Review of Les Misérables (2012) by Zach L — 19 Feb 2014

There are many things that were great about this movie, and many things that weren't so fantastic; the fingers would have to point to the direction of the film for the latter. Still, the ensemble singing was excellent, some of the camera play was interesting, and the acting was overall very well done. However, though the acting was well executed, the singing for some of the soloists lacked the punch and power expected for a rendition of Les Miserables.

Granted, much of the singing fit with the emotions of the scenes very well. For instance, though Anne Hathaway's singing was nothing extremely grand during "I Dreamed a Dream", her scene had tons of emotion. In fact, she probably gave the best acting performance out of the entire cast during that song alone. Still, though it may fit with what is going on in the scene, the soundtrack is not nearly as enjoyable as other renditions of Les Miserables, simply because the songs feature the soloists crying for most of the time. This is where the direction is to blame. Tom Hooper did not want the vocalists dubbing over their singing scenes, which is understandable to capture the emotion of the moment, but it makes for a not-so-good vocal performance, and therefore a not-so-good motion picture soundtrack. Still, like in Anne Hathaway's case, the actors did manage to move the audience, and sing decently given the circumstances.

That being said, some of the vocal performances were pretty bad. Hugh Jackman, though a fine actor in many movies including this one, was not cut out to play the part of Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean is an extremely demanding vocal role, and Hugh Jackman's lack of range and voice in general didn't fit the part. Another good example (possibly the best) of an unsatisfying performance is that of Russell Crowe. Even if his acting was good, his voice (or lack thereof) shot down anyone's hopes of a satisfactory Javert. He "hits the notes" for the most part, but there is absolutely no power behind his punches!

To summarize, the 2012 film version Les Miserables is good. It will most likely not completely satisfy die-hard fans of the Broadway show because of its lack of vocal power, but it will for sure attract those who may be less critical in such matters.