Nerdy Rotten Scoundrel: Film Review - LES MISÉRABLES ★★☆☆☆

Monday, December 24, 2012

Film Review - LES MISÉRABLES ★★☆☆☆

The characters suffer, and unfortunately so does the audience in the high profile adaptation of the long running stage musical based on Victor's Hugo's 1862 epic novel set in 19th century France.

Brought to the big screen by Tom Hooper, the Academy Award Winning director of The King's Speech, Les Misérables stars Wolverine, Maximus, Catwoman and Borat, is aimed directly at its target audience, and there is nothing wrong with that. Fans will marvel, sing along, applaud and weep with reckless abandon in all the right places, but musical civillians may find themselves crying for a whole different set of reasons. The film is a hit and miss on many levels.

A dreary gritty film set for a timely release on Christmas Day, at risk of sounding like Saturday Night Live's Stefon, "this film has everything": death, depression, broken dreams, prostitution, filth, betrayal, lost love, redemption and singing. Lots and lots of singing. Everyone sings every single word. So if off the bat, sitting through a movie that runs nearly three hours and boasts not one line of spoken dialogue to move the plot forward is not your thing, you may as well stop reading here.

If you are familiar with the story, you already know there is a rather high body count, save for Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean) and Russell Crowe (Javert), meaning many of these stars listed above and below the title do not actually clock in a substantial amount of screen time. Don't grow too comfy to the cast, happy endings isn't one of the production's strengths.

Jackman was born to lead this cast as Jean Valjean, the iconic Prisoner Number 24601. The Aussie superstar and jack of all trades shines here among the cast (who all sang live on set during filming, no easy task). I don't think anyone blinked an eye when he was cast in the role, given his proven range in both drama and stage work. He does not disappoint as the film's anchor.

As the police hound who relentlessly pursues Valjean for decades after breaking parole, Crowe effortless exudes the part snarling with a cold military stature as the vengeful Javert. But it's when Crowe sings the part it takes a turn for the worse. His low limited range is painfully outdone by his other cast mates who all seem to have more relavent experience singing on stage and in film. It makes you wonder if even this summer's hair metal homage Rock of Ages would have had a place for him where you are at least allowed to chuckle over the content. Crowe is probably the greatest casualty of performing live on set rather than mime to perfect vocals recorded in the safety of a studio.

There is nothing to take away from Hathaway here. Her turn as the doomed former factory worker turned prostitute Fantine will win her well deserved gold during awards season. Her "I Dreamed A Dream" performance, shot in a single long take, won't earn any 'feel good' points, but is without question the darkest and the moving highlight of the film. Hooper effectively captured this song as a single take in a medium to close-up shot that builds emotion as you immerse yourself in the performance. Hathaway takes the number to tears by its end, and Hooper's eye here is without question successful to capture every painful nuance.

However, by the fourth time the director goes back to that well, choosing to shoot number after number the same exact way, the visuals loses their emotional punch upon repetition and effectively takes away from Hathaway's well deserved spotlight, especially late in the third act when you realize at least the stage production allows you an intermission.

Singing live has its strengths and weaknesses. It allows the cast to really act and react to their environment on the set and, and relieves them of hitting pre-recored musical cues. But what we see on screen here countless times are (well orchestrated) complete single takes from a master shot with few, if any, cutaways. I find that tends to get visually repetitive when the shot composition is repeated over and over. But that's me dissecting this as a movie buff, not a musical fan.

As the tragically poor Éponine, stunning British newcomer Samantha Barks steals the second half of the show with her standout rain-soaked rendition of "On My Own." Yes, shot in one take like many others, but as an unfamiliar face to moviegoers and having the strongest stage-trained voice in the cast (she played the role in the London production as well), she truly makes the part her own. The notion that Taylor Swift or Glee's Lea Michele were in early contention for the role is beyond baffling.

If the film allows us anytime to breath and enjoy a laugh, thankfully there are Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, who as the greedy innkeepers the Thénardiers, bring the place down with their welcome rousing rendition of "Master of the House." You are so beaten into a drained depression since scene one, minute one of the film, the opportunity to enjoy a lighthearted number is more than necessary. The duo deliver much needed glee to an otherwise emotionally exhausting experience.

Amanda Seyfried holds her own as Cosette, the grown up illegitimate daughter of Fantine now in the care of the elder Jean Valjean (got that?). Cosette was placed in the care of the Thénardiers as a child, and grew up with their daughter Éponine (still with me?). Surprisingly Seyfried has scant screen time in this epic, serving mainly an object to be fawned over by Marius (Eddie Redmayne), the singing hunk who turns a blind eye to Éponine's unbathed adoration.

Not every musical translates well as a screenplay, especially when the movie then must entirely rely on all exposition to be conveyed through song, leading some parts to come off like, for lack of a better term, a cheesy musical. Characters can fall in love after a sole dreamy gaze from across the stage, but that's a lot harder to make seem credible on the big screen. And you do have to question that why Javert really didn't have bigger career criminals to obsess over in life than to dedicate decades to hunting down a man convicted of stealing a piece of bread for his sister's starving child. Additionally, while some set pieces come across as sweeping and lavish, others add imagery no more convincing than the Seinfeld NYC street backlot.

Overall, I had a tough time with it, at this point in my review that is painfully obvious. Am I the target demo for Les Misérables? No. Do I feel fans and purists of the musical will be pleased? Yes. My screening in NYC had fans who reacted just as they should have, and just as the filmmakers wanted. But I know as many folks who felt as I did, like a caged animal eyeballing the seconds hand of their watches. However, I also know which friends not to recommend the likes of The Hobbit, Prometheus or Cloud Atlas to.

I surely can admire its strengths, and genuinely enjoy the solid work from most of the cast. But overall with its painfully generous length, excessive use of one-take close-ups, overdone production and numerous missteps in leaping from stage to screen, given the choice I would sooner gladly re-visit Rob Marshall's Chicago, a slick stunning big screen musical that managed to get it right.