The word of mouth of "Les Miserables" encountered Waterloo, which was unexpected but reasonable.
Tom Hooper started out by shooting TV series. He is an excellent TV director. He is worthy of recognition for the capture of actors' performances. , but not his strong suit.
"The King's Speech" is hailed as the most watery work of Oscar's best director after the millennium. Criticism is also because the former's sense of TV is too heavy, and the director's control over the film is almost invisible.
"Les Miserables", shot by Tom Hooper, strictly follows the context and pattern of the stage version, which means that Tom's shortcomings are further amplified and fully exposed to the audience; on the other hand, Tom's advantages are also inaccessible Play, completely overshadowed by the actor's personal performance and play.
It's like putting multiple cameras in the Queen's Theatre, recording the all-star version of "Les Miserables," and then releasing it on DVD to be the movie version that went into the cinema. Such a drama is enough to be amazed and praised; but such a film, it is impossible to feel the same.
After the London premiere, the first reviews of "Les Miserables" ushered in a nightmare. Fourteen media released reviews, and the media's comprehensive review was only 59 points for the time being, not even passing.
In fact, such a terrible score is not the end of the world. There is only one critical review and only one praise review. The remaining 12 reviews are all good and not bad, and among the middle reviews, the score It is also generally concentrated between 50 and 70, which leads to the failure of the average score to pass.
Among the first reviews, "Empire" magazine's film review is undoubtedly the most representative.
"Cameron McIntosh's version of Les Miserables is undoubtedly a wonderful work, with a good script, good characters, and good content, but Tom Hooper's problem is:
This work has gathered a group of talented actors, and the wonderful performances once again give life to the characters, but they are always separated from the movie itself. .
What is even more terrifying is that the passage of Hobo's grasp of the details has led to a gap in the plot, and the characters have become simpler. The original grand and profound theme has not been improved, but weakened, and finally evolved into the current version—
A film made purely for Oscar season, with no more than the passing line. Could it win an Oscar nomination? It's a high probability event; but is it a good movie? The answer is yes no. "
Empire magazine gave it a 60, just passing, no less, but no more, which also represented the opinion of most critics.
People were praising Anne Hathaway's performance, with The Wall Street Journal even proclaiming, "Hathaway is now ready to prepare her Oscar acceptance speech, a stunning performance that deserves to be the best of her career; and Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were also amazing."
People also choked Hugh Jackman for not getting more performance space, "Variety" magazine said, "He is completely confined in a frame, all the talent can not be displayed. In Renly-Hall shines brightly. It was eclipsed in front of the version. It was unfair to Jackman, but it was the truth. And Tom Hooper is the one to blame."
People are still condemning Russell Crowe's terrible performance, and ten of the fourteen media outlets have launched a verbal attack, "bad singing, bad acting, bad positioning, and bad characters. , Crowe's stiff and clumsy, goofy and tedious performance completely ruins the whole character."
There is no doubt that among the cast members, Russell Crowe has been criticized the most. The 73rd Oscar winner is completely unsuitable for the performance style of the stage play, and looks out of place from beginning to end. The night of the screening has already received numerous criticisms, and now it has ushered in a carnival of complaints.
It is worth mentioning that "The Times" wrote a special report, comparing the Almeida theater version of "Les Miserables" with the film version, and analyzed it in all directions. At the end of the article, So they concluded.
"Why did the six-hour version at Almeida succeed? Or, further, why did the three-hour version at the Queen's Theatre endure
Biquge
The reason is this: they presented the most wonderful performances in the most appropriate way, with full characters and solid scripts. Under the wonderful interpretation, they gave Victor Hugo's original novels their own version of understanding and sublimation. This is the reason for their success, but also the reason why the movie version failed.
When people bring up the six-hour lengthy version of the Almeida Theater, people remember every character, every detail, and can even talk about their own understanding and reflection; when people bring up the film version, There seems to be nothing left except Fantine's 'I Had a Dream' and the Thenardiers' 'Housekeepers'.
