Les Miserables

I'd been looking forward to this movie since the day it was announced, never got to see it on the big screen, so I was jolly happy when #2 son bought the DVD for my birthday. And I did enjoy it, but it wasn't perfect. Maybe I was expecting too much?

If you know the show, the first problem you will encounter is that the editor used a scythe. OK, they couldn't make it as long as the show. I know. But it was done at a gallop. Whoosh. I suppose that was just inevitable. I have no solution for the timing problem. It meant that some songs were reduced to just a few lines, and some were just not there.

Most of the criticism I've heard has been aimed at the singing of those who are chiefly actors by profession. You know, they really weren't off-key. That was unfair. What they did do, however, almost all of them, was sing nasally. Is this a trend or something? I need an expert to sort that one out for me.

With regard to the musical arrangement, it felt like something was missing. You know how it is when somebody serves soup and forgot to salt it? Well it was that sort of feeling. Got it. It needed drums. There were several places when drums were conspicuous by their absence. This was especially noticeable in "Do You Hear The People Sing?"

But mostly it was good. The costumes, sets, lighting, make-up, hair, etc were all first-rate, and they didn't try to do anything weird or "clever" with the cameras. And my only other issue really, is with part of the storyline (nobody falls in love that fast), but it's not the first time they've done that.

Oh and Amanda Seyfried looks like a fish. But that's just me being catty.