Anne Hathaway Killed It and This is Why

Anne Hathaway managed to bring a new dimension to classic show tune ‘I dreamed a dream’ in the movie version of Les Miserables and I want to explain why her performance breathed new life into one of musical theatre’s most enduring hits.

People were sceptical when Anne Hathaway won the pivotal role of Fantine in the long awaited movie version of popular musical Les Miserables. They doubted that her vocal ability, despite being good, was up to the performance of Fantine’s signature tune.

It’s easy to see why people may believe that; this song has been belted out by some of the best in the business. Theatre icons including but not limited to Barbara Streisand, Patti Lu Pone and Idina Menzel have all at some point in their careers tackled this song and brought people to tears with their renditions.

If Hathaway had chosen to emulate these icons she would have fallen flat on her face; she can’t belt like they can. However she didn’t and in my opinion it was this that made it work. More, her haunting rendition of the track breathed new life into it and brought it to a whole new generation.

When the song is usually performed it is a waling lament; the big notes are almost screamed to the heavens and the leading lady takes on an air of the hysterical. Hathaway could easily have tried to cast her version of Fantine in this light.

However she chose to make her Fantine a more broken creature. The version she sang of the song was quiet, withdrawn and purely broken hearted. She made Fantine less of a hysterical melodramatic character and more one that had just been broken by all the horrific things she had been through in her life.

Quite frankly I thought it was a very real interpretation. Fantine was a woman with a little girl to support who had lost all her chances in life. ‘I dreamed a dream’ is her absolute lowest point, she can’t take it anymore and Hathaway’s muted notes reflect this. She just gives up.

The great thing about musical theatre is that you can interpret the characters over and over again. You don’t have to have one as gospel truth and this allows you to get a fresh perspective on the show you are watching, Simon Morris readers, every single time a new actor comes to fill those large shoes.