46:34 AM

[up][up]

In the musical, Marius and Eponine are friends. In the book, they're not - they meet when he and the Thenardiers are renting in the same building and she tries to con him. There's very little reason from the book to think he would ever have fallen for her. Also, the unattractiveness, dirtiness etc. that tends to come with poverty is more obvious in the book than in the musical; the latter tends to make Eponine rather too nice-looking in my opinion.

Whether Marius' relationship with Cosette is done better in the book is a different question. It's not as immediate as in the musical, but it mostly involves him watching and following her for many weeks without speaking to her, and then they immediately are in love the first day that they meet. But they do actually get to spend some time with each other in the book so it's a little more credible if you can overlook behaviour that, in the present day, we would call 'stalking'.

edited 29th Dec '12 8:47:47 AM by WarriorEowyn

Phoenixflame Since: Nov, 2012
#196: Dec 29th 2012 at 3:32:57 PM

Crowe's voice gets a bit better on repeats (I listened to the soundtrack) but I think he's at his best during Confrontation, and actually having to sing with someone. I lurved the sword/stick mini-duel. I really wanted a stronger Javert though. He's one of my favorite characters in literature. What I liked most about that scene is that it mirrors the port where the convicts were hauling in the ship. Javert began the story standing on top, with total power, and ended it on top...in a very different place. I also liked the details of Javert walking along the edges, and helping a student to his feet. But where was the breakdown during his final scene? Some Javerts go "around the bend" and are practically giggling lunatics, but actors like the awesome Philip Quast have remained dignified but still clearly destroyed. The latter has always seemed the most canonical to me.

To answer the above, Marius and Cosette are supposed to be a romantic ideal; Hugo was basing it off his own first love. In the book, I got the feeling they were "in love"/infatuated very quickly, but their relationship developed into something truly meaningful when she nursed him back to health.

I had some directing gripes but overall really loved the movie.

Hodor Cleric of Banjo from Westeros Since: Dec, 1969
Cleric of Banjo
#197: Dec 29th 2012 at 6:10:23 PM

About Crowe as Javert, thinking about the film overall, in light of the added Pet the Dog moment, Crowe's take on Javert is definitely one of the less malicious interpretations of the character, and besides his weakness as a singer, the vocal style does a good job of illustrating that this is a Javert who struggles with his beliefs and isn't just a jerkass Tautological Templar.

To give one difference in presentation, I've seen versions of the musical where Javert has a mocking tone when telling Valjean about the "Valjean" that was caught- implying that he still suspects something and wants to see how Valjean will react. This wasn't how the scene was played in the movie.

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countrymatters Team Edward James Olmos Since: Nov, 2010
Team Edward James Olmos
#198: Dec 30th 2012 at 9:57:55 AM

I am a big fan of the musical, and I really enjoyed the film. I was pleasantly surprised by the overall "flow" (as previous posters have mentioned)—it worked much, much better than I expected, and the cuts and additions worked so well because the film was able to show stuff that can't be shown onstage. The cinematography was a bit jarring at first (instant drama, just add TIGHT CLOSE-UPS ON FACES) if only because it is so opposite what I was used to seeing in the stage production, but it grew on me (I am a fan of Hooper's John Adams mini-series).

I was rather disappointed with Amanda Seyfried's voice, and I felt that parts of it got draggy, particularly the second half, but overall it was pretty damn amazing.

Unexpected Narm Charm: Butterflies in the love scene. AT NIGHT.

Favorite line change: Mme. Thénardier to Cosette: "Now SHUT YER FACE! / Or I'll forget to be nice!" (instead of "Enough of that! /...")

"Godspeed, you fancy bastard."
HamburgerTime Since: Apr, 2010
#199: Dec 30th 2012 at 11:15:32 AM

That was the best movie I've seen this year, and I've seen some good movies this year. Loved Seyfried, loved Hathaway, liked Crowe, but I don't think he has a Javert voice. Loved that there was more emphasis on Cosette than Eponine; I was kind of worried that this movie would do what Phantom did and make subtle changes that imply Eponine is the better choice

edited 30th Dec '12 11:15:55 AM by HamburgerTime

drunkscriblerian Street Writing Man from Castle Geekhaven Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: In season
Street Writing Man
#200: Dec 30th 2012 at 9:58:45 PM

I just got back from seeing this. I guess the haters don't like musicals or something, because wow. I've seen the stage production several times and have read the book (though its been years), and I thought that of all the directions they could have gone with it this one sold the original material the best.

Being used to singers from the Broadway productions, the "we're gonna snarl and hiccup mid line" thing took a bit of getting used to for me. I started to buy it about twenty minutes in and after that I loved it, but I can see where some people would be put off by it. Definitely a personal-taste thing. Ditto with the director's decision to shove the actors right in front of the camera; I understand why it was done, but I also understand why some people don't like it.

Anne Hathaway...damn, you come away almost wishing there was another character she could have been given just so she could have been in the picture longer. I started being legitimately worried for her sanity during "I Dreamed A Dream".

Russell Crowe's rendition of Javert is probably the area in which I disagree most sharply with the critics. Yes, he did not have the pipes to do stage-Javert properly...that role is always given to someone with a powerful voice - you know, the "voice of authority" - and Crowe doesn't have that, so he worked within his limitations and played Javert with a bit more gray. "Stars" (Which I was so worried about Crowe butchering after hearing him sing), was well played; he didn't make the fixtures rattle the way a stage-Javert would, instead he came off like a man facing serious doubts...which worked very well for his interpretation of the character.

In other words, he worked with what he had and did a good job for the story instead of thinking he could do something he wasn't capable of...considering Crowe's got a band on the side I'm impressed that he made that choice. If he had tried to go for the gusto, it would have been horrible.

Tossing real Broadway actors alongside screen names...well, it was a nice change to hear some good singing, but it also pointed up some of the vocal limitations of the bigger names. Crowe in particular suffers from this, which is I think why he's getting slammed by the reviews. Also, people just seem to like to hate Russell Crowe.

On the whole I loved the hell out of it, but then again I used to be a theater geek. If you don't like musicals, this one won't change your mind; it's everything that is mighty, awesome and mock-worthy about musicals turned up to eleven. Wait for the video. If you do like musicals, go see it. You won't be disappointed.

If I were to write some of the strange things that come under my eyes they would not be believed. ~Cora M. Strayer~

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