I thought I'd banked enough of these in advance to cover my being entirely out of commission following sinus surgery last week (more on that soon in some form).
Now that I've finally seen it, I'm an all-in Les Misérables movie fan. As a young performer, "Do You Hear the People Sing?" was the first showtune I learned and performed in front of an audience. I know this material very, very well, and I'm in love with all the changes, alterations, and sacrifices of material made in this absolutely towering adaptation. Were a lesser producer than Cameron Mackintosh behind it, I'm convinced this would not have happened or come out so exacting and so well.
Tom Hooper has his detractors it seems, many seeming to come from the camp who would prefer he make a movie in their preferred visual style. These people should go make their own movies and not disguise their job envy in the clothes of film criticism. Saying this movie is not "cinematic" is a thin, impotent critique akin to saying "this would have been more impactful (a word I hate) if they did it the way I had imagined".
The tone, look, and general approach taken here are why the movie works so well and isn't some glossy pageant play music video. The musical has needed a harsh scrubbing and reinvention for some time, and I hope this means movies of shows like Ragtime and Parade are possible in the future. Ragtime, in particular, could be three and a half hours long and would also win every Oscar in existence.
