With great anticipation, movie fans were eager to learn Russell Crowe’s response to Adam Lambert’s pointed critique of the singing in Les Miserables.
However, the Australian actor has taken a surprisingly diplomatic stance, acknowledging that he understands why the American Idol runner-up found the vocals ‘distracting,’ while stating it was simply the vision of the director.
In Tom Hooper’s adaptation of the acclaimed musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil, and Herbert Kretzmer, all songs feature ‘live performances,’ without any dubbing.
Russell, who portrays the antagonist Javert in the film, tweeted at the age of 48: ‘I don’t disagree with Adam; sure it could have been sweetened, but Hooper wanted it raw and real, that’s how it is.’
After viewing the film, Lambert, who had a background in musical theatre prior to his Idol success, remarked that the popular movie ‘suffered massively’ due to its stars’ singing.
He delivered a striking critique on Twitter, telling his followers: ‘the singing was so distracting.’
Criticizing the decision to prioritize acting over vocal performance in casting, he expressed that ‘with that cast, they should have studio recorded and sweetened the vocals.’
Lambert elaborated: ‘Les Mis: Visually impressive with great emotional performances. However, the score suffered massively as great actors PRETENDED to be singers. It’s an opera. Hollywood’s musicals seem to prioritize everything but singing. (Dreamgirls was good).’
Despite his criticisms, he acknowledged some strong performances, stating, ‘Anne Hathaway as Fantine and Enjolras were the exceptions for me. Helena B Carter and Sasha B Cohen were great too. Eponine’s voice was cool as well.’
Lambert expressed that the poor quality of the singing detracted from his enjoyment of the film.
He mentioned, ‘I felt like I should ignore the vocals and concentrate on the emotional subtext—yet the singing was so distracting at times it pulled me out.’
‘The industry might say “these actors were brave to attempt singing this score live,” but why not cast actors who could actually sound good?’
Even some of his own fans reacted negatively, but Lambert stood his ground, asserting: ‘Sorry for being so harsh, but it’s so true!
‘I’m thrilled that we’re all talking about this now! Look—I’ve grown up with this musical, so my expectations are quite high. I didn’t intend to be negative.’
He later added on Twitter: ‘One more clarification: DO go see it for Anne Hathaway’s performance. It was breathtaking.’
by Helena Bryanlith
