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| Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman |
Director: Tom Hooper
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried
Genre(s): Musical; Drama; Romance
Release Date: December 25, 2012
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%
As Tom Hooper proved with his Oscar-winning film, The King's Speech, he is a very talented filmmaker. His latest venture, the movie based on the hit musical Les Miserables, is ambitious -- to say the least. I think he suceeds, for the most part. Of course, I didn't see the film until after having read varying opinions about the movie: some, like Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwartzbaum, loathed it; others, like Dallas Morning News' Joy Tipping, loved it. All of the people I had personally spoken about the movie had said, "It's great; you'll love it." And, I suppose, opon further contemplation, I concur -- but I would not go so far as to say that it is perfect, because few films truly are.
Going to see an epic movie like Les Miserables is quite a committment, and not just because it is over two-and-a-half hours long; it is, in a way, a hefty emotional investment. While I did not tear up until the very end, I could deeply feel that intense suffering and harrowing losses that the main characters were experience. This is surely due to the rigorous and near-flawless performances of a stupdendous cast that Hooper assembled. Hugh Jackman took an extremely challenging role, and he has never been better than he is as Frenchman Jean Valjean, who skips out on his paroll and is continually avoiding Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe). On that note, Russell Crowe was...not as bad as I had thought he would be. There have been so many jokes made about his singing, but it is really not as horrendous as nails on a chalkboard. At the beginning, his vocals are very poor, but it seems to improve in some scenes. His acting, on the other hand, is much better, but that was never an issue. Adorable redhead Eddie Redmayne and stunning blonde Amnda Seyfried were surprisingly effective in their Romeo and Juliet-esque side story. Samantha Barks, who portrayed the same character (Eponine) onstage, makes excellent use of her brief scenes. Oh, and we cannot forget Anne Hathaway: her awards and acclaim have been well-deserved. She has admitted that the eight-hour-long filming of the "I Dreamed A Dream" scene took a lot out of her. Pretty actresses who are willing to uglify themselves -- and physically suffer, as Hathaway confessed to nearly starving herself -- often get rewarded. Hers is the best rendition of that song I have ever heard (no offense, Susan Boyle).
Aside from the acting, I enjoyed the fact that all the music was recorded live. Oftentimes, in movie musicals and especially on Glee, the songs seem so auto-tuned and are so obviously pre-recorded that it takes away from the experience of watching a movie or TV show that is, oftentimes, meant to be meaningful. Perhaps that is why Les Mis is able to get straight to the core of the viewer: we hear Hathaway's voice breaking during "I Dream A Dream," we hear the sadness in Redmayne's voice when is expressing despair [over which I will not say, for free of spoiling]. That is very powerful, and Hooper uses this tool to his advantage, so moviegoers can experience carthasis.
The sets, music, and all other visuals are spectacular. Technically, like Life of Pi, Les Mis is a masterpiece. Yet perhaps my only criticism would be that it is exceedingly long; granted, Hooper did not want to leave out any events from the musical that are inherently necessary, but I felt that some scenes dragged on a bit too much. I am sure there is more editing that could have been done, but what Hooper and his team have done with such challenging material is remarkable.
Grade: A-
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