FILM REVIEW: Les Miserables

With several household names, a smattering of West End talent, a visionary director as well as a-never-done-before live song filming process, Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables would already have earned the hysterical excitement surrounding it, not to mention the countless award nominations trailing in its wake on those credentials alone. Throw in the fact that it’s based on one of, if not the most successful musicals of all time, and it’s almost too much to bear.

Staying relatively true to the stage story, as well as throwing in the odd extra titbit from Victor Hugo’s doorstop of a novel, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) a freed convict who breaks parole hoping to become a ‘better man’. With his formidable arch nemesis Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) perpetually snapping at his heels, Valjean adopts the orphaned Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of a desperate prostitute who once worked in his factory (Anne Hathaway). Meanwhile, a group of students plot rebellion and revolution against the French bourgeoisie, fed up of living like slaves whilst the ‘fat ones’ reign supreme. One of these students is Marius, (Eddie Redmayne). Well-intentioned but essentially naïve, Marius is, in the knowledgeable words of Michael Ball, ‘a bit of a drip’. Nonetheless, the sparky Eponine, (Samantha Barks) daughter of the conniving Madam and Monsieur Thenardier (Helena Bonham Carter & Sacha Baron Cohen), the former guardians of the young Cosette, is head over heels in love with him. To poor ‘Ponine’s dismay, Marius and Cosette fall in love with each other, with Valjean’s love for his adoptive daughter taking him right into the midst of the uprising in order to protect the object of her desire, putting his own life on the line along with the plucky students.

With so much character development going on within the context of such massively emotive ideas, Les Miserables has always been an epic story. Showing Cameron Mackintosh’s production on the big screen for the first time, however, allows a sense of scale like never before. The opening scene, as the camera sweeps into the harbour where the starving convicts pull in the ships, is breath taking, as is the cliff top on which Valjean rips up his papers and begins his life anew. Hooper’s relentless close ups on his actors also make it a far more intense journey than before, with the live singing only adding to the feeling of immediacy. There is no escape, with every bead of sweat, every fleck of spittle and every eyelid twitch on the downtrodden character’s faces blown up in front of us.

Few actors could live up to such scrutiny, and Hugh Jackman in particular truly delivers. Emphasising the emotion in his words by speaking, or even whispering choice parts of his songs, the words ‘Oscar nomination’ would be circling the air life flies around his prison-shaven head even if it hadn’t already been announced. Anne Hathaway gives the performance of her career so far as the desperate Fantine, as does Eddie Redmayne, who gives a searingly real rendition of the beautiful 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables'- don’t forget your tissues. Russell Crowe has been dividing opinion, and will most likely continue to do so. In terms of acting ability, he has the perfect level or presence and authority for Javert but, sadly, without the singing voice to back it up. A little touch he himself decided to add to the character not long before Javert’s suicide is heart-warming, however, and perfectly demonstrates the subtle beginnings of the character’s eventual break down.  Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter have a lot of fun with the Thenardiers, showing them more as a unit than has been done before, with Amanda Seyfried and Daniel Huttlestone looking the part as Cosette and Gavroche.

It is with Sam Barks and with the students, however, that the talent of the stage show comes alive, tying together a rendition of the ever rousing ‘One Day More’ that it is difficult not to applaud. Aaron Tveit is fabulous as their passionate leader Enjolras, with many of those following him played by actors from the stage show over the years.  Their deaths feel every bit as important and poignant as they do in the Queen’s Theatre, but, seeing their eyes as they die in the way that we do, it is no surprise that it feels even more heart wrenching. The reprise of 'Do You Hear The People Sing?', more tragic than triumphant here, deals the final blow to what is an exhilaratingly exhausting emotional experience.

Les Miserables, far from taking anything away from the phenomenon that is the stage production, manages to add the stories behind the songs with a level of detail you simply cannot get from the back of the Upper Circle in the theatre. They could never exist without each other, but I think each will continue to enrich the experience of the other in years to come.

Do you hear the people sing? I bet you a french flag and half a corset that you will, even if you’ve never been a part of Les Mis before. As a long time fanatic, I haven’t been able to get them out of my head for days.

Not that I've tried.

**** (and a half)

-         - Jen

You can read more of Jen's writing here: https://memyselfandtheothers.wordpress.com/

Or you can follow her on twitter here: https://twitter.com/jenniferklarge

TV REVIEW: Merlin - Arthur's Bane Part One

The new series of the BBC's surprisingly successful magical fantasy Merlin gets off to a dark and moody start as knights are captured, dragons appear, and the titular wizard has a vision that could change everything.

