The much anticipated movie adaptation of "Les Misérables " has arrived, and director Tom Hooper deserves praise for infusing Victor Hugo's iconic story of Jean Valjean with drama and profound emotion. Hugh Jackman is superb as the former thief who is pursued relentlessly by his nemesis, Inspector Javert (a ruthless and bitter Russell Crowe), but Valjean focuses on redeeming himself by treating others with kindness. Anne Hathaway is affecting as the desolate Fantine, forced into prostitution in order to support her child. Valjean mercifully adopts Cosette, Fantine's daughter, after her mother's untimely death.
Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen are deliciously over-the-top as the Thénardiers, greedy innkeepers who steal from their customers and extort cash from Fantine for Cosette's upkeep while they keep the lonely girl in rags. Samantha Barks's show-stopping solo, "On My Own," is thrilling. Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried are appealing as Marius and the adult Cosette. Finally, the wonderful Colm Wilkinson lights up the screen in his brief appearance as the Bishop.
Why see this film if you have already taken in the Broadway show? First, Hooper distills the essence of the plot without getting bogged down in extraneous exposition. He elicits terrific performances from actors whose faces and voices are beautifully expressive. Since much of the dialogue is sung, it is worth pointing out that the sound quality is excellent and the performers take pains to speak and sing distinctly (not a given in today's films). Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil's score and Herbert Kretchmer's lyrics are often soaring, at other times tear-filled and poignant, and always unforgettable.
The audience with whom we viewed "Les Miserables" was visibly moved by this tale of self-sacrifice, love, and salvation. For an expensively mounted musical production, it is surprisingly intimate. We grow to care about the characters and are transported from the darkened theater to the turbulence of nineteenth century France. Vive "Les Misérables" and bravo to Tom Hooper and his exceptional cast.
You know I went to see "Les Miserables" on Christmas Day. You know I convinced family and friends to not get together for dinner on Christmas evening, as was the tradition, because seeing this film was more important. I've been waiting to see "Les Mis" for months, damnit, and I wasn't about to wait any longer. I was ready to see something phenomenal. Something that would be a sucker punch of emotion...and a chance to see some of my favorite actors in a film like I've never seen before.
"Les Miserables" is unlike any film musical I've ever seen. The level of emotion is unmatched. The performances are out of this world. The story is ambitious, and the scope is huge. It's at once a very personal story about its various characters, but at the same time, these people are singing for a generation, that has fascinating parallels to events going on today. It's an incredible feat that I didn't think could be committed to film so well.
Director Tom Hooper certainly had the courage of his convictions. A film adaptation of Cameron Mackintosh and Claude Michel Schonberg's beloved stage musical "Les Miserables" had been in development hell since the mid 1980s. The pieces for a successful film adaptation never quite came together. A non-musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel starring Liam Neeson and Uma Thurman came out in 1998, but that film was sub-par at best.
Hooper assembled a cast that doesn't seem like the best fit for a musical, including Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway, none of which, to my knowledge, are trained singers. He then decided that these actors, as well as everyone else in the cast, would sing live, instead of lip-synching to studio-prerecorded tracks. I had not known that movie musicals typically did it this way, and that singing live was a new and scary thing. This element would heighten emotion for the audience. This idea is superb and will show to be a game-changer for movie musicals. Each actor's performance is more intimate and personal than they would have been otherwise. Hooper really wants the viewer to connect emotionally with these characters, and for the most part, we connect with these people deeply.
"Les Mis" follows Jean Valjean (Jackman), a man who was jailed for nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family five years for the theft, and thereafter for subsequent attempts to escape. He breaks his parole, and police inspector Javert (Crowe) dedicates his life to imprisoning Valjean again. Valjean comes across Fantine (Hathaway), an unwed mother who, after unjustly losing her job, is degraded to the point of no return, being forced to sell her hair, her teeth, her body and her dignity. Valjean promises Fantine that he will raise her daughter Cosette as his own, in her absence. Valjean then saves Cosette from the Thenardiers(Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, pairing up in their second movie musical), neglectful guardians and scheming inkeepers, and the story picks up years later, where Cosette is a young woman (Amanda Seyfried), living mostly in peace. A young revolutionary Marius (Eddie Redmayne) falls in love with her. The Thenardier's destitute biological daughter Eponine has a hopeless and unrequited love for Marius. These young characters dive headfirst into what would become a very important part of the French Revolution.
