Vacation: Entertainment
Jan. 7th, 2013 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowI rarely watch movies in theaters anymore; about the only time I do see them is on my visits to California. This year, with one thing and another, I only got around to seeing one: "Les Miserables".
I saw the musical in London in 1989, and listen to the soundtrack from time to time. I've always loved it, and this screen rendition is quite satisfactory. My only significant complaint is that Hugh Jackman's voice isn't quite strong enough for the role of Valjean. In the great Valjean/Javert duet at Fantine's deathbed, the two voices need to be closely matched, and, sadly, Jackman just wasn't quite up to it. Other than that (and a couple of plotting quibbles), I was very much pleased. Samantha Banks does a fine job as Eponine (the singer on my soundtrack is a little too childlike), and Anne Hathaway milks Fantine's misery for all it's worth. The Thenardiers were well-cast (Sacha Cohen and Helena Carter), and I loved their first encounter with Valjean.
A good three-hankie movie, if you're at all susceptible to the storyline. One of my resolutions for this year is to finally read the book; I have a three-volume French edition that I bought long ago and have never gotten around to.
I saw the musical in London in 1989, and listen to the soundtrack from time to time. I've always loved it, and this screen rendition is quite satisfactory. My only significant complaint is that Hugh Jackman's voice isn't quite strong enough for the role of Valjean. In the great Valjean/Javert duet at Fantine's deathbed, the two voices need to be closely matched, and, sadly, Jackman just wasn't quite up to it. Other than that (and a couple of plotting quibbles), I was very much pleased. Samantha Banks does a fine job as Eponine (the singer on my soundtrack is a little too childlike), and Anne Hathaway milks Fantine's misery for all it's worth. The Thenardiers were well-cast (Sacha Cohen and Helena Carter), and I loved their first encounter with Valjean.
A good three-hankie movie, if you're at all susceptible to the storyline. One of my resolutions for this year is to finally read the book; I have a three-volume French edition that I bought long ago and have never gotten around to.
