Les Miserables

With all objectivity, musicals are probably my least favorite genre, but I'm a critic, so objectivity is key to writing reviews. So many musicals just seem so silly, unrealistic, and phony. But when "Chicago" '02 came along, it basically helped in winning me over to that genre. I feel Hollywood had the same concern--that they were losing the musical audience, because since Chicago, Hollywood has produced more cutting edge musicals i.e. "Sweeney Todd" '07, "Burlesque" '10, even the ridiculous "Rock of Ages" '12, and now the brilliant "Les Miserables".

Prisoner 24601, known as Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is released from prison after a 19 year stint for stealing a loaf of bread, but then breaks parole to create a new life for himself while evading the grip of the persistent Inspector Javet (Russell Crowe). Set post Revolutionary France between 1815-1832, the story reaches resolution against the background of the June rebellion.
Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's (Anne Hathaway) daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen). As Cosette becomes a woman, she (now Amanda Seyfried) meets a young French rebel, Marius (Freddie Redmayne) with whom she falls in love with. Many lives change due to Valjean's breaking away.

Others to round out the cast are Sacha Baron Cohen as Thenardier, Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thenardier, Samatha Barks as Eponine, Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, Daniel Huttlestone as Gavroche, and Natalya Angel Wallace as Young Eponine.

This production was directed with such clarity and grit by Tom Hooper ("Red Dust" '04, "Longford" (TV movie) ''06, "The Damned United" '09, "The King's Speech" '10). The pathos and emotional grit he was able to get out of his actors was nothing short of perfection.
I had never seen a stage production of Les Miserables, so I was basically a novice in viewing this, and I didn't know that the entire production was performed in song. I knew it was a musical, but it surprised me that 99% of it was in a song format, which really was intriguing. And this happens to be the first film where the songs are sung 'on set' instead of in a recording studio and then have the actors lip sync the words during principal photography. That made a world of difference, because their performances were more passionate--being able to emotionally capture the moment. This being written in song by William Nicholson, made it even more of an intriguing screenplay. This was based on Cameron MacKintosh's stage play which was based on Victor Hugo's novel and again based on the book by Claude-Michel Schonberg & Alain Boubil. The music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer were awesome.

The performances by Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway were incredibly moving. They definitely did their homework. The coupling of Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter was fantastic and gave this film its much needed comic relief. Jackman will undoubtedly be nominated come Oscar time.

Even though this was a film based in France and the dialect were predominantly English, it still did not detract from the expertise and incredible emotion and passion that this production exuded and then some.

Out of 4 Stars: 4                      Rated: PG-13                      158mins.