The story of the French Revolution, as depicted in the film, is so reminiscent of Occupy Wall Street protests that went on last year a group of young idealists looking for a better tomorrow. They're willing to die in the name of a future. They're extremely passionate and exuberant. There are protests, except, you know, they're all sung.
Yes, it's all sung. Les Miserables is two hours and forty minutes of song. There's no real spoken dialogue the entire way through. Every minute is sung live as well. And if this bothers you, please skip "Les Mis" and enjoy watching something like "Twilight" or "Jack Reacher". Tom Hooper made this film a game-changer for the way a movie-musical is supposed to work. Lip-synching a pre-recorded studio version seems economical, but today, can allow for auto-tuning and editing a singer's voice. It doesn't feel personal. The voices in "Les Mis" sound raw and real. The actors sang live onset with earpieces playing piano accompaniment, with a 70-piece orchestra being added in in post production. The music sounds extraordinary. There sure as hell isn't any auto-tuning going on.
For example, take Anne Hathaway's rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream". At this point in the story, we don't know Fantine very well, but we see the struggle that she's put through. She's at her lowest point. Hathaway half-belts and half-sobs the iconic song, the entire thing being filmed in one take. It's an extremely emotional performance that will bring any person with a heart, to tears.
Criticism that I've been hearing of the film mostly revolves around the performances of Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman, as Javert and Valjean. I think both of these guys did fantastic jobs, quite frankly. Crowe isn't the best singer in the world, but his voice fits the part of Javert very well. As for Jackman, well, it could be argued that he carried the entire film. I think he did a splendid job; the role of Jean Valjean is a giant undertaking, and I think he nailed it.
However, the real excellence of this film lies in the supporting cast. Everybody is perfectly cast, but particularly Samantha Barks in the role of Eponine. She played the same character in the 25th Anniversary performance of Les Miserables, only two years ago. One small criticism; my favorite part of Eponine's solo (and theme song to self-loathing masochists everywhere) "On My Own", the beginning part, is cut entirely. However, once you see what Barks does with this song it's easily forgiven.
Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen, who look like they're in "Sweeney Todd 2", are great comic relief as the Thenardiers. Cohen is the only cast member in this Paris-set film who sings in a French accent, however... I find that strange. Eddie Redmayne and Aaron Tveit are perfect as Marius and his colleague Enjolras. Redmayne's "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", near the end of the film, will make you cry. His voice goes to extraordinary places, and in such an emotional number, where he's telling the story of his friends who are no longer with him, this is a place where the live singing truly shines.
The live singing, itself, is a huge undertaking, cinematically. Director Tom Hooper certainly had alot at stake with this project, however, there are still things that he could have done better. There are so many close-ups in the film. While they work for solos like "I Dreamed A Dream" and "Empty Chairs", they don't work for others. I also kind of feel like Hooper used the fish-eye camera lens a little too often, but these are inconsequential criticisms that don't make the film any less powerful.
I hate it when people applaud in a movie theater. I find it trite and kind of pointless, unless you're at the world premiere of the movie, with the director and actors present. However, I'm not ashamed to say that "Les Miserables" brought me to tears no less than five times. I was completely enthralled by each actor's performance, and the applause that the entire theater gave at the end was completely appropriate and well-deserved. I wanted to watch it again the minute it ended, and for a nearly three hour long film, I think that's a pretty high compliment. Don't miss it.
Grade: A+
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I saw this movie a week before it came out because I won advance screening tickets and I have known the song I Dreamed A Dream my whole life but I have never seen the musical on stage or any of the adaptations before. I went into this with no expectations at all. At first I thought the movie started off kind of fragmented and I figured because it had to introduce everybody and I was right. The film ended up as it went on drawing me in more and more and making me fall in love with it and by the end i was mesmerized with how wonderful and amazing the movie is. I believe they picked perfect roles because after i saw the movie i listened to the broadway soundtrack and i believe they did very well on picking out the cast for their vocal ranges and capabilities. I think anyone who loves the musical or is a musical person should definatly see this movie because they will not be disappointed one bit by how amazing it is.
