Review of Les Misérables (2012) by Shane S — 03 Nov 2013

Okay, Tom Hooper's not exactly the hottest director out there - his style is very cold and calculated, which does deprive Les Mis a lot of its emotional impact - but for being that "King's Speech" guy that somehow got tapped to direct an adaptation of that freakishly popular musical about a guy who stole a loaf of bread during the tail-end of the French Revolution, it's still pretty powerful as a drama about a man who does everything in his power to redeem himself despite being, well, Jean Valjean. And the music ain't too bad - I honestly prefer musicals in the style of "Jesus Christ Superstar," but the original score by Schonberg and Boublil is as powerful as it was back during the day of the prog-rock concept album. It's a nice change of pace.

The acting's pretty good for what amounts of a big-name ensemble. And for all I know, they sing well. Not every note of the original libretto, but not bad for a bunch of untrained singers. Has that "Everyone Says I Love You" feel to it - the commoner singing (despite the commoner living in Hollywood mansions durr hurr hurr bad joke) and whose voice isn't purely trained. Sure, Russell Crowe's Javert tends to have his vocal range rewritten a lot, but for Mr. Romper Stomper, his Javert is both intimidating and sympathetic - a man who's literally become a slave of the law and yet finds it in his heart to follow it to a T. Don't get me started on Anne Hathaway's Fantine. I don't care what Doug Walker says - Anne is a good actress. She makes for a good commoner-Catwoman/Selina Kyle and, for all I know, she makes for a good factory-worker-turned-prostitute-turned-angel. Her "I Dreamed a Dream" is equal parts biting and tearjerking - she's been handed the short end of the straw and for what? Because she screwed a dude at the Thenardiers' inn? Life sucks, but it shouldn't suck for her.

But um yeah what's the deal with russell crowe's voice he sounds like elvis costello if he had a lobotomy.