Watch: 'Les Miserables' teaser trailer unveiled
Curtain is lifted on Hugh Jackman plus Anne Hathaway's big musical number
Taking beloved stage musical "Les Misérables" to the big screen is no easy feat, but in the new teaser trailer that dropped today, it seems the newest incarnation's filmmakers at least got the scale right.
Featured in the clip is Professional High School Theater Girl Anne Hathaway singing her character Fantine's money shot "I Dreamed a Dream," as Hugh Jackman's Jean Valjean, Amanda Seyfried's pure-faced Cosette, Russel Crowe's militant Javert and others are revealed between sobs. There's even a blink of Samantha Barks, who is making a huge leap from stage to film as Eponine.
Victor Hugo's novel, set in 19th century, elegantly compounded the human condition and challenged the high and low ground of ethics and class loyalty, which made for good stage material and even romance when it was first adapted as plays -- and then as a musical in the 1980s. The music of that show is why the show is so fiercely defended and well-worn, because of its strong feminine arcs around Jean Valjean's hard-scrabble for redemption.
Which brings us back to size. What a stage musical can't do is reveal sweeping landscape aerials and assemble enough bodies to amp a student rebellion to scale. Capturing songs in close, quiet quarters also has the appeal of nixing full-throated stage sound, for much more intimate performances in-studio. Director Tom Hooper -- on whom every eye is fallen after "The King's Speech" -- seems unafraid to let the "Les Mis' actors look like dirt and, hopefully, let them act, fight and die like dirt, too, without the quick costume changes between acts.
Beyond that, Hathaway doesn't go too Broadway with "I Dreamed a Dream," which is cut down in order to get to the dab-eyed lyric "Life has killed a dream I dream" after flashes of "V for Vendetta" hair cuts and symbolically isolated shots in cobbled streets. Just so it's not promoted as two hours of gooseflesh, I hope then next look at the movie includes the beefier, resilient musical passages, to get a grip on just how Jackman will sound inside that grizzled skin of his. (I also need a Sacha Baron Cohen palate-cleanser.)
"Les Miserables" opens nationwide on Dec. 14.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJJ1
May 30, 2012 at 1:45PM EST Reply to CommentLooks admirable. Doesn't look like it'll disappoint. And yet, I wonder how die hards will feel about it. Good start, though!
superbadmike13
May 30, 2012 at 2:27PM EST Reply to CommentLea Michele should have been Eponime. Enough said.
Jonnybon Sam Barks will be a MUCH better Eponine (and indeed most other parts) than Lea Michele could ever hope to be.
May 30, 2012 at 2:47PM ESTJJ1 Samantha Barks played the role on the stage and was absolutely wonderful. I'm glad it's her on not Lea Michele; who I like on Glee.
May 30, 2012 at 3:18PM ESTCaptainCanada She'd have been good, but there's no way her schedule would ever have allowed it.
May 30, 2012 at 7:10PM ESTjn
May 30, 2012 at 2:39PM EST Reply to CommentKatie Hasty, obviously you are a Anne Hathaway hater. You can't disguise it . If Kate Winslet or Carey Mulligan was playing Hathaway's part , would you write such a snide comment ? Are you jealous ? This is why I don't take journalists seriously anymore because objectiveness is not a priority anymore. It is all about badmouthing people ,whether they give a good performance or not.
P.S. Actually, I find you writing very " High School-ish."
May 30, 2012 at 3:55PM ESTAlthough, anyone else only hear Susan Boyle when they hear this song now?
katie, a princess would you accuse a male writer of being "jealous?"
May 31, 2012 at 12:18PM ESTit's an opinion piece on a small piece of media, JN, objectivity isn't the point here.
and alas, no, I don't like Anne Hathaway as an actress. she consistently comes off as trying too hard.
SJG
May 30, 2012 at 4:36PM EST Reply to CommentMeh... I'm a fan of "full-throated stage sound" in the singers' voices in movie musicals, so color me unimpressed at the sappy, breathy pop-music sound on display in this trailer.
