Cosette (as a child)

Mike, Kieran, and I went to see the new “Les Miserables” movie today. Director Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”) attempted a groundbreaking approach of filming the actors singing on set instead of separately in a recording studio. Consequently, the singing was not as polished or perfect as it might have been otherwise. I agree with film critic Neil Minow, who wrote on Beliefnet, “Having the actors sing their parts while they were filming…gives the music a welcome organic quality and immediacy.”

“Les Mis” is not for everyone…musical theater haters tend to view it as overwrought and melodramatic. I’m not one of those people…I have seen it on stage twice (the last time in 2010, at Jesuit High School) and I like the music. I had big expectations for this film. I would give it four out of five stars…maybe 4-1/2.

The digitally enhanced scenery and sets were suitably dark and depressing. The movie opens with prisoners trying to haul a shipwreck onto a dry dock…and continues in stark imagery. It’s just not quite as easy to show Jean Valjean hauling a wounded Marius through the shit in the sewer on the stage, or to see the poor and destitute appealing to the aristocracy. After seeing the show quite a ways from the stage, I liked seeing the actors’ emotions close up.

Marius and Eponine

Fantine

Gavroche

The second weak link was the reduction in the role of Gavroche, mostly because this is Kieran’s favorite character in the show. He sang “Little People” for his first audition and named his fish Gavroche after we saw the Jesuit production. So we were sad that they cut most of the song from the movie. Gavroche sings a couple of abbreviated verses, but none of the funny bits. Instead the film focused more on the Thenardiers, who became a bit tiresome after awhile. Beyond those two criticisms, we really enjoyed the movie, and all three of us cried!