Awards Season Review: Les Miserables

Image Credit: Universal Pictures

You may have heard about a little-known, barely publicised film, based on the musical that’s based on the book that’s based on the French Revolution: Les Misérables.

I watched the stage musical seven times in a row in order to prepare for this, but I wouldn’t exactly advocate doing the same; I’m sure you’re not all as fanatical about musicals as I am, and perhaps many of you are just going to see Gladiator fight Wolverine. Besides, it’s quite a bizarre experience going to see a film that you’ve never seen before and knowing 90 per cent of the script.

Now, I just feel I should warn you that I have never once cried at a film. Call it what you will: heartlessness, dehydration, a sign I’m a sociopath – all I know is that I never particularly find myself caring for the characters or the story enough to actually express emotion about them, no matter how many scenes are shot in the rain. Les Misérables changed that.

Anne Hathaway, in a three-minute continuous shot, not only brings back the dignity to I Dreamed a Dream that Susan Boyle took away, but gives what may well be the best performance of her life. Her role as Fantine is much bigger than the role in the musical, but with reason; she acts her little prostitute socks off, and it’s quite refreshing to hear her singing like someone dying would, rather than someone who’s had ten years of stage experience and thus a remarkably healthy throat considering how much blood they’re coughing up.

Every single cast member brought something new to the role and filled it with vitality that the stage version never could give. Stage productions have their own merits, but film allows for nuance that you just can’t get from row Z. Musical fans may have felt they didn’t get their ticket’s worth in belted-out notes, but the cast cried enough collective tears to fill at least a small mug, or perhaps an egg cup, and that’s enough for me.

The ensemble choir were seamlessly worked into the songs, and unlike the stage version, where there always seems to be one dodgy singer – the director’s niece, the conductor’s love child, etc. – the ensemble were wonderfully cast, so as to compliment and highlight the protagonists, rather than to grasp their 15 seconds of fame and belt the wrong note like their life depended on it.

I think we should all take a bit of time now to moon over Marius (Eddie Redmayne) and Enjolras (Aaron Tveit). Mmmmm. More on that later.

The barricade scenes were the most beautifully shot I’ve seen in a long time. Saturated reds, blues and blacks upon a canvas of white; the nerdy, arty film lover in me cried tears of happiness, and as the chorus gradually swelled into a rousing rendition of Do You Hear The People Sing, my inner choir girl joined in with the weeping.

However, those same scenes felt slightly jarring in their context – not just because the colour scheme changed from the warm tones of candlelight to stark, clean whiteness – but because we’re going from being so close to someone’s face that we can count their nose hairs to a massive wide shot where we can’t even see any nose hairs. But I would gladly sacrifice a whole lifetime of nose hair viewing for the beautiful colours. I know, right.

Going back to my earlier point about the sexy men, Eddie Redmayne completely surprised me by being the best damn Marius I’d ever seen. And he’s competing with Nick Jonas, so you know he’s got to be good. Witty sarcasm aside, though, his performance of Empty Chairs and Empty Tables was incredibly emotional and fantastically spot-on with the acting, if a little bit ruined at the end by more gratuitous shots of Cosette.

I’ve never liked Marius or Cosette – in the musical, they’re portrayed as naive, idealistic idiots that quite frankly deserve each other as they step over the back-stabbed corpses of the ones who love them just to have a quick snog from time to time. The script can’t exactly be changed, of course, so the film’s characterisation of the pair is the same, but for the first time, I didn’t want to strangle them both with the tricolore.

However, Tom Hooper clearly felt very strongly about these two wet blankets, giving them far too much screen time for characters whose main personality trait is being marginally less exciting than watching paint dry.

I would have preferred more Eponine, played excellently by the stellar Samantha Barks, cast straight from the stage version – rather than the somewhat pathetic version of Eponine we’ve seen in past productions, Barks’ take on the unrequited lover is cheeky, sassy but sorrowful inside. Her rendition of A Little Fall of Rain one of the most beautiful, heartfelt songs in the musical – was left out of the film’s official soundtrack. I could write another thousand words on how utterly wrong that is.

But I won’t.

Returning, happily, to Aaron Tveit, I felt his Enjolras was criminally deprived of screen time as much as Eponine. He’s a thousand times more of a hero than Marius, and about as much more interesting. Also, have I mentioned how pretty he is? Let’s not forget that.

Image Credit: Universal Pictures

Of course, I won’t say it was completely without major fault. The film suffers from teething problems for the first few minutes, with awkward camera angles leading the eye toward a rather interesting brick next to Russell Crowe’s shoulder rather than his face at one point, but this is quickly remedied as soon as the film hits its stride. Although the director, Tom Hooper’s affinity for close-up, handheld shots can sometimes feel a bit like overkill, it allows for some wonderful displays of acting, as seen in I Dreamed a Dream and A Little Fall of Rain.

