I've seen Les Miserables on stage twice. Once in 1989 or so and the other in 2012. Thus, I've seen both the original stage setup and the newer digitally enhanced version. I loved both of them and I discuss them both at length in a different post. I only mention them here to illustrate my opinion of the show itself.
The trailer for the new movie really had me fired up to see it:
For the most part I enjoyed the movie but there were certain parts that I disliked so much I can't help but comment on them.
The singing, for the most part, was really good. Hugh Jackman, as Valjean, did a great job and I was really impressed with Anne Hathaway as Fantine - I had no idea she could sing so well. I also really enjoyed Samantha Barks as Eponine. However, every time Russel Crowe sang I cringed. Don't get me wrong, Crowe had the perfect bearing as Javert - but his nasal singing just destroyed the air of authority and self-righteousness of the character for me; Javert needs a strong voice and Crowe just couldn't deliver.
At first I was a little thrown off when the songs weren't quite in the right order or were divided up a little but I actually appreciated the directors decisions in doing so to translate the script to the screen. However, there were some new song bits injected into the movie that I just didn't like. Most jarring was the carriage ride with the young Cosette sleeping beside Valjean where Jackman sang "Suddenly." The movie would have been better without the song.
From a cinematic perspective I liked the majority of it but there were some scenes that just were glaringly bad or annoying. The view down to the river during Javert's personal crisis looked absurd - in fact the entire scenery looked way too fake. I also didn't care for the sound effect upon impact. Likewise, I didn't really like most of the up close face shots when people were singing. I suppose it was supposed to create a sense of intimacy but it often jarred me out of the realm of disbelief too frequently and took away some of the scope of the story.
My last issue was with Marius. I actually liked him for most of the movie but his voice sounded too throaty when he sang deeper notes and his facial expression during the scene where Valjean reveals his secret history is completely out of place. He looks to be smirking almost - it just didn't make sense given the context.
The most moving scene for me in the movie was all Marius though - when he sang "Empty Chairs and Empty Tables" he blew me away. He had great emotion and I got caught up a little. The movie really brought that scene alive for me where the stage version never did. In the the two stage versions the last stand at the barricade along with the dramatic moment featuring Gavroche at the conclusion of "Little People" is what always got me - in the movie I just didn't experience the same impact; but Empty Chairs and Empty Tables blew me away.
Overall, Russel Crowe's singing bothered me so much I can't give the movie any better than a 3/5. If it were any other story I'd probably give it a 2 due to my issues with the cinematography but "Empty Chairs and Empty Tables" saved the show.
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