Anne Hathaway

Already controversial even before its release is Tom Hooper's uber-ambitious film adaptation of Les Miserables, the musical. Originally produced for the stage in Paris circa 1980, Les Miz (an affectionate nickname) quickly became a widespread sensation as it evolved into West End and Broadway productions en route to World Domination. This time around, however, Vitor Hugo's epic tale of revolution could prove itself relevant to a global culture mired in economic disaster, disparity between classes, and its own seeds of revolution brewing in the Occupy movement.

Central to the controversy is Academy Award winner Hooper's radical, revisionist concept for filming the "pop opera." The actors sing their songs live on set instead of lip-syncing to prerecorded vocal tracks. Wearing tiny earpieces, actors perform to a live keyboardist, positioned somewhere off-set. That keyboardist, in turn, also wears an earpiece, thus being able to follow the actor's lead. In post-production, keyboards are replaced by a massive orchestra, giving consideration to the scene's spontaneous rhythm. (A similar idea was pioneered by Peter Bagdonovich for 1975's At Long Last Love, but his actors listened to prerecorded piano accompaniments with set rhythms.) Hooper's main objective is to allow the actors more freedom in their performances... freedom from a set rhythm and from choices made in a recording studio months earlier... freedom from having to sync their lips convincingly... thereby allowing more emotional authenticity while executing the demanding score.

Even more central to the controversy is Anne Hathaway's "fragile" delivery of the ultimate martyr ballad "I Dreamed a Dream." This is a daunting endeavor. Her predecessors include Patti LuPone, Elaine Page and Susan Boyle; all of whom are vocal heavyweight champions. Anne approaches the song more from the viewpoint of her character Fantine, a woman whose grueling destiny is about to steal away her life.

Many have so far been disappointed by Anne's warbling in the movie's trailer. A behind-the-scenes featurette was created to let audiences in on the concept, hoping to change people's perception of what they were going to hear. A non-belting rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" could quite possibly achieve a cinematic profundity surpassing its theatrical counterparts. The woman is dying, so perhaps what seems to be a vocally weak rendition could be the most heart-wrenching of all.

Regardless, this is as raw as you get.

UPDATE:

December 9th

As the promotional machine rolls on for this film, a different take of Hathaway's "I Dreamed a Dream" has been used for the international trailer:

As I understand it, this is the take the world will hear in the upcoming release. It makes more sense, really. It's closer to the belt devotees of the stage production are accustomed to hearing (do I hear an Oscar calling Anne's name?). But you know I'll be chomping at the bit to get my mitts on the other takes...