Les Misérables Movie Brings Classic Novel to Life

Like many Les Miz fans, I eagerly awaited the film version of Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Misérables. Having read the book many years ago and attended the musical several times both on Broadway and in local theatre, I hoped the film version could bring the story alive in ways that the stage version could not. I was generally pleased, and I will probably see the film more than once.

The movie opens with hundreds of wretched sea-soaked convicts lugging a massive ship into dry dock. This is a departure from the musicals, which show the men toiling in a quarry or rowing in the belly of a galley ship. The scene paints the insignificance and destitution of the prisoners much more vividly than the book or musical are able to.

In addition to bringing the scenes of the Jean Valjean’s story into clarity, the film does a great job at explaining the who, what, where, why, and how of the story. This is something that only the brave can accomplish by reading the massive novel and something that the musical has never been good at making clear. The film takes the time to bring the audience up to speed with time and place, and it even gives the street urchin, Gavroche a little bit of history to sing about, which expand his role from that in the musical.

This brings me to the singing and orchestration in the movie, which was a bit disappointing. If you’ve seen the play, you’ve witnessed the thunderous throngs from the orchestra pit and the characters’ singing voices amplified and electrified throughout the theatre, enveloping the audience in emotion-evoking melodies. What I really looked forward to in the movie was all of the actors singing their own parts, right on the set. This, I thought, would be preferable to actors lip-synching as is done in films like the Sound of Music, or TV shows like Glee. Alas, the singing and accompanying orchestra ended up sounding extremely monaural, which I suppose allowed the acting to take precedence over song, but I wanted to be blanketed by the music. Even though the actors sang their own parts live, more could have been done back in the studio to enhance the sound.

As for the actual movie vocals, all of the cast members performed adequately, or better. Russell Crowe is no singer, but his acting more than makes up for it. Anne Hathaway’s singing is good, but her portrayal of a destitute prostitute was not convincing, which takes away from the vocal performance. Amanda Seyfried, as Cosette, does an amazing job with her vocals, hitting high soprano notes admirably. If these parts weren’t dubbed in, this gal has more than acting in her wheelhouse. Hugh Jackman’s vocals are surprisingly good, but like Crowe, he’s more of an actor than a singer. Daniel Huddlestone, who plays Gavroche, and Isabelle Allen, who plays young Cosette, both hit their notes accurately and were cute as buttons. Who stole the show vocally? That would be Samantha Barks, who earned her Miz chops as Eponine, performing in the London production of the musical and the 25Th Anniversary Concert. This girl knows her way around.

Back to the cinematography. Again, the movie brought the story to life in ways the printed word and the stage cannot. Take the sewers, for example, where Jean Valjean carries the wounded Marius to safety. One cannot have a proper appreciation of a Paris sewer without the visuals provided in the movie, but missing from the sewer scene was Thénardier’s macabre soliloquy, “Dog Eat Dog” while robbing corpses of their rings, watches, and gold fillings. I realize the movie ran long, and some songs had to be cut, but I would have like to see Sacha Baron Cohen do the full bit.

In addition to the sewer scenes, grand spectacles are portrayed above ground. General Lamarque’s funeral procession creates a grand spectacle and impresses upon the audience the importance of this man to the students who barricaded themselves in the 1832 Paris Uprising. This is an event given little attention in the musical, depriving the audience of a true appreciation for why the students are protesting at all.

All in all, the movie had its ups and downs for me, but overall, I was glad I went, and I can see myself possibly even going a second time to be able to get that big screen experience before I eventually purchase the DVD. Out of five stars, Les Misérables gets a solid four from this reviewer. Have you seen it? What do you think?