It’s been mentioned a fair bit that Russell Crowe can’t act or sing. He’s not too bad, honestly, his performances just feel a bit limp, but for those expecting a wonderful, rich, chocolatey bass like on the stage, you’ll be somewhat disappointed by his wall-eyed, wooden rendition of Stars and Javert’s Suicide. Not to mention his bizarre parkour thing. I know it’s meant to be foreshadowing, but it just comes across as a bit juvenile – I half expected him to start frying ants with a magnifying glass and fingerpainting (that’s what kids these days do, right?)

Overall, I really did love the film. I know many people were disappointed, but this is because the stage version sets the bar so high that it’s impossible to do anything but fall short. There are plenty of tributes and similarities to the musical within the film, but there are directorial decisions that alter the original to suit the big screen.

So, yes, the film is not as good as the musical. There’s no Alfie Boe, no Lea Salonga, none of that magic you get from paying £30 to sit right at the back of the theatre and squint down £1 binoculars just to confirm that it is Gareth Gates playing Marius (God help us), but it doesn’t matter. This is a film, and it deserves to be appreciated for its own merits, and seen in its own light, not just the faded spotlight of the stage.

Kate Gray

Didn’t realise Les Miserables was originally a book by Victor Hugo? Hop over to the Books section to read their review of the literary masterpiece.

Interview: Holy Franchise, Batman! – Part Three

Image credit: Gary Collinson

I suspect author Gary Collinson and I could have discussed The Dark Knight Rises all day (see Part Two), but eventually I steer my questions towards Gary’s book, Holy Franchise, Batman! How did it come about?

“I’ve always been a big fan of Batman and thought that the character’s rich screen history would make for an interesting article, so in 2010 I put something together for Flickering Myth. As I was writing, the article started to get longer and longer, and despite ending up around 8000 words, there was so much more I could have written that I thought a book would be the only way to do it justice. I’d never thought about writing a non-fiction book before and wasn’t convinced I’d be able to do it, never mind find a publisher interested in releasing it, so I sat on the idea for about a year until I decided to give it a go.”

Not surprisingly, with such a rich subject matter, the hardest thing about writing the book for Gary was writing “about a thousand words per day plus revisions, which was tough to manage alongside full-time employment and editorial duties on Flickering Myth, and took a lot of late nights to achieve!” Fortunately though, “the final product turned out much the way I planned, albeit considerably longer.”

I confess my almost total ignorance of the details of the publishing process, and ask Gary to summarise his journey from idea to printed book.

“The first step in writing a non-fiction book is to put together an outline, which serves as a sales pitch to potential publishers and includes a general overview of the book, its target audience etc., along with a detailed breakdown of each chapter. After sending this to publishers, if you’re fortunate enough to get an offer the next step is to discuss the contract, which covers everything from advance payments, royalties and rights through to final word count and deadline for submission. Once the contract has been agreed and signed it’s then down to the author to produce the manuscript, which is then sent off to the publisher for approval.”

I was intrigued to know if dealing with a publisher was an ordeal as well as an enormous opportunity. Were there any problems with the manuscript? It seems the editing process wasn’t too distressing in Gary’s case. “The publisher may then request rewrites or alterations to the manuscript (which fortunately wasn’t the case with Holy Franchise, Batman!) and then the editing process begins, during which the book is edited and proofread before being sent back to the author to approve any changes. Once the manuscript is finalised, a typesetter then lays out the manuscript ready for printing, with the author then making a final check before it goes off to the printers. During this time, the sales department also gets involved and begins to approach prospective buyers, as well as exploring various ways to promote the book, and then finally a finished copy arrives through the letterbox!”

That is the moment many students will dream of, seeing their own book in the flesh. How did it feel for Gary, who had written stories in his youth and long had an interest in writing before tackling Batman in non-fiction form? “Seeing your name in print on your own book is certainly a strange feeling. It’s quite hard to put into words, but it did give me an enormous sense of achievement and made all those long nights seem worthwhile.”

Gary’s modesty, despite his impressive achievement and incredible subject knowledge, is clear. It shines through too in his practical advice to Exeter students with writing aspirations. “Fiction or non-fiction, I’d advise spending considerable time on the planning stage, particularly if a large amount of research is required, and don’t underestimate the amount of time you’ll need to devote to the editing process once the actual manuscript is written. Apart from that, my only advice would be to write as often as possible in order to develop your skills, and if you do come up with an idea for a book, just go for it.”

Does he plan to continue writing? Is there another book in the pipeline? “I’m working on a few different projects at the moment, including an outline for another non-fiction book and a graphic novel, as well as a couple of TV show ideas. One is a documentary with a humorous slant, and the other a kind of fantasy comedy-drama that I’d like to write as a miniseries. There’s also a couple of feature film scripts that I’ve been writing on and off for a couple of years – I should probably go back and complete the first drafts at some point!”

Holy Franchise, Batman! by Gary Collinson is available now via Amazon.

Liam Trim, Screen Editor