Thoughts on LES MIS Film Casting (Part One): Valjean, Javert, Fantine, and Eponine

 "...there are many great deeds done in the small struggles of life. There is a determined though unseen bravery that defends itself foot by foot in the darkness against the fatal invasions of necessity and dishonesty. Noble and mysterious triumphs that no eye sees and no fame rewards, and no flourish of triumph salutes. Life, misfortunes, isolation, abandonment, poverty, are battlefields that have their heroes; obscure heroes, sometimes greater than the illustrious heroes."

- Victor Hugo (III.5.i)

Day Count:  78

Page Count: 688

I won't lie - much of my exposure to Les Miserables prior to this year had little-to-nothing to do with Victor Hugo's initial work. That is to say, I'd been exposed to adaptations rather than the original text.

My first exposure was the 1998 film starring Liam Neeson as Valjean, Geoffrey Rush as Javert, Uma Thurman as Fantine, and Claire Danes as Cosette. I watched scenes from it in my eleventh-grade Bible class during a study on Paul's epistle to the Romans. It was interesting to contrast the major themes of Romans - grace vs. the Law - with the themes of Les Mis, particularly the forgiveness of Valjean juxtaposed with the by-the-book lawfulness of Javert. While there were elements of the film I enjoyed, I definitely felt that there were things lacking... but I didn't really notice to what extent until I discovered the Les Mis musical in college.

My freshman year at Olivet Nazarene University, the student theatre organization - Green Room - took a trip up to Chicago to see the touring company of Les Miserables. I was entranced. From top to bottom, this was more or less the best show I'd ever seen. I was particularly enamored with the role of Thenardier (and still not-so-secretly hope to play it someday, despite my less-than-stellar singing ability). I ended up seeing the musical again my senior year at ONU and getting the soundtrack (Original London Cast, of course!).

So, when I found out that, after 25 years, producer Cameron Mackintosh was FINALLY making the musical into a film, I was... well, I was nervous. Musical films made within the last several years have been incredibly hit-or-miss. They're either incredibly well-received (Chicago, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd) or... something less than stellar (Nine, Rent, The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia!). As a fan of both great movies and great musicals, I know that Les Miserables could stand to make either one of the best (or one of the worst) movie musicals in recent memory.

Academy Award-winning director Tom Hooper is set to direct the Les Mis musical adaptation... for which he probably hopes to win another of those glittery statuettes.

 Mackintosh and company have assembled an all-star cast, led by director Tom Hooper. Hooper was a relative unknown in America until last year when his film The King's Speech took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor for its star Colin Firth. However, Hooper had already developed an impressive resume by directing The Damned United and the John Adams TV miniseries for HBO.

I understand Hollywood's desire for all-star casts. Honestly, I do. You have to get butts in seats, otherwise it doesn't matter how good your movie is, no one will see it. Star power is an important factor in movies making money because, after all, in Hollywood, movies are a business more than an art.

Hugh Jackman will be Jean Valjean... but can he act it?

This is why I wasn't really all that surprised to hear that Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe had been cast as Valjean and Javert, respectively. Jackman is Hollywood's new "go-to" guy when it comes to singing and dancing. His stint as host of the Oscars a few years back was full of singing and dancing, including an elaborately choreographed tribute to movie musicals alongside Beyonce, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Zac Efron, and Vanessa Hudgens (ironic for a year where very few movie musicals were released), as well as an incredible opening number reminiscent of Billy Crystal's old openers (though with considerably more spectacle).

Jackman, who comes from a musical theatre background, seems like an obvious choice to play Valjean - he's got the vocal range, he's a big enough name to bring people in, etc. But will he be strong enough to pull off the complex emotional range of reformed criminal Jean Valjean? Granted, I've never thought of Jackman as a bad actor per se (numerous poor film choices notwithstanding), but none of his previous films have required the type of acting one would have to convey here... which is to say nothing of the believable aging he would have to undergo to go from Valjean at 40 at the play's beginning to Valjean at 75-80 at the end? While I know he's got the voice, I wonder if he can act well enough to pull off the main protagonist here.