People are discussing whether Hall is a better Jean Valjean than Jackman; people are discussing whether Hall is a better choice for the film version of Marius; people are still discussing, how Irrespective of whether it was a wiser choice for Ernest to drop the movie in favor of the play.
Judging from the existing results, all the answers are yes. "
The Times' review is undoubtedly interesting and representative, in addition to the fifty-fifty rating, they really make a side-by-side comparison of the two different versions, which also represents the mainstream opinion in the industry.
There is an eternal law in life. There is no harm without comparison.
There is no doubt that Hugh Jackman is a well-known actor, although in the film field, the role of Wolverine constrained his play; but in the theater field, in major cities such as New York, London and Melbourne, All of them have left their legends, which are highly recognized by industry insiders.
This time, playing the important role of Jean Valjean, Hugh once again showed his solid foundation, excellent singing skills and outstanding performance, all of which have also been objectively affirmed by film critics, but in comparison, the breakthrough is really Too few, it can only be said to be quite satisfactory.
If there is no horizontal comparison, then Hugh may receive more praise. After all, he is the most important core in this movie and successfully completed his task; however, there is no if in real life.
Now, people in the industry generally believe that, in contrast, Renly's performance immediately stood out, and Renly possessed all the excellent qualities that Hugh showed; and further, the quality and level of Renly's performance showed a better quality. Many possibilities, especially the tension and explosiveness on the dramatic stage, have endowed Jean Valjean with a new vitality.
Among them, the most widely discussed scene is, unsurprisingly, "Bring him home" - the highlight of Jean Valjean's trip to the barricade to try to save Marius.
There is no need to go into details about the excellence of Hugh Jackman, but the fact is that his performance in this scene and this song is completely inferior. There is no echo, it is dry and tasteless, and even in a way, it is divorced from the plot, and the bland performance has completely lost its soul.
To make matters worse, under Tom Hooper's camera scheduling, the meaning and soul of the original song were completely misunderstood and distorted, and even the core of the theme was inexplicably passed away, without Marius, without Enjolras, without the barricades. , not to mention sublimation, people even began to wonder, who should be brought home
After the screening of the London premiere ended, a film critic was so surprised and surprised that he couldn't believe his eyes, so he went straight to Hugh and asked what was going on in that scene and what went wrong. Why is the effect so disastrous
Later, both parties did not respond to this matter, as if it had never happened at all. However, according to industry rumors, after hearing the question, Xio spread out his hands and shook his head, expressing helplessness, "Sorry, I don't know what happened." Confused and regretful, he seemed helpless, "Maybe, it's my ability. limited."
No matter how good an actor is, when he encounters a mediocre director, he is helpless. In the final analysis, in the film, the actor's performance needs the director's lens to capture and present; unlike on the stage of the theater, what the actor has is what is presented.
However, Hugh is a gentleman with a polite personality and never likes to talk ill of others behind his back. Even if he is helpless, he does not accuse anyone, but humbly takes the blame on himself, thinking that his strength is still insufficient and has failed. The importance of this play. But the sighs and embarrassment between the lines are still regrettable.
In contrast, Renly's "Take Him Home" is regarded as a classic and has been praised by professionals in the industry. Some people even believe that Renly has re-given the soul and faith of this song, and the wonderful performance is definitely worth it. collection.
From the lyrics to the tune, from the figure to the look, from the posture to the aura, Renly really brings out the essence of the performance, even the most discerning critic and director can't find fault.
According to rumors, many veteran actors of Jean Valjean, including Claude-Miberg, Alfie-Boe, etc., have all arrived at the Almeida Theater in person. Saw Renly's performance and gave it a pretty good review.
Art is not high or low, everyone has their own understanding and interpretation, but the quality of performance can be divided into good and bad, as "The Times" said, the answer is "yes".