Les Miserables

Alright, I know.  I'm supposed to write a post about the New Year, since that is kind of what bloggers are obligated to do.  But to me, this year, at least, the New Year was literally another midnight.  I watched the last 20 seconds of the ball drop, because I felt like I should.  I spent my night, alone, in my kitchen, eating cookies, watching Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang again.  All in all, it was another midnight for me.  I've seen more midnights in the past year than in any year leading up to 2012.  So I don't want to think about it.

What I do want to think about is Les Miserables, which I finally saw today.

Two words for you guys.

HOLY. SHIT.

Well, of course I have more.  I am pretty verbose.  But those could sum up my feelings nicely, as they could mean a few things.  Like, HOLY SHIT, beautiful.  Or HOLY SHIT, I can't breathe.  Or HOLY SHIT, tears. Or HOLY SHIT, music.  Or HOLY SHIT, I can't even.

All apply, and more.

First things first, if this movie does not win all of the awards, I will be so sad.  Every single person in this movie needs to win something,  And it itself needs to win everything.  I mean, seriously.  This movie will define a good portion of my life for a few weeks, maybe a month.  Not even a joke.  I am still crying.  Then again, I did find the soundtrack online and am listening to it, like the masochist that I am.  However, in my defense, it is beautiful.  They use the actual singing from the movie, which is nice.  It is also nice to know that none of the actors were lip-syncing.  They were all singing.  And that somehow makes it worse, in a good way.

I have mixed emotions about this whole thing, can you tell?  Not truly mixed, not really. I love this movie more than you all can really grasp.  But it makes me hurt, so I don't know how good it is for me.

First things first: Hugh Jackman.  If that man doesn't win Best Actor, I will personally fly to Hollywood and change that.  The emotion that Jackman put into his version of Valjean was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a long time.  And he apparently, for the first scene, didn't drink water for 36 hours, so all of what he did, all of the emotion, was not acting.  That was him being physically dehydrated and ill.  Can he get an AMEN or something?  Like, four for you, Hugh Jackman.  Four. For. You.  And on top of his amazing acting, dude's got some pipes.  Like, he's singing for most of the movie, and sometimes, when actors sing, it is like they are all pupils at Pierce Brosnan's School of Singing, and you want to tear your hair out, but Jackman was decidedly not a pupil there.  He blew me away with his performance.  Absolutely out of the water.  I was captivated by him.  His entire performance drew me into the movie.

Secondly, Eddie Redmayne, congratulations on your face.  You're just so cute and British, and you have so many freckles, and you did so well singing and UGH.  When he sang Empty Chairs At Empty Tables, I cried.  Bawled like a baby.  I've seen the musical, I have the soundtrack.  While I cried when I saw the musical, I did not cry anything like when I watched this movie.  I had tears pouring down my face.  My friend was making fun of me, I was crying so hard. They just need to change the name of the song from Empty Chairs At Empty Tables to Oh Look, All My Friends Are Dead!  Segueing, and when he sings A Little Fall of Rain with Eponine, I couldn't stop.  That was before, so my continuity is off, but what the hell, I don't even care.  He did a brilliant job, and I have never seen him in anything before or if I did, I didn't remember.  And, I mean, really, I would remember this face -

*cough* I have a thing for freckles.  No one judge me, alright? Alright.  Besides, he did a bang-up job.  Like, BANG UP.  How have I never seen him in anything before?  I could watch him all night, and not just because he is pretty.  Although, after the movie, when my mother and I were discussing it, we referred to him as 'The Pretty One, with the Freckles and the Eyes.'  So what if i'm shallow?  You guys still  love me.  Funnily, because the movie is like the musical in the fact that there is no speaking, minus like two or three lines, I don't know what his speaking voice sounds like.  Weird.  Whatever, I don't care.

On to Anne Hathaway.  She deserves a HOLY SHIT.  Anne Hathaway was in about a third of the movie, and her performance was one of the most stirring.  Her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream, like most of the movie, brought me to tears.  I mean, if you haven't heard it, just go listen to it.  Or listen to the whole album, I don't care.  You can find it on Youtube or Spotify.  If you only listen to one song, listen to I Dreamed a Dream.  If you aren't crying, I suspect you don't have a heart.  Or, you could be normal, and I'm the weird one.  That is a possibility.  But seriously, go listen.  I never knew she could sing, but now I will never doubt the ability of the power that is Anne Hathaway.  It doesn't hurt that she is one of my favorite actresses to begin with, so you know... I could be partial.

[EDIT: I forgot to mention that Anne Hathaway is flawless.  That is all.]

Shout out to Aaron Tveit as Enjolras.  I have the biggest voice crush on this guy.  He was in the Original Broadway Cast of Next To Normal, which is one of my favorite musicals of all time.  And he did a fantastic job as Enjolras.  His hair was curly, and it made me laugh.  But seriously, the voice on this guy.  Check out Next To Normal if you like musicals.  Or if you like crying, which, you know, is basically the same thing.

You know how I mentioned the Pierce Brosnan School of Singing?  Well, if you've seen Mamma Mia, then you know what I'm talking about.  And if you haven't, go see it, and then come back, and you will understand.  Well, Russell Crowe took a few lessons there.  Not enough to make him Pierce's best student, but enough so that you could tell he was out of his element in a few instances.  Other than that, props be had to the man.  Javert's Suicide made me crouch in my seat and hide because I couldn't watch it.  Success, I guess.  It was pretty graphic, so... Take caution, I guess.

Alright, I think that this is enough rambling.  Suffice it to say, this movie has set the bar very high for every other movie I see this year.  Yes, it is January 1st.  2013, you better have some pretty damn good movies, because this movie has set the level.

Overall, 10 out of 10.  Seriously.  I can't complain about this movie.  My complaints are minuscule compared to how much I loved it.  I can forget the things I didn't like.  I can put them out of my mind and literally just enjoy it.  I can't often do that with movies.

Alright, I need to wrap this up, I just finished listening to the album, so it seems fitting.  I am crying again, shock of the century.

I have one thing for you to do, guys.

Just go see it.

Just do it.

You will not be disappointed.

Love and kisses,
Jen

P.S. I am doing much better than I was in my last post.  Thank you all so much for your kind words and your expressions of hope.  It means more than you all know, and I am forever grateful for your support.  Seriously.  I don't know what I'd do without you guys.  Here's to a happy, healthy, new year, yeah?

See you all soon!
XOXO