Les Miserables - the movie

[Spareoom]

Eponine probably never went for Enjoras because he was even less interested in her than Marius was, lol. All revolution and justice for that boy; no time or interest in women. You can just see it in his exasperated face when the other boys are extolling the virtues of girls, lol.

Besides, Marius was different; not like the others. He came from a good upbringing and as much as he hid it, I'm sure it showed in his manners and actions. Eponine probably saw him and thought he could be her knight in shining armor.

[WildRose]

Well I guess I'm in the minority here, but I absolutely loved it. I went on Thursday while on vacation in Vancouver. Theatre was packed, audience applauded at the end, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one crying at multiple times throughout.
I want it to win all of the Oscars!

[Sparks]

I see the characters as straightfoward archetypes.
Fantine - female victim through and through. Madonna/Whore.
Jean - true hero. Sticks his neck out for everyone. The personification of a true Christian.
Javert - rigid, law and order man with no real soul. Hides behind God, but cannot stand himself when he actually has compassion for someone. (This is why I don't mind Crowe in the role. He does loathesome well).
Cosette and Marius - true, pure, unadulterated, magical love. Cinderella and Prince Charming. (Pampered simps. )
Eponine - girl from the wrong side of the tracks with unrequited love. Becomes brave and does good.
Gavroche - the unvarnished truth of youth.

[kwanfan1818]

With Valjean and Javert you have the conflict between justice and mercy, plus he realization of how much else can hide behind both.

[victoriaheidi]

Saw it. I was with my aunt who, unfortunately, knew very little about the story and had a hard time grasping it. She spent a good deal of the movie asking questions. I'm glad I went with her, though, because I know the story so well that I think I take for granted the story arc--she truly was confused by a lot of elements, and I can't say I blame her!

I enjoyed it--I mean, yes, it got really draggy in the middle (too long!). And there were some voices I didn't really like. Most significant to me, however, is the lack of a proper album. Yes, they made an album, but all they did was take cuts from the film and put them on a CD. That's all well and good...but what was so powerful on screen (Anne's IDAD, for instance) sounds so weak and weird without the visual to back it up. I wish they'd gone into a studio and done an actual recording just to make a soundtrack.

[mrinalini]

DBZ, I couldn't agree more with everything you've said. You've articulated the issues I had with the movie more precisely than I could.

I mentioned earlier that the key relationships weren't fleshed out well - how, for example, can we feel much for Cosette and Marius when they're immediately making googly eyes at each other and singing of their undying love? The same can be said of Eponine's fixation on Marius, and to Valjean's latching on to Fantine and then Cosette. The characters and the situations they find themselves in are simply presented as they are, they're just there, with hardly any exposition whatsoever. Sure, some of the characters' motivations are expressed through the lyrics, but it all feels a bit too neat and too much like lazy storytelling. The characters are presented as straightforward archetypes and are thus very one-note and hard to take seriously as real human beings - if something doesn't feel real, it's hard to feel for it. The weird thing is that I have seen the musical on stage and these problems didn't bother me; I guess there are some stage conceits that just don't translate well into film.

And about Hathaway - I'm now reading that she's very nearly guaranteed the Oscar. Ugh. When I remember the torturous scene where she sings IDAD, I think of what I hate when I see certain film performances, when that bell goes off in your head and you think, ACTING, ACTING, ACTING! I understand that this is a musical and an outsized approach may be preferable to a more subdued one, but she overdid it by far. I even felt that her deathbed scene was a prime example of bad OTT acting.

Finally, I'm glad to see that there are others who couldn't stand Hooper's direction as well. I loved The King's Speech, so I suppose I must have loved it in spite of him and not because of him.

[Garden Kitty]

Well I guess I'm in the minority here, but I absolutely loved it

The majority of the skaters on twitter seem to agree with you (or maybe the ones who didn't like it just didn't tweet about it). And a few mentioned they were bringing boxes of tissues to the theater.

[manhn]

Well, skaters are never wrong. Despite any qualms I have for the movie, I've been wanting to rewatch it bad.

In Bill Condon's defence, he also made Gods and Monsters, which was critically acclaimed and really catapulted his career.

In Cosette (I'm all about Cosette--suck it, Eponine!!) and Marius' defence, I think both have been shown to be very quick in how they view people. It didn't take Young Cosette too long to trust Valjean either and look how it benefited her. Marius left his rich family to join the Revolution, so he probably is very passionate and spirited. They're both young. They both had that one night together before Cosette had to move (yes, in the movie the night lasted the duration of one song but I can buy that they spent more than 3-4 minutes meeting each other). If they didn't like each other that night, notes would not have been exchanged. And this was a time of war--everything is magnified. Didn't a lot of young people back in WW1 and WW2 marry each other before the husbands went to war?