Russell Crowe will be Javert... but can he sing it?

Russell Crowe came as a bit more of a surprise. Not in terms of star power, of course. I mean, the guy is a three-time Oscar nominee (his sole win coming for the movie Gladiator) and he is a consistent fixture in great period dramas. No, my concerns with Crowe were the opposite of Jackman. While I have no doubt whatsoever about Crowe's ability to play the hardened gendarme Javert, my doubts lay in his ability to sing the classic Javert numbers like "Stars," "Confrontation," and "Javert's Suicide."

Apparently, though, Russell Crowe has been singing and performing musically since the 80s when he became part of the band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts (which has to be one of the most ridiculous band names of all time). Crowe's vocal stylings on these recordings are hardly as 'clean' as those acts typically associated with Javert - Terrence Mann, Philip Quast, and Roger Allam, to name a few of the more renowned. In fact, most of the YouTube clips of Crowe's singing make him sound like a grizzled old country singer... but then you come to a clip of him singing live at some awards ceremony and you can't help but wonder if he might be able to pull it off. Chalk me up as 'cautiously optimistic' for this one.

Anne Hathaway will be Fantine. Can she pull it off?

Then we come to Anne Hathaway as Fantine, a single mother propelled by her estranged daughter's happiness. In the book, Fantine is a broken figure and a lot of this carries through to the musical - she is without options and is caught in a downward spiral, forced to become a prostitute in order to pay for her daughter's care. I want to go on record before I go much further and say that I've long been a fan of Miss Hathaway. I'll be honest - she's really attractive. But more than that, she is also an incredible talent. Granted, she hasn't had too many opportunities to spotlight that talent, but there are certain roles she's played (including her Oscar-nominated performance in Rachel Getting Married) that warrant her consideration as a talented performer.

Not only that, but the girl has some pipes! If you didn't catch her performance in the opening number of the 2009 Oscars that Hugh Jackman performed, check that out... and then watch her parody of Les Mis staple "On My Own" at the 2011 Oscars (which she attempted to cohost with James Franco). So it's not a serious attempt, but she clearly has the range to pull off Fantine. I'm excited about this casting choice for no other reason than that I want Hathaway to do well here.

Samantha Barks will reprise the role of Eponine.

Samantha Barks beat out a laundry list of what would appear to be "Hollywood gold" to claim the coveted role of Eponine - the daughter of the unfortunate Thenardiers who is rejected by her true love, Marius Pontmercy. Among those up for consideration for the role included Glee's Lea Michele, Scarlett Johanssen, Evan Rachel Wood, and teen pop sensation Taylor Swift. But Barks, who had recently portrayed the role at the 25th Anniversary Concert at O2 Arena (opposite Nick Jonas as Marius... but more on that later), won out... and deservedly so, I think. Her portrayal of the role at the concert is, I'm convinced, what helped her edge out the other major contenders.

The best part about Barks' casting is that we don't have to wonder whether or not she's able to play it. We've SEEN her do it and she knocked it out of the park! And if you are one of the unlucky few that hasn't seen her portrayal, check out this clip of her singing "On My Own" (Eponine's perhaps-too-popular ballad) at the 25th Anniversary Concert. Barks captures every conceivable shred of emotion in this song and conveys it darn near perfectly. I remember commenting to a friend after seeing her rendition that her portrayal was among the best - if not THE best - that I'd seen. I could not be happier that she got cast in this role! (And couldn't be even happier that she won out over Taylor Swift.)

"Alright, Taylor, I'mma let you finish... but Samantha Barks had one of the greatest film auditions OF ALL TIME!"
(Sorry - have to strike while the iron is tepid and lukewarm. :))

Okay, so this ended up being a lot more time-consuming than I initially thought (what, with the links, the photos, and all), so I'm going to have to break this up into multiple parts. Part Two will be coming in a few days and will feature my thoughts on the casting of the roles of Marius, Cosette, and the Thenardiers. Stay tuned and watch this space!

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Read the rest of this series:

- Part Two: Cosette, Marius, and the Thenardiers

- Part Three: And All the Rest...