You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

Like many, many people who have seen and will be seeing Tom Hooper's ambitious film Les Miserables, I have a long history and context with the musical itself. I don't remember being aware of it until a couple of years after it opened on Broadway. I think my first exposure to it was a show at Opryland called "And the Winner Is," in which five different award shows - the Oscars, the Grammy's, the CMAs, the Dove awards, and the Tony's - were featured by highlighting iconic music rewarded by each of them. My favorite section was, unsurprisingly, the Tony's (much as I love the Oscars, its section in this show was limited to Best Original Song contenders, and that's just not very exciting). The Tony section covered Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, and probably a couple other musicals I'm forgetting. But it finished with "One Day More" from Les Mis. I vividly remember being blown away by it and having to fight very hard not to cry at a frickin' Opryland stage show.

Not long after that, I got some more exposure to it on a series of winterguard trips, when one of our staffers named Mark used to play the CD for several of us. The only line I could remember at the time was "… and tell Cosette I love her and I'll see her when I waaaaaaake!" which my friend Marea would sing frequently. The following winter I asked for the soundtrack for Christmas. My parents gave me the highlights CD of the Complete Symphonic Recording (which, despite its flaws, is a vast improvement, instrumentally speaking, over the synth-heavy score of the original … but I wouldn't know anything about that until years later). This was the version with Gary Morris as Valjean, and I know it's probably a sacrilege, but I loved Morris's Valjean and Colm Wilkinson took a LOT of getting used to (and it's only been the last year or two that I actually have come to enjoy him in that role).

I saw the show on stage once, when one of the tours came to Nashville. Marea, who I mentioned above, was going with her sister and mom and they had an extra ticket and invited me. I'd heard recordings, but this was the first time I'd seen the entire thing. A few numbers from the musical even made up the closing segment of my church's dinner theater production in 2006 (there was some hasty tweaking to the lyrics of "Master of the House" for the Baptist audience, I can assure you). This musical has been a significant part of my life, and I know there are loads and loads of people who can say the same.

I said all that to say this. Les Miserables, the new movie, is made for us. For you. For anyone who loves the musical. It is not a great film. I wonder very much if I would have been as moved by it if I had had no knowledge of the musical whatsoever (it's possible I would, but it would more likely have been through emotional osmosis of the people around me, not necessarily the film itself). There are many moments that really work (a few of them even crossing over into greatness), and only a couple that made me go "ehhhh." I think the musical really benefits from being opened up cinematically, and it's wonderful to put those numbers on a bigger, more believable Paris set (I thought having Javert sing "Stars" in full view of Notre Dame cathedral was an especially nice touch, for example). I have no doubt this will be a pretty big awards contender, though I do believe it will be strong for sentimental reasons that have little to do with the film itself. That's not really a criticism, but this movie will get far more heart votes than head votes. Nothing wrong with that in the slightest, though.

Some scattered thoughts. Needless to say, SPOILERS AHOY:
- Recording the singing live was the best decision they made. Almost uniformly excellent.
- I loved the casting of Colm Wilkinson (the original London and Broadway Valjean) as Bishop Digne. Wonderful nod to the stage show.
- "I Dreamed a Dream" is one of the most incredible acting moments I've ever seen. Seriously. It is wicked hard to sing when you're even on the point of tears, much less full-on sobbing. But it would be impossible to act that moment in Fantine's life while trying to do the "pretty version" of this song. Anne Hathaway is spectacular. Oscar, please.
- From "Who Am I" to "Master of the House" is one of the best sections of the film, from a filmmaking standpoint. "Fantine's Death" is an example of this film doing things that a stage version can't. And "The Confrontation" is a great moment between Crowe and Jackman.
- Speaking of Crowe, yes, his singing is stilted and forced. I'm almost certain this is by design, though, as his last few moments in the role are much more nuanced (as the character himself is undergoing a change).
- Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter are perfect as the Thenardiers. I liked HBC much more as Madame Thernadier than as Mrs. Lovett (at least singing-wise), and she has obviously gotten much more confidence about singing. Another example, I think, of the benefit of doing it live and on set.
- The MVP of this movie for me is Gavroche (played by Daniel Huttlestone). "You better run for cover when the pup grows up!" You go, niblet.
- I saw a clip of "One Day More" online the other day and became very concerned, because it looked awful. Chopped up and trying too hard to show everyone who was singing. I still think it could have been stronger if they'd made some creative cuts or split-screened it or something. But it works MUCH better in the context of the film, when you know exactly where these characters are in relation to one another.
- I was worried about Samantha Barks beforehand. Not her singing voice, which I already knew was good. But with the emphasis on the actors *acting* the parts rather than singing them, I was concerned she would be a weak link. I needn't have worried. "A Little Fall of Rain" was superb and broke my heart. That has long been my favorite song in the show (more so than the typical favorite "On My Own") and she sold the heck out of it.
- The theme of grace and redemption hit harder for me than any other time I've experienced the musical.
- It took every bit of strength I had not to sob quite loudly during "Bring Him Home." It's actually … not the best performed song in the movie. Hugh Jackman doesn't really have the right kind of voice for it. But this song was my dad's absolute favorite thing in the musical and it wiped me out.
- I thought Valjean's death and the finale were very well done. Again, some things done here that couldn't be done on the stage. There's a cast change in one key moment here, but it totally works and makes me wonder why they didn't do it this way in the stage version (perhaps, to answer my own question, they were worried the audience wouldn't remember who the character was or be as connected to them).
- Changes were, to my recollection, minimal, but they may drive purists crazy. One of Bishop Digne's lines is a bit different in the prologue, for example, which was one thing that made me go "ehhhh." I mean, there's no real reason for the change when the original line is so perfect.