Simple Man's Film Review - Les Misérables

Samantha Barks as Eponine and Eddie Redmayne as Marius (Source)

I have never seen the musical, Les Misérables, on stage. I've never read the book, nor have I heard any of the music other than "I Dreamed a Dream."  So suffice it to say I knew nothing about this film going into it.  What intrigued me about this film was that all of the vocal performances were "live."



The Basics
Generally, when a musical is filmed, the music is recorded several weeks prior to filming.  Then the actors lip-synch to their pre-recorded singing.  That's fine if one is okay with making all of his acting choices prior to even meeting the other actors, much less seeing the sets and being in costume  (paraphrasing Eddie Redmayne from an interview in the trailer).  For Les Mis, however, there was a pianist on set accompanying all of the actors singing live in front of the camera.  That meant acting choices could be made in real time, and the performers could set their own tempo while in the moment.  The large orchestra and additional arrangements were added in post.  It was absolutely remarkable to see the finished product.

If you are neither a singer nor an actor, you may not be able to understand how monumentally innovative this process is.  The actors' facial expressions match their vocal expressions because it's all in real time.  Yes, I'm going overboard on how cool this is, but it is truly an innovation in musical film making.

The Players
Hugh Jackman was outstanding in this film.  I'm not going to get critical and analytical because, well, this is the Simple Man's film review.  As a general audience member I was able to believe every action, every expression, etc; I believed that Jean Valjean was an actual person.  Hugh Jackman deserves an Oscar nod at the very least.

Anne Hathaway was not in the picture as much as I assumed she would be.  But the little time she had on the screen was unforgettable.  I really can't describe how incredible it is for someone to sing and perform live for the camera.  Musical theater is one thing - you're on a stage in front of hundreds of people.  You can/must make every action exaggerated and large so that the person in that last row can see and feel your performance.  But to put that kind of passion, utter despair and somehow a layer of hope into a performance shot so tightly that your face will be 100 feet high on a screen - I just can't tell you how cool it was.   Anne deserves a nod for Supporting Actress.

Russell Crowe was also in the film.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were born character actors.  Very entertaining, and always in character.  Carter is freaking amazing.

Samantha Barks embodied her character well.  It was heartbreaking to see her final scene.

Amanda Seyfried - Isn't that Karen Smith from Mean Girls?  She was great. I liked her.  Her voice was so high-pitched it was almost like she was a pixie or something.  But it was good.

Which brings me to Eddie Redmayne. Wow.  Yes, Hugh Jackman was brilliant.  But in my opinion Eddie Redmayne's "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" was the performance of the film (very closely followed by Anne Hathaway's "I Dreamed a Dream."  Maybe it's because I'm closer to Eddie in age. Maybe it's because Marius is a role that I would love to play.  Maybe it's because he's just a f*(@ing great actor.  I felt like I knew exactly what he was feeling.  Again, live performance of a ridiculously sad song on camera.  In profile. And he conveyed every emotion he should have. He deserves a Supporting Actor nod.

The Summary
This film is beautifully shot and edited.  Some of the shots last almost the entire song, and that's a testament to the actors and the camera/lighting team.  It's ridiculously sad, but somehow keeps the audience hoping. It's not hopeless, and there's a sense of "it's not over yet" throughout the film.  I thought it was excellent.  It's right up there with Argo as one of the best of the year.  I'm telling you, the live vocal performances made what would have been a great film into an incredible one.  Even if you don't like musicals, go see this.  It's unlike any musical film you've ever seen.

The Predictions (Nominations or Wins)

Best Actor - Hugh Jackman
Best Supporting Actress - Anne Hathaway
Best Supporting Actor - Eddie Redmayne
Best Director - Tom Hooper
Costume Design - Paco Delgado
Cinematography - Danny Cohen

I don't qualify many movies as "Must See," but this along with Argo top that list for this year.  Go and see it. Yesterday