Also, it's a musical. It's just something I was willing to buy. Unlike a lot of movies (musicals or otherwise), it wasn't just about Marius and Cosette and their feelings for each other. Their relationship was used to show and test the true characters of Eponine and Valjean.

[Sparks]

Epinone rules - suck it, Cosette!
I liked the film...you just have to take it for what it is.

[dbell1]

I haven't seen this version yet, but I did love the Liam Neeson version that came out in 1998. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119683/ Not a fan of Claire Danes (ever), but they did a decent job of explaining the back story. I guess as a skating fan, I should go.

[smurfy]

I saw the Liam Neesom movie and enjoyed it.
Also from 1995 Les Miserables - set in WWII -very moving movie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113828/

[Wyliefan]

Most significant to me, however, is the lack of a proper album. Yes, they made an album, but all they did was take cuts from the film and put them on a CD. That's all well and good...but what was so powerful on screen (Anne's IDAD, for instance) sounds so weak and weird without the visual to back it up. I wish they'd gone into a studio and done an actual recording just to make a soundtrack.

I really want a proper soundtrack too, not just a "highlights" album -- I'm hoping against hope we'll get one at some point.

[chipso1]

I can't remember where I read it (the Les Mis Facebook page maybe?), but I believe a full soundtrack is being released in early 2013.

[jenny12]

Finally, I'm glad to see that there are others who couldn't stand Hooper's direction as well. I loved The King's Speech, so I suppose I must have loved it in spite of him and not because of him.

I wasn't a fan of The King's Speech, but I can see why people were, especially because of the great acting of Colin Firth. However, one thing that I picked up on in The King's Speech that I think was magnified in Les Mis was the look-at-this-poor-unfortunate-soul-suffering reaction Hooper wants to yank out of his audience. I think this was toned down in The King's Speech because of Colin Firth's subtlety, but I think the movie itself still had a bit of pity-party feeling for the king (especially when he sang about how his nurse didn't feed him) that was multiplied by a hundred for the central characters in Les Mis.

[Vagabond]

I saw the Liam Neesom movie and enjoyed it.
Also from 1995 Les Miserables - set in WWII -very moving movie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113828/

I loved the 1995 version with Jean-Paul Belmondo and the way the story was told twice -- as both the twentieth-century frame story and the Hugo novel that Belmondo's "modern" character reads. I can also recall a gripping 1978 television version with Richard Jordan and Anthony Perkins.

I just discovered that there is a 2000 French television mini-series with Gérard Depardieu, John Malkovich, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Asia Argento, and Jeanne Moreau. It's on Youtube with English subtitles on Youtube (or Dutch subtitles, if you prefer ), and I think I might watch it this week.

[victoriaheidi]

I loved the 1995 version with Jean-Paul Belmondo and the way the story was told twice -- as both the twentieth-century frame story and the Hugo novel that Belmondo's "modern" character reads.

I've been obsessed with this version ever since I saw it in high school French! My classmates clearly didn't get it, so they poked fun, but I loved it.

[kwanfan1818]

I just discovered that there is a 2000 French television mini-series with Gérard Depardieu, John Malkovich, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Asia Argento, and Jeanne Moreau. It's on Youtube with English subtitles on Youtube (or Dutch subtitles, if you prefer ), and I think I might watch it this week.

Thank you so much for this -- I just started to download it from YouTube. (Here's the link to Part 1 of 16 (For subtitles, press the "CC" button at the bottom of the screen.) In the process, I came across:

Les Mis in Six Minutes
From the French Mini-series

and

Ten things that sound creepy when said by John Malkovich

[Vagabond]

I've been obsessed with this version ever since I saw it in high school French! My classmates clearly didn't get it, so they poked fun, but I loved it.

I'm in Heaven

[Bunny Hop]

Finally, I'm glad to see that there are others who couldn't stand Hooper's direction as well. I loved The King's Speech, so I suppose I must have loved it in spite of him and not because of him.

I also loved The King's Speech. Guess this just shows that directing a musical is a lot different to directing a 'regular' film.

I also have a lot of problems with the love at first sight thing between Cosette and Marius - they see each other across the street and are instantly deeply in love - but that's probably just because I'm naturally cynical. The rest of it I can easily fill in the back story or motivations for the gaps, but that part stretches the imagination to breaking point. But I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of the story!

[cruisin]

I also loved The King's Speech. Guess this just shows that directing a musical is a lot different to directing a 'regular' film.

I think that is exactly it. There are lots of brilliant directors out there who know that a musical is beyond their expertise. I wonder if they got any input from Broadway/stage people.