Fuck the social order and the Child in whose name we're collectively terrorized; fuck Annie; fuck the waif from Les Mis; fuck the poor, innocent kid on the Net; fuck Laws both with capital ls and with small; fuck the whole network of Symbolic relations and the future that serves as its prop.And now, five things I actually liked about Les Mis:
2. Little Daniel Huttlestone who plays Gavroche.
3. Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried, both in good voice and both rather charming.
4. Because there are two people in the sequences with Thénardier and his wife, Tom Hooper can't shoot their scenes in the extreme-close-up style he uses in all of the other sequences. So: thanks, Thénardiers.
5. Russell Crowe, not for his voice (god help us), but because he is an excellent actor, and he understands that acting oughtn't to look like it is hard work.
I have complained before about the state of movie musicals since Chicago, so I won't go over all of that again. Suffice to say, that I think that what movie musicals need is singers, and until producers start feeling comfortable casting singers in movie musicals, we will continue to be forced to watch movies like Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd, and Nine.
Oh, A-ron, I thought we were on the same page... I was laughing and nodding my head until... until YOU LIKED RUSSELL CROWE.
ReplyDeleteI just don't know who you are anymore.
I liked Russell Crowe because he isn't pushing the hell out of every scene he is in the way that Hathaway and Jackman are. I am not saying I would have cast him: he was awful.
ReplyDeleteOooooo, I agree about Russell Crowe. Can't sing himself into a church choir, but DEFINITELY did not schmact. However, I diiiiiddddd like me some Jackman. I mean, it was better than Australia.
ReplyDeleteYes good actor, yes no pushing, but Les Mis is grand and epic and operatic, not introspective. His performance didn't match the scope and scale of the rest of the film. Obviously this is Hooper's fault. What an asshole.
ReplyDeleteYou are totally correct about this being Hooper's fault. And you are right about the grand, epic, operatic quality of the show/movie and the way Crowe's performance did NOT jell with everyone else's. I was simply glad for the reprieve.
DeleteCome on, Samantha Barks could sing, too. And you are giving NO credit to the fact that SO many un/lesser known actors were cast in this. The ensemble work was beautiful. In fact, it was all that made Master of the House not a complete disaster. Carter & Cohen were AW-ful - what a waste of an opportunity to cast some good character actors.
ReplyDeleteI know to always take your reviews with a grain of salt, but this was overly harsh. Jackman and Hathaway may have been pushing a bit, but they were decent singers if not a bit untrained. Hollywood HAS come a long way from the days of dubbing over entire songs in musicals with stand-in singers.
I thought Anne Hathaway was fine, but if you listen to Hugh Jackman side by side with Alfie Boe, you'll see exactly what I mean. Jackman simply can't sing the part.
DeleteAnd I think I might be saying that I prefer the dubbing over of entire songs with stand-in singers. At least, then, the songs would be sung well. For me, the main problem with Les Misérables is the singing. It just isn't up to snuff.