THERE'S no denying that Les Miserables – whether on page, stage or screen – is an emotional experience.
Something to do with the gripping storyline, the raw plight of the characters, the near-relentless squalor of its setting. I watched Tom Hooper's film on Sunday and, right at the end, there occured something I hadn't heard in a cinema for many years, if ever: a round of applause.
It lasted maybe 10 seconds. It wasn't a standing ovation, but neither was it self-conscious. It followed on from what had happened at intervals throughout the film, with people dabbing at their tears.
Audience appreciation of a rowdier sort was witnessed at an advance showing of the film in New York last November – applause after each song, and a standing ovation at the climax. Eddie Redmayne, who plays Marius in the film, was there, and it took him a while to realise that the rustling noise round about him was in fact the sound of film-goers using their hankies.
It was the same, more recently, at the London premiere, while in the provinces, at least one cinema chain has reported seeing "very engaged audiences" clapping after every song. On the film's Twitter account, fans have posted such messages as "Amazing. Cried the entire movie." You can watch, online, a video of a middle-aged couple's emotional response to the film. The dad delivers a great line: "We've been to funerals where we've been less upset."
What is going on here? For all its great reviews and award nominations, Les Mis has its critics, who dislike what they see as the banality of the songs and the manipulative bombast of the entire show. More to the point, the outbreaks of tears and applause have raised critical eyebrows in a manner close to condescension. "It's almost a knee-jerk thing," one film writer has suggested. "People want to pretend they're having the same experience as if the musical was on stage, so clap after the song, especially if they know it."
That's one theory. Another, more persuasive, is that, while familiarity with the plot and the songs doubtless help, it's obvious that the storyline does pack an extraordinary emotional punch. But the masterstroke was Hooper's decision to record the actors singing live, which allows them to put nuance and intensity into their performances. It's this, I think, that sets the seal on a remarkable film.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article