As a medium, theatre and cinema have been weighed against each other since the first actors stepped off the stage and on to the silver screen. But rarely are the two so directly comparable than with Tom Hooper’s Hollywood treatment of stage show sensation, Les Misérables
.
There have been 61 film adaptations of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, and despite being arguably the better medium to showcase this epic, none have matched the success of Herbert Kretzmer’s adaptation of Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel's stage musical. For more than 25 years ‘Les Mis’ has surpassed any of its onscreen counterparts in terms of box office success and the cult following it commands.
Hooper brings the musical to the big screen free from the confines of the theatre and takes the opportunity to show fans much more of Hugo’s world. Not just in terms of setting, but also by offering a much closer look at the characters and a more personal experience.
He filmed the solo pieces live on set in one sequence and because of this you still get the onetime-only performance feel that will resonate with fans of the stage show. There are arresting moments when shots are momentarily out of focus or oddly framed and it adds a raw, real-time quality that complements the gritty atmosphere.
During these performances, the actors are not lost in the vastness of an empty stage with their inner turmoil’s emanating from largely the music and vocals alone. Here, however, we see Hugo’s characters in the true depth of their personal hells and the sets are meticulously constructed to his vivid specifications. The physical and emotional decay of Fantine in her grotty corner of a brothel and Valjean’s crime in the humility of the Bishops home is far more palpable when you’re brought into the room with them.
Anne Hathaway’s Fantine is more vulnerable and defeated as she has no need to retain the sense of composure a stage performer must to deliver the mighty, ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. It is during these solos that it sounds quite different to the musical but the quality of the performances coupled with the intimacy the closeness it affords, gives audiences a more authentic experience of their misery and hope.
It is easy to see why Hooper refused to make this film without Hugh Jackman in the lead role as the convict seeking redemption, Jean Valjean. Jackman is a veteran of stage musicals and film alike, and it shows. His lonely battle of conscience in ‘Who Am I’ is graphic and emotionally charged. The anguish of Valjean is much more clearly seen, if more quietly spoken.
However, Russell Crowe’s Javert is disappointing; he clunks through the lyrics and embodies mostly his stoicism and little of his complexity that should mirror Valjean’s. The fact that some of the rhyming couplets in which the lyrics are composed have been changed jars the ear and strikes discord with Javert.
It was inevitable that in the move form stage to screen some of the vigour in the ensemble pieces would be lost. The reverberations from a hundred strong cast booming ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’ charges an audience.
The big choral numbers are still thunderous, but can be undone by such a simple thing and
something one would never consider in a theatre, the volume. It needs to be loud; the intensity of the insurgence will be somewhat deflated if the songs of rebellion compete with the rustle of crisp packets.
However, how the various scenes that comprise the ensembles are linked broadens the narrative and compensates. We see it all, Javert plotting in the police headquarters, as Valjean plans his escape, all the while behind the barricades Marius agonises over Cosettee. The subplots no longer share the stage, but set in their different location and it enhances the sense of the plots intricacy.
It is an intense two and half hours. The film, like the musical and book, is an emotional deluge. But not endless, there are uplifting numbers; the rambunctious Mater of the House by Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen as the Thénardiers. As well as the cheeky and charming introduction to the ‘Second Act’ by Daniel Huttlestone as Gavroche who is reminiscent of lovable rogue, The Artful Dodger in Oliver.
Both theatre and cinema have virtues the other can never reproduce, only compensate for. Hopper has a powerful foundation in Victor Hugo’s classic, and another in the musical which has almost upstaged it. This adaptation will be enjoyed by fans of the stage show for its return to the gloomier roots of its illustrious stage success, and its more authentic experience of Hugo’s masterpiece. And newcomers will get an insight into lure of Les Miserables, whether written or sung, that has captivated so many
.
There have been 61 film adaptations of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, and despite being arguably the better medium to showcase this epic, none have matched the success of Herbert Kretzmer’s adaptation of Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel's stage musical. For more than 25 years ‘Les Mis’ has surpassed any of its onscreen counterparts in terms of box office success and the cult following it commands.
Hooper brings the musical to the big screen free from the confines of the theatre and takes the opportunity to show fans much more of Hugo’s world. Not just in terms of setting, but also by offering a much closer look at the characters and a more personal experience.
He filmed the solo pieces live on set in one sequence and because of this you still get the onetime-only performance feel that will resonate with fans of the stage show. There are arresting moments when shots are momentarily out of focus or oddly framed and it adds a raw, real-time quality that complements the gritty atmosphere.
During these performances, the actors are not lost in the vastness of an empty stage with their inner turmoil’s emanating from largely the music and vocals alone. Here, however, we see Hugo’s characters in the true depth of their personal hells and the sets are meticulously constructed to his vivid specifications. The physical and emotional decay of Fantine in her grotty corner of a brothel and Valjean’s crime in the humility of the Bishops home is far more palpable when you’re brought into the room with them.
Anne Hathaway’s Fantine is more vulnerable and defeated as she has no need to retain the sense of composure a stage performer must to deliver the mighty, ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. It is during these solos that it sounds quite different to the musical but the quality of the performances coupled with the intimacy the closeness it affords, gives audiences a more authentic experience of their misery and hope.
It is easy to see why Hooper refused to make this film without Hugh Jackman in the lead role as the convict seeking redemption, Jean Valjean. Jackman is a veteran of stage musicals and film alike, and it shows. His lonely battle of conscience in ‘Who Am I’ is graphic and emotionally charged. The anguish of Valjean is much more clearly seen, if more quietly spoken.
However, Russell Crowe’s Javert is disappointing; he clunks through the lyrics and embodies mostly his stoicism and little of his complexity that should mirror Valjean’s. The fact that some of the rhyming couplets in which the lyrics are composed have been changed jars the ear and strikes discord with Javert.
It was inevitable that in the move form stage to screen some of the vigour in the ensemble pieces would be lost. The reverberations from a hundred strong cast booming ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’ charges an audience.
The big choral numbers are still thunderous, but can be undone by such a simple thing and
something one would never consider in a theatre, the volume. It needs to be loud; the intensity of the insurgence will be somewhat deflated if the songs of rebellion compete with the rustle of crisp packets.
However, how the various scenes that comprise the ensembles are linked broadens the narrative and compensates. We see it all, Javert plotting in the police headquarters, as Valjean plans his escape, all the while behind the barricades Marius agonises over Cosettee. The subplots no longer share the stage, but set in their different location and it enhances the sense of the plots intricacy.
It is an intense two and half hours. The film, like the musical and book, is an emotional deluge. But not endless, there are uplifting numbers; the rambunctious Mater of the House by Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen as the Thénardiers. As well as the cheeky and charming introduction to the ‘Second Act’ by Daniel Huttlestone as Gavroche who is reminiscent of lovable rogue, The Artful Dodger in Oliver.
Both theatre and cinema have virtues the other can never reproduce, only compensate for. Hopper has a powerful foundation in Victor Hugo’s classic, and another in the musical which has almost upstaged it. This adaptation will be enjoyed by fans of the stage show for its return to the gloomier roots of its illustrious stage success, and its more authentic experience of Hugo’s masterpiece. And newcomers will get an insight into lure of Les Miserables, whether written or sung, that has captivated so many
By Niamh Kirk
