Les Mis

This is one of those times where I need to express my very strong opinions on relatively unimportant topics.
Earlier this week I finish reading Les Miserable - all 1195 pages of it. It was beautiful. It took me three months to finish (I started right before Christmas). When I started the book, I couldn't put it down for hours on end. As with most novels that are extremely long, the middle of the book gets a little slow. There are 100 pages or so describing the battle of Waterloo just so you get the full backstory to one fairly small detail that is needed later on. At the end, I knew some of those characters better than I know some of my friends. It is an absolutely stunning piece of literature. I don't usually do a whole lot of research before picking out a book but for this one, there are fairly drastic differences in opinion on the book depending on the translation that was read. I ended up with a newer translation by Julie Rose and was very happy with it.
Tonight I finally saw the most recent movie version of the musical of Les Mis. I never got around to seeing it in the theatre but I watch it at home this evening. I love the musical version. I think that it helps to not consider the book and the musical the same thing. The basic story is the same but beyond that, they aren't the same. When you don't think they are the same, there is room to love them both. I saw the stage version many years ago in LA. I own and have memorized the Broadway cast recording. I really enjoyed the movie version. I think they did an excellent job with it.
Here's where the really random strong opinion comes in.
I strongly believe that if you couldn't have gotten yourself casted in the Broadway production of Les Miserable, you shouldn't be in the movie version either.
There were several offenders in the movie but the worst offenders were Russell and Anne. Sure, Anne did a good job of acting Fantine and I really felt her pain, but she annoys me. Russell is just a bad singer and a bad actor. Oddly enough, he hit the few really big notes really well but then butchered everything else. Seriously, with most of the leads, the vibrato was out of control. Based on every Broadway show I have ever seen, they could have easily found people to play these rolls who could both sing and act.
So, there you have my opinion. Even though you are making it into a movie, a musical is still first and foremost a musical. Don't believe me? See the movie. See the Broadway production. Compare. While you are at it, read the book.