Les Misérables

Les Misérables - Dir. Tom Hooper (2012)

I had a dream my life would be

So different from this hell I'm living

So different now from what it seemed

Now life has killed the dream I dreamed

One of the most popular and enduring versions of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, Les Misérables, has been the stage musical. It initially began as a concept album with music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and lyrics from Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. Cameron Mackintosh, the producer behind Broadway blockbusters Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, saw the potential and mounted a production in London before taking it to the Big Apple. Les Misérables stands as one of the longest running Broadway shows ever, opening in 1987 before closing in 2003. While there have been many movie adaptations of the original novel, the musical version has never been brought to the silver screen until now.

The story begins in 1815 with Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a recently released convict who has served nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family and attempting to escape. Branded as a dangerous man, Valjean has nowhere to stay and no chance of finding honest work. A kindly Bishop (Colm Wilkinson, who originated the role of Valjean in the London production) takes pity and gives Valjean some of the church valuables to start a new life. Under the name Madeleine, he becomes the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer and a respected factory owner. Unbeknownst to him, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), a young woman in his employ is unjustly fired by the lecherous foreman. She is forced to not only become a prostitute, but to sell her teeth and hair to support her daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen), who is under the care of the cruel Thérnardiers (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter). On Fantine's deathbed, Valjean promises to rescue only to be confronted by the relentless Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe). He spends years trying to live a peaceful life with Cosette with Javert constantly at his heels until a revolution explodes onto the streets of Paris.

Les Misérables isn't like your typical musical. It's more of an operetta in that nearly all of the dialogue is sung and there aren't any dance sequences. Rather than recorded separately, the songs were performed live on set to allow a more nuanced performance. Hugh Jackman, with his passion for musicals and experience on stage, equates himself superbly as Jean Valjean. The same goes for Anne Hathaway, who earned an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as the ever suffering Fantine. Hathaway commands the screen for the show-stopping "I Dreamed a Dream," which was captured entirely in close-up and in one take. She belts a soulful rendition that will wring tears from anyone, except the most cold hearted. Though Jackman and Hathaway got the lion's share of attention during awards season, the film's best performance belongs to Samantha Barks, who made her feature film debut with Les Misérables. Barks played the role of the Thérnardiers' daughter, Eponine, on stage and reprises the role here. She can act and carry tune and does so admirably during the rain-soaked ballad, "On My Own." The one weak link in an otherwise strong ensemble is Russell Crowe as Javert whose rigid moral code allows no mercy for his prey. In a straight adaptation of the novel, Crowe would have been an excellent casting choice. However, his vocal efforts leave much to be desired. Despite his experience as a musician and frontman, Crowe's singing comes off as flat and lacking the emotional range displayed by his co-stars.

Even with a generous runtime of over two and a half hours, Les Misérables occasionally stumbles in its attempts to juggle a myriad of plotlines. The romance between the adult Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) and rabble rouser Marius (Eddie Redmayne) is rushed as is the conclusion to Javert's story. Then, there's "Suddenly," a forgettable new tune composed simply to receive a nomination for Best Original Song. The passage of time isn't always properly conveyed with abrupt intertitles announce eight years have elapsed. It's hard to sense that Javert has been nipping at Valjean's heels for decades.

Les Misérables is the most expensive and ambitious project helmed by Tom Hooper, who multiple Best Director awards for The King's Speech. Be prepared as Hooper's penchant for awkward compositions and fish eye lens close-ups hasn't waned. When looking at the bigger picture, Hooper proves more than capable of handling the spectacle required of such a lavish production. The film opens right away with a collection of tattered convicts, waist deep in seawater, as they pull a warship into dry dock. The oafish Thérnardiers take the spotlight for "Master of the House," an intricately staged musical number in which the larcenous lovebirds pick the pockets of their unsuspecting guests. "One Day More" is a well-edited ensemble piece that cuts smoothly between multiple planes of action.

Les Misérables doesn't do subtle. This is a bombastic and surprisingly gritty musical full of heart-wrenching tragedy, romance, and pageantry.

Rating: *** (*****)

My Week with Marilyn

My Week with Marilyn - Dir. Simon Curtis (2011)

A lot of people have worked lousy day jobs as they attempt to break into the movie business. For young Colin Clark, he hit the jackpot right out of college. He landed a position on the 1957 film, The Prince and the Showgirl, which starred Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. Sure, he was only the third assistant director, which essentially made him a gopher, but he was involved on a picture with two of the biggest movie stars of all time. The Prince and the Showgirl wound up being a forgettable romantic comedy. It's certainly not as fondly remembered as Olivier's Shakespearean adaptations or Monroe's Some Like It Hot or Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The fascination with the film lies with the backstage drama, which was chronicled by Clark in his books, The Prince, the Showgirl and Me and My Week with Marilyn.

The British press was abuzz over the arrival of Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) on her first trip to England. The blonde bombshell was set to star opposite Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) in his production of The Prince and the Showgirl. But, what should have been a breezy little romp became a turbulent shoot as Monroe frequently showed up late to the set, flubbed her lines, clashed with the temperamental Olivier, and relied heavily on booze and pills. It didn't help that her recent marriage to playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott) was already on the rocks. Monroe was also surrounded by an entourage that included publicist Arthur Jacobs (Toby Jones), business partner Milton H. Greene (Dominic Cooper), and acting coach Paula Strasberg (Zoe Wanamaker) whose advice constantly undermined Olivier's directions. It was difficult to tell who really cared about her and who was just riding the money train.

Out of all this turmoil, Monroe found a friend in Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne). She confided in him about her broken marriage and the pressures of living up to the larger than life persona of Marilyn Monroe.

My Week with Marilyn suffers the stigma of being based on true events or at least events that were purported to be true. Not to question the integrity of the real Colin Clark, but it is hard to swallow that a glorified production assistant would engage in a brief love affair with Marilyn Monroe. While the script by Adrian Hodges likely took its own liberties, the whole story comes off as pure fan fiction, no deeper than the forgotten Jason Priestley vehicle, Calendar Girl.

It also doesn't help that the character of Colin Clark is the least interesting person in the film. As a result, the relationship between he and Monroe feels phony and forced, especially when there are so many more intriguing dynamics to explore. There was the stormy relationship between Monroe and Olivier, Monroe's dependence on method acting and the Strasbergs, and Monroe's unlikely union with Arthur Miller would have been better material for a feature. The brief scenes with Michelle Williams and Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike are a hint at what could have been an even better film.

Michelle Williams earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal as Marilyn Mornoe and she is the highlight of the film. Though Williams doesn't share much of a resemblance to the famed actress, she does give a nuanced performance that goes beyond a mere impersonation. Kenneth Branagh also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as Olivier. Branagh has been compared to Olivier many times so it's a treat to see him play the man on screen. Julia Ormond didn't receive as many notices as her co-stars, but she gives one of the best performances in the film as Olivier's wife, Vivien Leigh. A renowned actress in her own right, Leigh played the showgirl on stage, but was pushed aside due to her age. There just wasn't enough of her or of "Harry Potter" star Emma Watson as a wardrobe girl romanced by Clark.

My Week with Marilyn doesn't have anything new or unique to say about the mythos of Marilyn Monroe. Instead, its blatant Oscar grab meant to replicate the respectability and success of The King's Speech. While Michelle Williams gives a strong performance, she alone isn't enough to earn My Week with Marilyn a recommendation.

Rating: ** (*****)