Any momentum toward getting Jackman an Oscar nod may have been stymied by New York Times drama critic Christopher Isherwood’s review of the film in yesterday’s NY Times.
“His singing in “Les Misérables” was sorely lacking in suppleness, sonority and range. For all the talk of live singing, Mr. Jackman’s sounded to me as if he’d actually been AutoTuned by someone who fell asleep at the machine, resulting in a thin, nasal and unpleasantly metallic sound that quickly grew grating.”
This review literally had me ROTFLMAO!!! This was my favorite passage:
You don’t need to buy the soundtrack. I’ll sum up every song in the movie. Here you go: “I’m so lonely, I’m so alone, look at me my life is hard, I’m alone, I’m on my own, there’s this empty chair here, it’s empty because I’m alone, I’m lonely, all this bad stuff has happened to me because of my inexcusably stupid life choices, I’m alone, I feel so alone, on my own, on my own, on my own, did I mention I’m on my oooooowwwwwn?”
I like how this guy was invested in the movie enough to care about the fact that Valjean didn't move to another city to avoid his problems.
And that he calls Russel Crowe the most awkward casting decision in Hollywood history. That shows he compared him to the other actors that were obviously, in his eyes, better cast.
"By the way, Crowe, you’re the guy who played the gladiator but now you will live in infamy as the most awkward casting decision in Hollywood history. You reminded me of someone’s dad who was tossed into the school play at the last minute after his son came down with laryngitis on opening night."
If they'd only blown up after talking about hunting deer, cruising chicks, and smoking pot, he would have loved it. 'Cause then, they can bitch about their lives after that. They've earned it.
Sharon Wheatley who blogs about "Smash" has written a good and positive = "Let Me Tell You What I LIKE..." article about the film. Sharon and her husband worked in Les Miz for over 11 years and pointed out some interesting tidbits about changes made for the film along with casting trivia for both the film and stage productions. Is long but worth the read.
Not since John Huston got his hands on Annie has a director ruined a perfectly good musical and left a very brave and fearless cast out to hang. From the extreme and oh so boring close ups, to the Batman TV series camera work, to actors just wandering around while being allowed to wallow in self indulgent, snot dripping self pity while barely screeching out the notes, I found it interminable and embarrassing. I really wanted to love this, but it was a god awful mess.
I thought the movie was well done and the actors portrayed the characters admirably. I think it has been the consensus that the singing is not strong and I agree with that. Actually, as much as I adore Hugh Jackman, I don't think he has a good singing voice. Crowe was better than I expected, but I was expecting horrible, so that's not really a compliment. I think Anne Hathaway was terrific. As movie musicals go, they should shy away from closeups as much as possible. It does distract from the story itself. All in all, a decent job but as most movie musicals, it does not come close to the Broadway version.
Listen to the soundtrack CD without the visuals[of Hugh/Russell/Ann and Amanda ]--you won't be able to as the visuals-whatever you thought of them,sidetracked you from how they all REALLY sound-not pretty.
I have seen the film twice now and I would like to share my thoughts. I have known and loved the show for years so I was extremely excited when they announced this film. For the past 15 years I have been working in the film/tv/theatre business and I've always been intrigued by acting and singing, the differences between theatre and film and finding out what works well and what does not.
There were many things about the film that I loved. The visuals, the orchestra, the emotions, the fact that it was sung through.
The ensemble was just terrific, from the factory workers to the students, very well done.
The 4 top performances came from Anne Hathaway, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit and Eddie Redmayne (although he comes 4th) in my opinion. All 4 of them made the film (or at least the scenes they were in) really soar. They master the craft of acting through song. I know this sentence is used all the time, but I think not many people (including the filmmakers) really understand this. It is a rare craft. It is about the placement of each and every word. Although Eddie had a lot of mannerisms that were a bit amateurish, he did understand the placements of words and has the ability to make it real and lyrical. It was right (although a bit forced at times). The other 3 were flawless.
