Well, what can I say? The score says all. Bille August either was too damn lazy to read the book, or he read the abridged. The basic plot was done correctly, but otherwise, thing are pretty screwed up. If you're a diehard fan of Les Miz, you would be advised to take special precaution and sedatives when you go to see the movie.
1810 Toulon
Jean Valjean is indeed the bitter convict pursued by Javert for stealing a loaf of bread; too bitter in my opinon. I think Liam Neeson could have made a decent Valjean had August written the script better. Another little thing that bothered me though, was that Valjean looked younger than Javert! The cart scene was done wonderfully however, and I really give Neeson credit there.
Geoffrey Rush as Javert sent chills up my spine, yet made me sick at the same time. His expression and manner was indeed Javert, but the script for him could have been written better. Javert wouldn't beat Fantine and give her grief like that! I have to admire the intensity though.
Fantine was played extremely well by Uma Thurman. Her Fantine made me cry, I felt so sorry for her. Her death scene was done remarkably well, and the scene when she's begging Javert to let her go for Cosette's sake was a work of art. Uma, I take off my hat to you!
I don't know who played Thénardier, but whoever played him did a fairly good job. The Thénardieress was right on target. Mean, huge, and both were utterly insincere. I also saw two little girls in the background, supposedly Eponine and Azelma, so they were in fact at the inn, even if they didn't say anything.
Paris 10 years later
Oh, God, what can I say about Paris 10 years later? The whole thing was horseshit. Oh, well, let's begin with Handsome Revolutionary Marius. *gag*
Marius's personality was horribly destroyed, mostly by August's script for him. Marius was portrayed as a cross between a vagabond and a masochist. I can't say one single thing good about this Mathison fellow, except that I like to think he could have pulled the real personality of Marius off very well. (Did you see how stupid he looked giving those speeches?)
Claire Danes really disappointed me in the character of Cosette. I thought she would be perfect, especially since I recently saw her as Beth March in Little Women. But NOOO, she transformed Cosette from a sweet and innocent young lady to into a whiny bitch. Whine, whine, whine, that's all she did. She almost deserved to be slapped!!
The little fellow who played Gavroche did a fairly good job, although he lacked a little spunk. They got his death right, they got his personality right,(excpet hooking up Marius and Cosette, that bothered me a bunch!)and a totally pleasant surprise was when he was fathering those two orphan boys. That was a plus. :)
Some Other miscellaneous ramblings...
*First off, that added character of Javert's boss was played very well, but that is still no excuse to add a character. How annoying!
*Valjean watching Javert commit his suicide? That really, really ticked me off! Javert should be by hmself, fighting his emotions until he finally snaps and threw himself into the Seine.
*Cosette sees Marius for the first time when he's giving a really cheesy, er rousing speech to the rebels? That made me laugh, as well as get a sick feeling in my stomach.
*No Enjolras. No Eponine. Grrr!
*The firing squad for the rebels wasn't very cool.
*No Thénardier in the sewers, that kind of irritated me.
*The love between Valjean and Fantine wasn't nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be. In fact, I thought he was acting more like a brother or fatherly figure. No sex, or sultry moments. Just very gentle.
You got a bone to pick with me? Got some different views? Want to know how I got the score? Go ahead and mail me at the e-mail link below. :)
