“Occupy the Oscars!” Tom Hooper’s movie of the British staging of the French musical of the 1862 Hugo novel is a must-see for anyone who appreciates epic stories, contemporary musicals or well-crafted cinema in general. Warning for those who are not already fans of the musical: some effort is required to enjoy this masterpiece, not unlike the attention needed for a screening of Jackson’s LOTR trilogy, but still much less than a classical opera.
Hooper has chosen a straight up-and-down adaptation, with the only risk he’s taken to have the actors sing “in scene” (not lip-synched). In general this works well, but the trade-off is that the soundtrack will not be a perfect concert-hall recording – though combined with the excellent on-screen acting and cinematography, it’s suitably epic and powerful. Anne Hathaway’s Fantine is deserving of a Best Supporting Actress gong on the strength of her show-stopping solo. Hugh Jackman’s Valjean is a solid contender for Best Actor, and newcomer Eddie Redmayne’s Marius impresses. On the other hand, Russell Crowe’s Javert is merely serviceable. And Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter’s comic Thénardiers were unexpectedly understated.
My only (admittedly minor) quibbles are that Hooper could have taken more creative risks. E.g. musically, Samantha Bark’s Eponine numbers might have gone more jazzy/soul, and the requisite new-song-for-the-film ‘Suddenly’ sounds manufactured for a Best Original Song nod by taking inspiration from past syrupy Disney/Pixar winners. On the staging front, they could have changed up on the repeated close-ups of every soloist’s tonsils (yes we get it, they’re not lip-synching), and the entr’acte CGI tracking shots up into the air and down again.
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