The ones I did not really like but also didn't really mind were Amanda Seyfried (which surprised me, because I don't like her singing at all), she does have a very natural way of bringing the lyrics, placing the words, I kept thinking, this is right, and that is actually right too, there are no better choices she could have made in every word. She even moved me at the end of the film. (except for "everyday/heart full of love reprise", that last note sounds nothing like a voice, just a straight high, out of her league computer-tone. Hugh Jackman sounds really wrong there too, high and breathy, strained and damaged, that whole song is not very well done, Sasha Baron Cohen was a decent Thenardier, Helena Bonham Carter was just there, not good, nothing special.
My biggest problem with the film was the fact that Hugh Jackman and Russel Crowe really kicked me out of the story many, many times, both in different ways.
Russel Crowe. He is a fine actor, but his singing is just not good enough. There is no connection. I could see people's attention in the audience drifting away during his scenes. The scene between Javert and Valjean in the factory, after Fantine gets sacked, when Valjean is the mayor, was really embarassing in my opinion. From his first scene to his last scene I just thought; what a shame.....This could and should have been a better singer/actor.
Hugh Jackman: Some parts he really gets right, others he fails miserably. Het is a charming guy with a decent voice, but a lot of times I really don't understand his choices. For example, he picks 1 word of a sentence and holds it way too long and it is always the wrong word!!! It's bizarre. In the scene before "One day more" het sings a line: hurry Cosette it's time to close another door and live anotheeeeeeeeeeeeeeer (crazy vibrato and way too long) day. What is that? Why that part of the word? Is that his "thinking that is theatrical singing mode"? And he makes the wrong choices in almost every sentence. I feel that his singing is a parody on theatrical singing, which is way more nuanced and "filmic" in my opinion. I have seen stage Valjeans with so many tiny nuances in placing words, for example John Owen Jones, when he reads the letter it just breaks your heart because of the emotions, little nuances and gentle and right placements of the words, which is actually extremely filmic. Same goes for Bring him home, which he sang like a bulldozer. Every notes had the same loudness. That is NOT singing. And not a prayer to god. But I should not compare and focus on Hughs performance. In other moments, he showed he did not understand the music at all, for example the line: "Here where I stand at the turning of the years". This sentence could really pull you into the story, but he kicked me out again, by singing it like: "tur-ning-of-the-years", every word exactly the same length, like a robot. Way too staccato. But if he tried to make it more "whathethinksistheatricalsinging", more filmic, more musical, I'm sure he would have placed the emphasis on the wrong part again, something like: "Here where I stand at the turning of theeeeeeeeeeee (forced vibrato) years. On a word that makes no sense at all.
It's just very tiresome to watch and listen to and it feels way too forced, strained and actually fake. I am convinced that this is something a person just has or does not have. It's about their musicality and connecting that to the lyrics. I have seen Valjeans who did everything right. And Anne Hathaway, Samantha Barks and Aaron Tveit and Eddie Redmayne do everything right, not 1 moment or word or placement where I thought' he should have held it longer or shorter or something like that.
Anyway, It was such a relief when the student scenes came in, because after Fantine passed away, there is no one that keeps you into the story because of this (dis)ability, until the students and Eponine come in.
Overall, I enjoyed the film but with a better Javert and Valjean it would be epic.
For those who want a clearer view of what nuances I'm talking about:
I am not sure yet if I will recommend my friends and family to go see it, because I think if people are not really used to a film with sung through emotions from beginning to end, the singing should be extraorinary, and pull you in, not kick you out of it.
I would recommend you to bring your family and friends anyway, because to be honest, the only people I've heard majorly complaining about the singing are trained singers and/or musical fans who know the show backwards and forwards. Most people who do not know every detail about the score or singing technique (myself included) seem to be enjoying it overall.
To clarify, lots of people have said or joked that Russell Crowe, for example, does not have the best voice for the part, but they still liked the film. I mean people who have done nothing but complain about the singing, stating that Redmayne's jaw tension or Jackman's strain on the high notes completely ruin the film.
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joined:6/15/08
Posted: 1/4/13 at 04:31am