The first two series of Merlin were, let's be honest, pretty terrible; it was lightweight, cheesy, throwaway entertainment to wile away the Saturdays until Doctor Who came back. But then something odd happened. It started building in more Arthurian mythology than it had before, weaving it into storylines in neat and clever ways, the performances developed from two-dimensional stereotypes into people you actually wanted to see onscreen, the writing became tidier, the comedy sharper and perhaps most importantly, it got a little darker, which always makes things interesting. I'd always followed Merlin as a bit of a curiosity (and for a small crush on Bradley James) and it has been rewarding to watch it grow into the compelling programme that returned on Saturday.

Last series ended with the long-awaited wedding between Arthur (Bradley James) and Guinevere (Angel Coulby) and the promise of prosperity for Camelot while Merlin's (Colin Morgan) magic remained a secret and Morgana (Katie McGrath) escapes to plot and smile evilly for another day. It's been three years since then; Camelot's entered a golden age, enjoying untold peace and harmony, Arthur and Guinevere are still happily married and her dresses are considerably more *ahem* enhancing than they were before. But all is not entirely well as Gwaine (Eoin Macken) and Percival (Tom Hooper) have gone missing heading north towards Ismir, Morgana's stronghold. Arthur sets out to find his loyal knights, despite the obvious risk while a traitor in Camelot alerts the sorceress to his plan, allowing her to set a trap. Merlin meanwhile has a vision that shows him Arthur's death at the hands of an old acquaintance. And Gwaine got his shirt off. Again. So that was nice.

The first episode was a tightly structured first parter, building us up steadily for the second episode whilst having enough of a narrative to stand as a good instalment in its own right (though because I'm an idiot, I missed the whole 'Part One' bit of the title and yelled angrily at the cliffhanger - it was a long day). It also seems to be very much a post-Game of Thrones depiction of fantasy, with more care given to effects and new locations than we've seen before, particularly the snowy expanses of Ismir. The darkening of the subject matter, for example, with the loss of the knights and unflinching decisions when it comes to dealing with traitors, suits this slightly grittier version of the Merlin we know and love.

While I'm starting to get annoyed with Arthur's wilful ignorance of Merlin's magic (how stupid are we meant to think he is?), this episode did remind me of why I enjoy the show in the first place. The chemistry between Morgan and James as the two leads has always been a highlight with banter and deep and meaningful moments in equal measure. Both actors bring a great sense of fun to their relationship and thankfully the writing has improved so much that the comedy between the pair no longer feels as forced as it used to. It does tend to mean that the other knights get sidelined a little with the central pair, but the focus on Gwaine and Percival's plight as new members of Morgana's topless sweaty army suggests we may see a little more development for the other members of the Round Table.

Another major character development is that Guinevere is FINALLY given something more to do than pine after Arthur and tell him how great a king he's going to be. Instead, we see that royal appointment is really starting to suit Gwen, offering tactical advice at the Round Table whilst also demonstrating some fierce judicial skills. Coulby looked more than capable of going all warrior queen when she deals with Camelot's traitor. Katie McGrath has also managed to increase her range in the gap between series as thankfully, she no longer finishes every scene with an evil smile, just to remind us of how evil Morgana is. That's really evil by the way.

What gives me hope for this series is the inclusion of Arthur's death from the very beginning, tying it in neatly with the Mordred aspect of the story from the original mythology. Yes, they've not done the whole Mordred was a product of an Arthur-Morgana incestuous tryst storyline but as it's Saturday night family viewing, I think we can forgive them that small rewrite. But most importantly, it seems they're prepared to end the Arthur-Merlin story properly - with the death of Arthur and the fall of Camelot. People seem to forget that though Arthur and Merlin manage to create this utopian idyll of chivalry and romance, it fails for a variety of reasons, but mostly because Arthur can't remain the paragon of virtue that he's set up to be. Mordred exploits that weakness. I just hope that the showrunners are brave enough to go the whole way and not necessarily give us a happy ending.

But there is one thing that's nagging me slightly... what on earth was that alien thing?

- Becky

You can follow Becky on Twitter @beckygracelea
Or follow her blog beckygracelea.wordpress.com