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I'm French and I've just seen the movie (which came out last week here). I wasn't sure I still wanted to see it after reading the terrible reviews it'd been given in France (sorry!) but I'd been so seduced by the trailer and Hathaway's voice that I went anyway and I simply loved it. I haven't read the book (I've just started actually: 60 pages out of 1600... hum) but I understand why people here find the movie rather bad: it's not exactly as "social" as Hugo wrote it. The movie concentrates on the "romantic" side rather than on the criticism of the society and the historical context of the time. Yet I was completely taken. I loved the songs (I didn't know the musical), I'm a big fan of Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman and was completely delighted by their acting. I cried as I hadn't cried in a long time in a theatre and wanted only one thing when the film was over: see it again! The only negative thing in my opinion was the singing and acting of Russell Crowe. I didn't like his voice and really thought that he couldn't act and sing at the same time. There was no emotion on his face. But still: it's a great movie! Only one piece of advice to you all: read the book!!! I know it's a very biiiiiig one but it's a French masterpiece by one of the best French writers! :-)
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I've watched theater productions of Les Mis, watched screen adaptations, and read the book several times over, and this cinematic adaptation ranks highly on my list of adaptations. As a musical film, it is well put-together, utilizing a stellar cast who delivers compelling performances in both acting and singing, excellent set-up of scenes, credible costumes and sets making the period and setting of 19th century France come alive, and spectacular effects.
I read some critical reviews which found the singing of the cast members to be less than impressive. I agree only with regards to three characters Russell Crowe's Inspector Javert, and Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thenardiers. Crowe's emoting as Javert was well done with his facial expressions credibly portraying his resolute nature and steadfast obsession in hunting Jean Valjean, but his singing just wasn't up to par although to be fair some of his songs were incredibly difficult. I felt an actor who had more of an established singing
background would have fared much better in this role. The Thenardiers' portrayal did not sit well with me either Cohen's and Helena Bonham Carter's singing performances were just plain awful.
Now that I've got the criticisms out of the way, let me comment on the positives. Hugh Jackman blew me away with his performance I avoided comparing his performance to the Broadway productions because they are two entirely different mediums. These actors had to sing live on set and Jackman's background in singing with his strong, commanding voice as well as his experience as an actor really served him well in the challenging role of lead character Jean Valjean. There were scenes where Valjean displays his inner conflict the beginning when he is railing against the injustice of his imprisonment, the scene where he is praying and reflecting on the priest's kindness to him and how he experiences this epiphany of how to transform his life, later still when he has embraced a new identity and is prospering as the Mayor of a city and his turmoil when he finds Javert has been dispatched to work in his city, so much more, and all done with impeccable finesse. Even when his voice at times breaks during a performance, I found it compelling because this is how one would expect it to be in real life emotions impacting one's voice (not that people go through life singing their emotions out all the time). It was heartbreaking, 'real', and did not feel put on at all. Jackman delivers an Oscar worthy performance and I hope he gets it.
Fantine as portrayed by the beautiful and talented Anne Hathaway (I grew from a non-fan to a fan starting from The Devil Wears Prada to the latest Batman and this) just broke my heart. That one song, "I Dreamed A Dream" was so achingly poignant and full of despair this is a woman brought so low by life's circumstances and filled with despair as I watched Fantine sing, I could only think, "God, this is how I imagined Fantine when I read the book," so really, what more could be said. Hathaway embodies Fantine her hopes, dashed dreams, and her despair with heartbreaking clarity.
Amanda Seyfried as Cossette was lovely but I would not go so far as to say it was a spectacular performance but my, what a revelation Eddie Redmayne was as Marius. I've been a bit of a fan after watching him in My Week With Marilyn, and he is amazing here as the young revolutionary who is besotted with Cossette. His voice is compelling and his yearning and aching love for Cossette is credibly conveyed by his voice in song.
Eponine as played by Samantha Barks was another favorite character who also broke my heart. Her songs, delivered with such sadness and yearning, and those haunting eyes just tugged at the heartstrings. The young actor who plays Gavroche, Daniel Huttlestone, the street urchin and young revolutionary in the making delivered a performance that is memorable for its sincerity and spiritedness.
Though the movie is rather long in length at slightly over two and a half hours, I did not feel like the movie dragged at all. Each scene was carefully set up and orchestrated and the songs and dialogue all came together beautifully. When I heard that famous line, "To love someone is to see the face of God", I wept because that scene to me at least embodied what Hugo's work was all about. This is a beautiful cinematic masterpiece and I feel richer for having watched it.
Growing up, I can't remember anything better than waking up on Saturday morning to watch cartoons. Out of all the cartoons on the morning line up TMNT was priority one. So, logically when movie number one hit the box office I dragged my mom to theater to stand in line. What an awesome experiance.
