I've always adored Les Miserables. I grew up with the music of the stage production, and was even to taken to see it in London when I was about 10. For me, music can contain little more power and emotion than in such classics as Do You Hear The People Sing, Empty Chairs At Empty Tables and A Little Fall Of Rain. So when a film adaption was announced, I was, needless to say, excited.
The first thing that struck me was the cast. The film's phenomenal budget had allowed Hollywood A-listers such as Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway to star, but I wondered whether these actors, particularly Crowe, would be able to perform anywhere near as passionately as the many singers who have appeared on stage.
However, my doubts were instantly quashed the moment I set eyes on the goose bump-inducing opening sequence in which French prisoners drag an enormous ship into docks. Unfortunately, my suspicions returned as soon as Jean Valjean ( Hugh Jackman) opened his mouth to sing. Having listened to the original 1985 production on repeat for the entirety of the previous week, the vocals in the film seemed incredibly flat by comparison.
What had really impressed me during the build up to the film's release was the fact that the actors had sung like on set, rather than recording the songs before and then mouthing them in the way of a music video. This was certainly a brave move, but perhaps not the right one. Because the actors had nowhere near the vocal power as the stage singers, recording there vocals live may have added a little emotion to the songs, but it did nothing to improve the vocal performances. One example which stuck in my mind was Crowe's rooftop rendition of Stars. For me, its one of the strongest songs in the musical, but Crowe's flat and emotionless voice drained the song of all the power it possesses.
It's by no means a poor film though. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen give delightful performances as the master and mistress of the house, and are undoubtedly the stars of the whole show. The period costumes and sets are also impressive, and certain examples of visual effects are truly stunning.
The films length is unfortunately also an issue. Admittedly, an adaption of Victor Hugo's 1000+ page novel would never be short, but it is so long that it loses pace in several stages and struggles to sustain the viewers attention. The length also leads to inconsistency, as many sections are brilliantly done, while others are very poor indeed.
It's a shame that the ground breaking music of Les Miserables has not been transposed perfectly into the film. However, this is certainly not a bad adaption, it simply fails to convey the musical's power, emotion and strength which we all know and love.
6/10
