As someone who has never seen the stage production, I expected "Les Miserable" to follow a trend of darker toned, almost anti-holiday releases this December. Or, as Anne Hathaway and Samuel L. Jackson put in in their hilarious Funny or Die send up for Les Miz and "Django Unchained," nothing says Christmas like avenging slaves and dying French whores.
The movie follows Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) beginning in early 1815 with his lifetime parole after serving 19 years of horrific French imprisonment (five years for stealing a loaf of bread and the rest for escape attempts). Valjean, unable to find work or any scrap of human kindness as an ex-con, breaks his parole and what follows is the great-great-great-great-great grandmother of all chase stories as police officer, Javert (Russell Crowe), spends the next 16 years tracking him down.
It's inspiring to watch Valjean transform from a bitter, hateful man into a successful, honorable citizen and dutiful father all while being hunted. There are so many memorable and fascinating characters andstory-linesthat play outparallelto Valjean and Javert, it's no wonder high school students find themselves wishing there were Cliff Notes for the Cliff Notes when assigned to read Victor Hugo's weighty original novel.
The performances are mostly fantastic with veteran stage performers Hugh Jackman (Valjean), Eddie Redmayne (Marius), and Samantha Barks (Eponine) laying the foundation of strong vocals and giving heft to Anne Hathaway's Fantine (the dying French prostitute) and Russell Crowe's tormented cop, Javert. Hathaway's acting and vocals (I could hear people reaching around in their pockets for tissues during "I Dreamed a Dream") were breathtaking and her overall performance should earn her armfuls of award nominations.
Russell Crowe does not have a the booming stage voice of the more traditional Javert, but his acting was so subtle and honest that it worked. The least successful of the performances for a major character was Amanda Seyfried as Cosette. Seyfriend is pretty enough to play Valjean's cherished adopteddaughterbut she lacked both the pipes and the acting chops to leave any lasting impact.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Benham Carter were delightfully scummy as the infamous thieving inn-keepers,Monsieurand Madame Thenardier. I was grateful that neither actor attempted to reshape their character in their own image which could easily have destroyed their big number and one of my favorites,Master of the House."
Redmayne's performance throughout the movie and of singing Empty Chairs and Empty Tables was raw and definitely showed off the advantage of filming live-singing.
Knowing that the actors were singing live as they filmed draws the audience into the story with greater authenticity than a pitch-perfect soundtrack recorded in a studio andlip-syncedby actors during filming months later. The moment when you find out Javert knows that he has finally found Jean Valjean is one of the more physically andmusicallyimpressive moments as both actors sing while fighting.
Running at a meaty 157 minutes, I never felt the movie sagged - and not just because I already knew most of the songs.
There's a reason "Les Miserables" is such a celebrated musical and Tom Hooper such a venerated film maker. The decision to film live-singing showcases the best of film and the best of live performance - not an easy task. The impressive set design creates a gritty 19thcentury Paris while at the same time resisting the temptation to become strictly a period piece. Rather, Hooper and the performers remind us why Hugo's story is timeless.
**Note: This was written by my girlfriend and myself**
1 Like i've only seen a few musicals both in theater and on film. and Les Miserables easily beats them all. for sure will want to watch the play if and when i get the chance. Anne's song "I Dreamed a Dream" makes this move one of the extreme few to have ever made me shed tears.
Wasn't expecting that.
So yeah, as someone who isn't like enamored with the genre and the medium of theater, i really enjoyed this movie.
2 Like An actress playing a prostitute and being good at it? Such a stretch in Hollywood(eye roll).
Well, not my kind of movie, I have musicals. But it caught my eye, cuz of Amanda. Too bad that according to the review, she didn't give that great a performance...
1 Like I didn't really liked musicals, but after watching Les Miserables on DVD (London 25th Anniversary Concert) it was breathtaking. I will see this movie hoping to feel same again
1 Like I thought the movie was pretty good. Maybe a 7.5/10. It ended stronger than it started.
Russell Crowe was horrible for me and dragged the entire movie down when he sang. No emotion in his voice (which sounded all right, a bit nasaly). Javert needs to convey his utter disdain for Valjean and it just didn't come across at all with his performance. Listen to Phillip Quast sing "Stars" and then listen to Russell Crowe sing it.