It *looks* great, but I don't think I'll be able to sit through 2 hours of hyper-emotive but artless crooning. The full-throated stage sound never seemed to hinder the performances of people like Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, etc.
And, yes, I do know how gay that makes me sound. NTTAWWT.
melissa
May 30, 2012 at 6:16PM EST Reply to CommentAlthough the singing seems to be very subtle and emotional rather than the bombastic belting usually associated with this piece, the trailer may have been better served with just the powerful music and no vocal. And while Hathaway acts the part very well, she does not have the vocal chops that most Les Miz fans expect for that song.
Intellectual Ninja
May 30, 2012 at 11:47PM EST Reply to CommentYeah... sign me up as wondering why Ms. Hasty had to be, dare I say, cattish, regarding Ms. Hathaway.
While I don't mind snark or sarcasm, the level of douche in that dismissive comment was one douche too far.
I actually like what we just heard. Her heart is broken. Would she really be singing in that full-throated, reach to the last row of the audience way?
Remember, people, this is a FILM, not the stage.
This is much like when beloved books or any other media is adapted for film. To simply say "the play was better" or "the book was better" than a film is missing the point of adaptation entirely.
The film passes or fails by it's OWN merits. Either it's a good film, or not. But it is, as a film, and ENTIRELY different form of media. It cannot, therefore, be the same. Compared to a musical on the stage, the film can go on locations, there doesn't need to be continuous elaborate set and costume changes. And yes, songs can be added or taken away to improve pacing, as allows.
Same thing with book-to-film adaptations. A film is NEVER going to give you the in-depth characterizations of a book, because the inner dialogue is completely missing, unless in a few rare instances where the audience may be able to see gears turning in the heads of the characters on screen due to very good acting choices by the actors.
So please, people, let's dispense with the "the play was better" drivel, and focus on the FILM itself, as a film first.
As in: Joel Schumacher's Phantom of the Opera wasn't a very good film, but Peter Jackson's LOTR were, as far as film adaptations from other media are concerned.
John Comparisons are inevitable, though I do agree about judging films on their own merits.
May 31, 2012 at 12:47AM ESTBut while we're doing comparisons, remember that West Side Story, The Music Man, and Grease are all legitimately better pieces on screen than on stage (based on the scripts themselves, at least).
Intellectual Ninja But again, saying they're better is a superficial.
May 31, 2012 at 12:57AM ESTIt's more about the failings of that material whilst performed on the stage as opposed to screen.
The films are good. The plays aren't great. But since they're apples and oranges, you can't say one is "better" than the other. As adaptations, they're both "fruit," but as they're completely different media, they aren't the same fruit.
katie, a princess I think you're looking for "catty." douche and catty seem to be two totally different a**hole-ism.
May 31, 2012 at 12:20PM ESTand, to the contrary, I like the way she sang this. however, I find Hathaway as an actress overbearing.
jn
June 2, 2012 at 9:38PM EST Reply to CommentKatie, the point I was making why trash Anne Hathaway's performance when you haven't seen the finished product ? Especially, if she comes across as brilliant in this teaser trailer. We all have actors or actress we love or don't care for . I don't care for Michelle Williams because it seems she can only portray weak, insecure, & depressed female characters. When I watch a tv interview with Ms. Williams , I see those same insecure & depressed characteristics shine through . But, I will not refuse to see a movie because she is starring in it because I have a open mind .
Jas Sorry...remind me again how Katie "trashed" her performance?
June 14, 2012 at 3:44PM ESTI am one hundred percent in the "Anne Hathaway is not my cup of tea" as an actress boat, and I totally get what Katie says when she finds her overbearing.
However, I have an open mind also, and therefore watch most of her films. I'll certainly give her a chance in Les Mis, despite my doubts.
Katie is entitled to her opinion, which she not only expressed fairly, but is also shared by many.
Rdo
June 4, 2012 at 6:15AM EST Reply to CommentIt's a trailer for Les Miserables, the movie adaptation of one of the greatest musicals ever. No seriously, ever. Not only that, but tix are resonably priced at http://theater.ticketpolice.com/les-miserables-tickets/