I saw the new Les Misérables film this week. It was rather like being hit by a truck, which then kept reversing and ploughing resolutely forward again.
Generally, I prefer my musical politics a tad more Nixon in China. Still, the decision to shoot the numbers largely in single shots means the singers are forced to act, not simply bawl X Factor-style. Brit Eddie Redmayne is revealed to boast not just cheekbones, but a sterling tenor, too, the old hoofer, and Sacha Baron Cohen will be wasted if he is not booked for panto next Christmas.
I'm not sure how it's going to play in the US, though. For a start, the bromance is subdued for a nation that brought us Top Gun's bros riding bros' tails.
Moreover, the various poxes, STDs, boils and not just British but also French teeth are likely to inspire hysteria in the neurotically sanitised US of A. And this before the male leads spend several scenes literally covered in shit. Still, it will serve to confirm everything Yanks feel about contemporary Europe.
This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk
