11:45 pm - 12/07/2012
As a faithful rendering of a justly beloved musical, "Les Miserables" will more than satisfy the show's legions of fans. Even so, director Tom Hooper and the producers have taken a number of artistic liberties with this lavish bigscreen interpretation: The squalor and upheaval of early 19th-century France are conveyed with a vividness that would have made Victor Hugo proud, heightened by the raw, hungry intensity of the actors' live oncamera vocals. Yet for all its expected highs, the adaptation has been managed with more gusto than grace; at the end of the day, this impassioned epic too often topples beneath the weight of its own grandiosity.
( A Mixed Review from VarietyCollapse )
( A Negative Review from The Hollywood ReporterCollapse )
The film has garnered a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes so far:
1 | 2 | 3
Les Mis Reviews from Variety & The Hollywood Reporter
As a faithful rendering of a justly beloved musical, "Les Miserables" will more than satisfy the show's legions of fans. Even so, director Tom Hooper and the producers have taken a number of artistic liberties with this lavish bigscreen interpretation: The squalor and upheaval of early 19th-century France are conveyed with a vividness that would have made Victor Hugo proud, heightened by the raw, hungry intensity of the actors' live oncamera vocals. Yet for all its expected highs, the adaptation has been managed with more gusto than grace; at the end of the day, this impassioned epic too often topples beneath the weight of its own grandiosity.
( A Mixed Review from VarietyCollapse )
( A Negative Review from The Hollywood ReporterCollapse )
1 | 2 | 3
are you a big les mis fan to begin with?
like was everything carried out to your liking
and more importantly was The Confrontation kept as a song or did they downgrade it to dialogue?
That movie was such a mess. But I saw it anyway.
Some had good points, though, especially regarding Hooper's style and visuals, but the moment they complain about the fact that it's sung from start to finish, I tune out.
i don't need another actor to be in love with.
LOL. SO I HAVE AN IRRATIONAL DISTRUST OF HIM.
I hope his Marius blots out my memories of Angel Clare.
second time in Donmar Theatre, which is TINY, and I was in the front row (practically on the stage) so he was just...right there. sometimes he looks into the audience member;s eyes when delivering the lines. I died several times that evening.
He is just very special:)
Edited at 2012-12-08 01:24 pm (UTC)
but i'm not going to edit it out because I loled
Edited at 2012-12-08 05:12 am (UTC)
Amanda wasn't as glaring because Cosette wasn't as covally demanding. She just had a sweet voice, which worked.
fuck you tom hooper
Anne was fucking amazing, omg. <3 And Amanda surprised me, I hope she starts taking better roles after this.
I hate musicals. Hate them. I don't know why, I always have. But a friend of mine really wants to see this for her birthday and obviously if she wants to go I'll go, but am I going to go crazy sitting through 158 minutes? Obviously I'll go for my friend but...I want to prepare myself.
Edited at 2012-12-08 05:18 am (UTC)
it's my favorite musical ever and i'm big on broadway
but there's nothing cheesy about it if that's why you don't like them
it's serious and sad with some very sparse comic moments
but you do say 'obviously you'll go for your friend' so try to find bits to like? idk.
I'd say that it's probably the one musical that connects the most with people who are usually not fans of the musical? It was pretty much destroyed by critics when it first came out, but it was so popular with the public you couldn't get through to the theater to get tickets, because the phone lines were so busy.
I'd say the best test is to listen to a few songs and if they resonate emotionally with you even just a little, then you'll enjoy it. I Dreamed a Dream, On My Own and One Day More are good ones for that test.