Although musicals having the songs sung 'live' is really nothing new in movies, as it was done in some of the first 'talkies' when they hadn’t perfected lip-syncing, but with the combination of it being fully sung-through with little to no separate dialogue, completely changes the way we look at a film musical and the way it effects us.
Originally, quintessential Hollywood,
drawing up mental similarities with 'The Wizard of Oz' or 'The Sound
of Music', has never let music dominate a film. It has been its
backbone and it was what sold tickets and video tapes yes, but like
most things in the 21st century, it would need to change to
survive and it seems the British have bet them to it.
After more than half a century of the
'dialogue-song-pretend that song never happened' I
have to admit that a sung-through film, generally more common with
stage performances, is pretty hilarious the first few minutes. Any
waft of immersion breaking and you'll find yourself wondering why
don’t they just 'say it' instead.
Why this film is going to
give rebirth to the musical genre in particular though is all down to
the acting.
There's really no actor that I can
brown-nose that isn’t already on a pile of critic's flapping
tongues at the moment. Anne Hathaway in particular, as
disappointingly short as her role is, will single handedly lead the
new wave of live musicals. Her ability to cry and suffer all while
singing the iconic 'I Dreamed a Dream' in one long take is bound to
make up for her lack of rom-com award winners. I've heard the song
dozens of times but found out that I never truly listened until it
tasted like Catwoman's tears.
I don’t think I've ever felt music in
visual medias have such an effect. The songs in Les Miserable aren’t
just catchy jingles, they’re spiritual outbursts. You hear the words
more than you ever would if they were simply spoken and it's
something that I'm going to need a second watch (and that's being
optimistic) to ever truly understand what happened.
