Les Miserables left me truly miserable

So this is an antidote to the adoration by many hundreds of thousands of people who loved the film, stage show etc.  OH finally dragged me to see it and had I realised she wasn’t enjoying it either we could have left in 20 minutes. If you are on the fence a word of advice – don’t bother. It is a truly poor film.

I am an opera fan and used to be a Friend of Covent Garden but don’t much like musicals.  I guess only opera fans can understand that but on the other hand there are several musicals that I have enjoyed in the past.

So what is wrong with Les Mis? Firstly the music is poor.  In fact a lot of the songs are derivative and I spent most of the time guessing which famous tunes had been plagiarised; for example, try comparing the “Red and Black” song with Do Re Me from the Sound of Music – sorry if that has ruined it for you but it made OH and I chuckle during the film. Secondly, with the exception of Hugh Jackman, the singing is poor, sometimes flat, and lacking in any depth or timbre.  Anne Hathaway is poor and we should have been spared the close-ups. Thirdly, the sung recitation (recitative) is a disaster and detracts totally form the storyline..

I am at a loss to understand how a musical can leave me devoid of any emotion yet 12 bars of a Mozart aria can bring tears to my eyes.  Guess I am too set in my ways.