（2013.3.22）
初識《悲慘世界》音樂劇是在中學時代的音樂課堂，也是當時才首次知道有musical這種表演藝術的型態。多年以後終於躍上大銀幕，自是拭目以待。流暢的運鏡和影像調度串起多闋經典名曲，以洗鍊的方式勾勒故事情節與背景。《悲慘世界》的情緒渲染力很強（有很多內心獨白戲和特寫鏡頭），讓早已耳熟能詳的劇情也具有賺人熱淚的張力。看多位好萊塢的熟面孔唱作俱佳，真是精彩美妙的視聽饗宴。
主要演員都有各自的音樂淵源：Hugh Jackman在澳洲本來就是音樂劇《奧克拉荷馬》出身，他也因主演此劇而與愛妻相逢相識進而墜入情網結褵，是令人稱羨的姊弟戀、影壇的恩愛佳偶。他在《劇匠魅影》中也曾獻唱〈Oh! What a beautiful morning!〉。此次挑大樑飾演《悲慘世界》中的男主角Jean Valjean，自然駕輕就熟、游刃有餘，難怪榮獲此次奧斯卡最佳男主角的提名。Russell Crowe有自組樂團。鬼才導演提姆波頓的愛侶兼固定班底Helena Bonham Carter在《瘋狂理髮師》中就曾一展歌喉，片中黑店老闆娘的角色也和《悲慘世界》裡的Madame Thénardier有異曲同工之妙。酒店老闆夫妻的串場演出也使整部片注入黑色幽默，不至於盡是濃重的悲情，緩和了整齣劇淒涼的色調。
Amanda Seyfried早在《媽媽咪呀》電影版中演出梅莉史翠普待出閣的女兒，扮相清秀，歌喉出色。《媽媽咪呀》以詼諧溫馨的方式引領觀眾重溫ABBA合唱團的多首成名曲，不知情者或以為ABBA合唱團的歌曲是為此片才特別量身打造的電影原聲帶吧！惜乎此次演出成年Cosette受限於角色設定，演技、戲分難有較大揮灑空間。一曲〈In My Life〉似還不如童年Cosette的〈Castle in the Clouds〉，更遠不及Éponine的〈On My Own〉和〈A Little Fall of Rain〉。和Marius一見鍾情即生死相許的戀情也稍嫌突兀、缺乏鋪陳。首次見面就有心動的好感固然是有可能的，但總覺得深摯的愛情還是需要在相處、互動中漸次累積情愫，否則若只受外貌的魅惑（雖然外貌確實也很重要，有誰的第一印象不是看外貌？又如何跟看不順眼的人相處？），又怎麼知道在時間的考驗下兩人是否個性、價值觀、心靈契合、談得來呢？這或許也是觀眾反而會比較同情Éponine的緣故。我是聽英國留學Amy說了才知道飾演Éponine的Samantha Barks 就電影來講是新人，但就《悲慘世界》來講，是所有演員的大前輩，因為她就是倫敦悲慘世界音樂劇中演Éponine的演員！也是《悲慘世界》音樂劇和電影的交會！非常有趣。
從以前到現在，《悲慘世界》中最令我動容的歌曲始終是〈On My Own〉。但我卻記得兒童版《孤星淚》中似乎並沒有Éponine這個角色？或許那樣苦澀的暗戀與單戀不是童稚的心靈所能領會的？而大銀幕版更為”In the rain，the pavement shines like silver. All the lights are misty in the river”提供了極其動人的影像化詮釋：
And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to turn, no one to turn to
Without a home, without a friend
Without a face to say hello to
But now the night is near
And I can make-believe he's here
Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping
I think of him and then I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head
On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him 'til morning
Without him, I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way, I close my eyes and he has found me
In the rain
The pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me forever and forever
And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself
and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say there's a way for us
I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him, the world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers
I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life I've only been pretending
Without me, his world will go on turning
A world that's full of hapiness that I have never known
I love him
I love him
I love him
But only on my own
而整部片中最令人驚豔的自然是此次奧斯卡最佳女配角得主Anne Hathaway（她在《悲慘世界》中應該算女主角了吧？），近年來欣見以《麻雀變公主》系列初試啼聲的她，並不墨守甜美的公主形象，而勇於嘗試各種片型，從《斷背山》中傑克葛倫霍的妻子、《愛情藥不藥》中的帕金森氏患者乃至於《黑暗騎士：黎明昇起》中的貓女。在《悲慘世界》她更是犧牲色相演出飽受排擠、境遇坎坷、不得不淪落風塵的女工Fantine，她演唱〈I dreamed a dream〉時整個電影院真的都屏氣凝神、好安靜好專注：
There was a time when men were kind,
And their voices were soft,
And their words inviting.
There was a time when love was blind,
And the world was a song,
And the song was exciting.
There was a time when it all went wrong...
I dreamed a dream in time gone by,
When hope was high and life, worth living.
I dreamed that love would never die,
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid,
And dreams were made and used and wasted.
There was no ransom to be paid,
No song unsung, no wine, untasted.
But the tigers come at night,
With their voices soft as thunder,
As they tear your hope apart,
And they turn your dream to shame.
He slept a summer by my side,
He filled my days with endless wonder...
He took my childhood in his stride,
But he was gone when autumn came!
And still I dream he'll come to me,
That we will live the years together,
But there are dreams that cannot be,
And there are storms we cannot weather!
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living,
So different now from what it seemed...
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed...
《悲慘世界》歷久彌新的秘訣何在？融合寬恕、救贖、新生、親情、愛情與人性、良心的糾葛，配上壯闊、磅礡的革命時代背景，史詩格局加上感人肺腑的劇情，以及多首動聽的詠歎調，無怪乎傳誦不衰。
PS.感謝友人Amy慷慨提供的倫敦雪景照片！
