After finishing a Kohl's run today, I realized that Les Miz was showing at a nearby theater in fifteen minutes. I was less than ten minutes away, so I made a split second decision to go. Yes, it's wonderful being retired! Three hours later I am a puddle and need to talk about this marvelous film. Stop reading now if you are one of those internet kooks who looks at very clearly titled articles and then complains about spoilers.
OK? Still with me? I am a purist and I love my Broadway musicals done big and done right. I don't trust movie versions because the grandness seems to shrink on film (Rock of Ages or Momma Mia anyone?) so I was a little afraid of being disappointed. Nothing to fear with Miz.
I've said it before and I will say it again, Ann Hathaway is the perfect woman. In my opinion (and this blog is my opinion), she is more perfect than Princess Di. Her Fantine was heartbreakingly good. She's fragile, she's strong. She's beautiful, she ugly cries. She will need a new shelf at her house for all the awards she'll garner for this role. Heck, I'd like to take her a bouquet of flowers myself. There are only a few degrees of separation between us; my sister works with someone who either is her aunt or knows her aunt. I mean, heck, she's from PA. I am too! We may have once crossed paths. Enough. I'm creeping myself out.
I've read a lot of criticism concerning Russell Crowe's Javert. Most critics were unhappy with his singing voice. I guess I've seen enough community theater to think he sounded good, darn good. One critique I read said that he wasn't right for the role because Javert is pure evil, and Crowe's character wasn't. I never thought Javert was supposed to be "pure evil." And Jan Valjean himself shared my opinion as he forgave Javert, saved his life, and basically told him how he understood that he was only doing his job. Javert's a complicated character. He's mean. You see that in him immediately at the film's beginning when he supervises the slaves as they pull the ship into dock, as he sneers at Valjean's suffering when bringing in the flag (and the mast it rode in on). But he had a tender side. Who didn't wipe a tear when he placed his medal on Gavroche's shirt? He was a man of strong principles and integrity in carrying out the duties of his job. He was inflexible. And in the way of solitary strong characters, when he could no longer live with his failure to complete his job, he jumped into rushing water. I didn't cover my eyes as he committed suicide, but I wish I had covered my ears. You don't hear the thunk of a body hitting a concrete wall on a stage.
Helena Bonham Carter is well-known for her eccentric characters; I think her tavern owner's wife will go down as one of her best. Her timing was perfect as she wheedled around, behind, between and on top of her victims to steal their belongings. I loved her look, her mood swings, her. I used to "hate" Sacha Baron Cohen. Ugh to his dictator gag that interrupted the Oscars a while back. Double ugh to him rolling around in all his ugly nakedness in his first big film. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. But this part was made for him! Maybe he will take himself seriously after the success of this movie and stop with the stupid publicity hound stunts.
Hugh Jackman. Sigh. Where do I begin? How about not even recognizing him in all his filth and stench (yes, I swear I could smell him) at the beginning of the movie? What an amazing transformation! I never understood all the fuss about him, and now I'm ready to join his fan club. But back to the show.... I've always been annoyed with Valjean's valiant efforts to save Marius for Cosette. I mean, how could those two possibly be soul mates, all they saw of each other was through a garden gate? But I found myself rooting for him as Valjean dragged Marius through the sewers of Paris. My heart sank when he reached the light at the end of the tunnel and Javert was waiting for him. You'll have to see the movie to find out what happens next; I'm not about to give it all away.
The rest of the cast was spectacular, from the crusty infected prostitutes to the beautiful young men waving their red flags and futilely shooting their pistols. Where has Aaron Tviet been this last decade of my life? I wanted to scream to Valjean to save that handsome square-jawed man; I know Cosette would have liked him a lot better. Samantha Banks won the role of Eponine over Taylor Swift, thank goodness. Eponine must have street smarts, and I can't see pretty pouty Taylor doing street thug. I also can't imagine the tavern owner and wife producing a Taylor Swift. I was not blown away by Amanda Seyfried as the grown-up Cosette. And that's all I have to say about that.
I was lucky to be able to sit out of view of the audience when I grabbed a seat near a corner in the lower handicapped area. (Hey, no one else wanted the seat, so no lectures.) I quietly sang along with the songs I so love, waved my flag, and cried as much as I wanted. At the end of the film, I joined the rest of the audience in a round of applause.
If you haven't seen it yet, you simply must make the time to go. I actually think, for the first time ever in my life, I prefer the movie to the stage. I give it four stars and two thumbs up.
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