Hugh Jackman was adequate, but he just doesn't have the voice for the role. Maybe I've seen and heard Colm Wilkinson perform the part too many times (impossible, the guy is insanely amazing), but Jackman's singing fell short when it was needed most. You don't feel anything during Bring Him Home, and I thought he was flat during other big songs like Who am I? and One Day More. His acting was good, but he was wrong for the role. Like Crowe, they went for the name and it hurt the movie.
Hathaway deserves an Oscar for her performance. She was amazing. As was the guy who played Marius.
I've heard the soundtrack so many times I was able to tell every single word of dialogue that they changed or left out, and that was fine, I understood many of the changes. They didn't really bother me.
And even though the movie was 2.5 hours, the pacing felt very fast, probably because I'm used to applause, curtains and intermission breaking up the play. But they didn't develop Eponine enough.
Like I said, overall it was pretty good, but I'd pop in my 10th Anniversary DVD over watching this again anyday.
I kinda don't want to see it just so I can remember the musical as an onstage production...
1 Like Such an amazing movie ...set design, screenplay, vocals, directing, acting, emotions, pace and humor. The only thing it truly lacked was a curtain call.
2 Like Well written. I've yet to see Les Mis myself, but your review certainly keeps my hopes up
3 Like Blogging 101 protip: make your blog as easy to read as possible. Never put a dark text against a dark background. Other than that, good review. I'm eager to see this since they did something never done in a Hollywood musical; they recorded the vocal tracks live. That's ballsy as all hell.
1 Like @spoonybard-hahs hmm. Will keep the background on mind. To me, it always shows up as white...
1 Like @Bad_Gamers83 Depends on the site them. One is a dark grey on grey scheme, which makes black font difficult to read
@foxrock66 The black would work, but the text color editor is so gonzo, it doesn't change everything
I tried reading Les Miserables, and got so bored I fell asleep. It's 1500 pages long! Then I read the plot on the wikipedia article, and realized it's actually a pretty decent story, when you cut most of it out. So, I might want to see the movie. Still, it's no Lord of the Rings, a book that's 1000 pages long, and not boring for most of it.
1 Like @starduke Les Miserables is considered a greater literary work than Lord of The Ring in the literary circle. LoTR is mediocre as a literary work.
1 Like @Ravenshout @starduke I would take Atlas Shrugged over both, but I know most people consider it "trash" :(
2 Like I just watched it tonight. It was everything I hoped it would be. Very well-written review.
Thank you.
1 Like I had seen the 1952 film on TMC, because I was curious and utterly excited for this newer version of the film adaptation. This review has me wanting to see it even more. It seems to be quite enjoyable. Thanks for this :D You did a great job at reviewing.
3 Like @LightEffect Blogs are magical! Why would you come to a video game website to talk about a film your beard took you to see? Why not go to a film website where you can actually reach your target demo?
@modernsocks @Bad_Gamers83 @spoonybard-hahs @LightEffect Please, inform me what makes this guy a "hipster" in your view.
4 Like @modernsocks @Bad_Gamers83 @spoonybard-hahs @LightEffect What the hell is hipster about a movie review?
1 Like @Bad_Gamers83 @spoonybard-hahs @LightEffect You're not trolling, it's just a very out of place blog. It's a very hipster idea and I applaud you for that but the whole hipster thing just seems ridiculous and confusing.
4 Like @modernsocks @LightEffect And who said he has a demo? Gamespot affords users the chance to make a personal blog about a wide range of topics outside of video games. Whoa re you to tell him different? The Blog Police (patent pending)? Or are you one of those officious pricks who can't handle two cereals being mixed together and feel the need to bitch about it because it's somehow a slight against all that is natural and right in your narrow world?
2 Like Great writing and a solid review. A lot of reviews are written rather poorly (my own included) but this hits the mark. Well done.
Oh, and I can't wait to see it.
2 Like My girlfriend co-wrote this review with me. She's a wicked-good editor and writer :)
