Les Miserables is my favorite musical that could have been better. That sentence is confusing, I know. Let me spell it out this way: the book was better, and the book took a 50 page detour to talk about the battle of Waterloo.
Don’t get me wrong — I love Les Mis. It makes me sob every time I see it live. I’ve gone as characters from it for Halloween multiple times, but the book has more room for characterization. On that incredibly biased note: let’s talk about Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Les Miserables.
In my Cats article, I defended Tom Hooper because no matter how it was made, Cats was going to be a bad movie. I won’t be offering the same courtesy today.
One of the most noticeable and jarring aspects of the movie is the camera work. Not only does Tom Hooper seem to be obsessed with closeups, he also abuses tracking shots. My friends and I couldn’t stop laughing at What Have I Done.
I wish I could say that was the only over-use of closeups, but they’re an unfortunate theme. They’re thrown in during the battle sequence at the barricade, making the battle hard to follow, and they’re the near entirety of “I Dreamed A Dream”, “Stars” and “Javert’s Suicide.”
Hooper is also, apparently, a fan of fast cuts. He jumps from face to face to candlestick abruptly. It doesn’t even feel like he knows what he’s trying to convey half the time.
Now, that’s all my technical pet peeves, so let’s get into the meat of the article: how could they do this musical so dirty?
For my own sanity, I won’t even talk about the obvious issues (Russel Crowe, and recording vocals on set).
Because, beyond all that, it felt lifeless. “Do You Hear the People Sing” didn’t echo off the buildings of France. It was sung in a monotone on a soundstage. Underwhelming. I mean seriously– just watch it.
This next point isn’t a story-telling issue, it’s just an issue. Before we started the movie, I asked if “Master of the House” is any good, because it’s one of my favorite songs from the show.
My one friend casually asked, “is that the one with Santa?”
Dear reader: Santa is in this movie, and Santa has sex.
It’s awful! There’s no reason for it! I get that “Master of the House” is some comic relief, but there’s a line between funny and deeply upsetting.
Watch if you so desire. It’s not pretty.
My biggest issue with this movie, however, is “Red and Black.” It’s my favorite song from the show if, for no other reason, than it’s the first time that you meet most of Les Amis. I’ve denounced entire cast recordings because I didn’t like their “Red and Black.”
I just don’t understand how you can cast Aaron Tveit in a role and make him boring, let alone how you can cast Aaron Tveit as Enjolras and make him boring. Aaron Tveit would make a great Enjolras! What did Tom Hooper do wrong? All of the personality was drained out of “Red and Black” (except maybe Grantaire). Enjolras felt muted and dull. Marius felt more annoying than usual.
Not to mention, they cut out the beginning of the song, which is Combeferre erasure.
And all of this combines to make the future songs of brotherhood so underwhelming. “Drink with Me” means nothing if I feel no connection to the characters. Why should I care when they die?
Once “A Little Fall of Rain” ended, I just wanted the movie to be over, but I still had to sit there while “Drink with me” was sung, then “Bring Him Home” and I finally breathed a sigh of relief when the movie chose to skip over “Dog Eats Dog.”
And it isn’t because I don’t love those songs. “Bring Him Home” never fails to make me cry when I watch actual productions of Les Mis. “Drink With Me” is one of my favorite songs in the entire show (I mean, Grantaire’s verse? It’s perfect.)– but without any real buildup of the characters, and when the movie is two and a half hours of straight singing without the intermission guaranteed from seeing it onstage, the last hour of the film feels like sitting in church. I want it to be over so that I can get to the part where I get wine and a snack.
Now, I know that a lot of stuff they left out of the movie was also left out of the musical in the first place– for example, Valjean and Fantine’s friendship– and it’s part of the reason the story aspect of the musical has always bothered me. Once again, I have to admit that I can’t blame Hooper for the sins of the playwright.
On that note, and just so I don’t seem biased, I have to give the film credit where credit is due:
Gavroche’s death had me on the edge of my seat. It was suspenseful and painful- and had me curled up in terror. I knew what was going to happen, but I couldn’t bear to watch. It was like a diet version of Rickon’s death in Game of Thrones.
Anne Hathaway is incredibly talented, even if Hooper didn’t know how to shoot her. Samantha Barks, too. The only times my friends and I were actually quiet while watching was during “I Dreamed a Dream” and “On My Own.” They both have lovely voices and did an amazing job being heartbroken.
Hooper also did a good job with Grantaire and Enjolras’s death. In the book, Grantaire sleeps through the battle and awakes just in time to find Enjolras about to be executed. He announces his support for the revolution, asks Enjolras, “Do you permit it?” And then dies holding his hand.
There’s no heterosexual explanation for it, and Hooper didn’t try to pretend there was.
In Hooper’s adaptation, Grantaire finds Enjolras just before he’s killed. He rushes to his side, they exchange a tender glance, preparing for the inevitable. Enjolras holds up the flag. They die together.
Thankfully for me, though, I’m not basing my opinion of the movie solely on their death.
Overall, the movie wasn’t as bad as I remembered it being. I was expecting my verdict to be much harsher than “how do you make Aaron Tveit boring” and “Santa being there was a bad call.” Do I recommend watching it? No, I don’t. Watch the 25th anniversary concert, or go support a local theater. Would it be awful if you did watch it? It would be boring, but it wouldn’t be a worse experience than, say, a middle school production of Legally Blonde.
