I have to admit when I heard abotu Le Mis i wasnt that excited, i love musicals but i thought three hours of non stop singing was going to be dull and tiring more then anything, honestly
I was like this is going to be a rental job. Then all
the singing live on set and what not came out so then I had to see it just to see if it actually made a difference.
Or was it the whole 3D new world once more.
To the amazement of my cynical heart t he answer is an overwhelming yes,
you sit there wondering why on earth this wasnt how we always did it,
more difficult im sure but the connection you feel is just so
much more real. The usual feeling that someone has turned an ipod on isn't there either because the
music is more integrated and it feels more like a way to communicate and just really captures the point of singing instead of speaking (which believe it or not is not for a good backing track).
Now music aside, the film itself. The thing I noticed most was just how beautiful the whole film was. Everything was shot in bright contrast constantly and the world was just that edge of surrealism that made a huge difference because it stopped you from being drawn out of it. Also the lack of blood was really good because again it added to this slightly more amazing world and not gritty realism (like in pirates of the caribbean almost, the lack of blood really helped it too). The whole filming in close up near constantly meant that the zoom out made for some really memorable shots because they were the novelties of the film, an angle i dont know to be taken by anyone to that extent before.
You will not hear me say that Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe( a very pleasant surprise weren't excellent they did there parts and tried to cature emotions
but i feel the films own grandeur was its downfall.
I was so interested in the live singing and the beautiful sets and how technically interesting it was that I failed to connect to the characters. Fantine (Anne Hathaway for you le mis newbies) is a really tragic character and the moment that struck me as most emotional was a moment of silence when only her face was in light. It was really memorable to me but it was skimmed over almost in the rush
to get to the songs and the battle and the excitement.
Its as if Tom Hooper in his excitement forgot the value of silence and the power of simple moments.
Now you might fairly say its a musical its not supposed to have silence but I would disagree, live musicals too do pauses and allow for silent frozen moments and again these are some of the most thrilling parts of a musical and just add so much to the whole plot.
So I left le mis the first time dry eyed (small miracle for me, i cry at everything including ice age) and I thought maybe I had been just overwhelmed and that the fault lay with me because I had heard it was so emotional and that second viewing i would connect more.
But honestly I didnt again I could sit back and go this is a really sad scene but I wasnt bonded to the characters in any real way, I may be alone in this I know others find it heartbreaking but maybe because I knew the story before so no shock? I haven't decided yet.
Final Words:
I really really liked Le Miserables and it was really stunning but at the same time I understand why so many were disappointed in the industry (the reviews may praise but the awards are the real truth in film and how many awards for best picture did le mis win again ?)
Tom Hooper could have done a lot more with this and made it more of an epic then it is but I would counter what he did he did really well. So there will be parts not to your taste but if you accept that this is le mis the Hooper addition I think you will still love it.
9/10
