Kayla Coleman ’14, Gonzalo del Peon ’13:
When it was announced in 2010 that a film adaptation of the renowned, globally successful stage musical Les Misérables was beginning production, thespians around the world grew concerned.
For years it was thought that this particular stage musical was safe from the corrupting influences of the film industry, but like other successful stage shows, Les Misérables was finally given the green light by a major studio, and thus began production.
The musical is based on a long, French novel written by Victor Hugo published in 1862 whose characters partake in various uprisings during the French Revolution. The show is comprised of more than 50 songs, songs that often embrace operatic qualities and forgo the traditional melodies of musicals, rendering the musical vocally challenging and demanding. Moreover, the show is three hours long, significantly longer than the average musical. With these figures in mind, it was difficult to foresee a movie that could adequately portray the beauty and complexity of the show without the atmosphere of a theater stage.
Yet the movie surprised audiences by remaining true to its material, cutting few corners, and using film as a means of telling the story better, not differently.
Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who with hard work and redemption rises through society to become a model citizen. The plot revolves around his running from and coming to terms with his past, a past personified by the lawful inspector Javert, and the adoption of his orphaned child Cosette. The story spans about twenty years, from Valjean’s release from prison to the coming-of-age of his adopted daughter. Its backdrop is an unstable revolutionary France, a perfect setting for one of the ultimate stories about the timeless themes of class warfare, social justice, revolution, youth, forgiveness, and love.
The film stars Hugh Jackman as Valjean, in a performance that critics have agreed largely made the film the critical success it became. Jackman and Anne Hathaway as the desperate single mother-turned-prostitute Fantine have respectively won the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress Golden Globes, and have been nominated for the Academy Award equivalents. Their performances are nothing short of breathtaking and, most importantly, Jackman and Hathaway, both huge Hollywood names, outright prove wrong the previously held conviction that Hollywood cannot genuinely replicate Broadway.
Fortunately, the weight of the film rested on Jackman, and not on the second lead, Russell Crowe. Crowe’s performance as Javert is partially saved by his acting, but his musical performance leaves something to be desired. Despite months of vocal training, it seems Crowe was unable to match the vocal abilities of his fellow actors. In spite of this fault, Crowe has largely gotten a sympathetic pat on the back from most critics.
Les Misérables premiered worldwide on December 25th, topping the box office during its opening weekend. It has been lauded by critics, winning three Golden Globe Awards including Best Musical or Comedy, and was recently nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The movie’s soundtrack jetted to the top of iTunes’s charts, reaching the #1 spot for weeks.
Les Misérables managed all this measurable success without cutting a single song from the original stage version, and, in fact, an extra song was even added to the film adaptation. The film should be praised for both maintaining a certain level of excellence and adhering to the original material. Though it borders on three hours in length, worldwide audiences have not seemed to have minded.
Newcomer Samantha Barks shines as Eponine, and proves the only actress from the main cast of the film who is a musical theater actress by training. Barks’s casting is especially symbolic, as the role of Eponine was publically rumored to have been offered to Taylor Swift, Glee’s Lea Michele, and Scarlet Johnson.
The most impressive and risky aspect of the film was that all music was recorded live and not in a studio, the first of its kind. The actors sang and acted alongside orchestras, and auto-tuning was not implemented. This authenticity should be mirrored for film adaptations of musicals yet to come.