13 January 2013
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russel Crowe and Amanda Seyfried
What It’s About: After 19 years of imprisonment, a frenchman breaks parole and vows to live a better life while trying to avoid the ruthless policeman who has hunted him for decades.
Rated PG-13 (for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements)
Runtime: 157 minutes
By Shelby Clemons, Staff Writer
On a not-so-miserable Christmas Day, Les Misérables opened to crowds of anxious moviegoers awaiting the much-anticipated film. The movie is based on the long-running musical, which, in turn, is based on the Victor Hugo novel. Sprinkled with stars and filled with brilliant, original song, the movie is anything but miserable.
It follows prisoner Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), who served 19 treacherous years for stealing a piece of bread for his family. After the tireless labor, Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) releases him on parole, leaving Valjean a beggar on the streets. He finds refuge in a church with a gentle-hearted bishop (Colm Wilkinson), only to steal from him in a desperate attempt to get money. He is forgiven and decides to create a brand new life for himself, running from parole.
Valjean leads a successful new life, though Javert hunts him ruthlessly. A chance encounter leads Javert to believe he has found his escaped parolee. Valjean then comes across Fantine (Anne Hathaway), a young woman forced into prostitution when she loses her factory job. She sends all the money she makes to her daughter Cosette, who is in the care of the Thénardiers (Sacha Baren Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter), the thieving innkeepers who don’t care the least for the young girl. Valjean vows that he will take care of Cosette, and rescues her from the innkeepers.
Valjean raises Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) into adulthood, and his decision soon proves to be life-changing. The story deepens as she literally falls in love at first sight with Marius (Eddie Redmayne), a revolutionary in the June Rebellion, who is also pined after by Eponine (Samantha Barks), a girl of the streets who is also itching for the revolution.
Now, the political rebellion ties all of the characters together into a single story at the barricades on the streets of France. Young men sing for freedom, a love triangle blossoms and Javert continues to search tirelessly for Valjean.
Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a brilliant tale and Tom Hopper (the film’s director, who is also responsible for The King’s Speech) does a good job of capturing the disparity, misery and oppression of nineteenth century France, though some may criticize it for being too “Hollywood.”
Fans of the stage version will be happy to see familiar faces in Colm Wilkinson, who played Valjean for years, and Samantha Barks, who portrayed an equally amazing, desperately-in-love Eponine in the 25th anniversary concert special.
Most musical movies have the actors lip-synch to pre-recorded songs, but the filmmakers of Les Misérables did wonders for the film by having the actors sing live and move around in whatever way they felt was right. This gave the movie a very realistic feeling, even if the actors didn’t have amazing voices and were off-key.
Anne Hathaway captured the raw pain and emotion of her martyr character and earned herself a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe not only gave excellent solo performances, but also complement each other well in their cat-and-mouse chase.
Unfortunately, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne lack the chemistry of the young lovers they are meant to be. However, Seyfried’s angelic voice doesn’t fail to impress, and newcomer Redmayne has a voice as good as his looks (which has women everywhere squealing). He possesses the same intensity of emotion as Hathaway does playing his nobleman-turned-rebel character. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen provide the perfect amount of comic relief with their heartless scheming. Even minor characters (like Daniel Huttlestone, who plays the spunky young rebel Gavroche) prove there wasn’t a single casting error.
Les Misérables is well-deserving of its hype and is up for an Oscar for Best Picture. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and if you like musicals, the film is 157 minutes of great songs on a great storyline. The film may be a bit slow at times, but overall it’s as brilliant as it’s made out to be.
8/10
Courtesy of lostinreviews.com and 1.bp.blogspot.com