There is a lot to like about Les Misérables, which surprised me with it’s ability to tell a great story through music, with nearly every word of dialogue sung. It is by no means perfect however, with a slightly long runtime contributing to the fact that I didn’t feel much emotion overall.
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Director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) takes on the hard task of adapting one of the famous musicals of modern times, originally based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel, into a film. Luckily for Hooper, he is greatly aided by a magnificent cast which boasts stand out performances from Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne and Helena Bonham Carter. My favourite character however, was played by Sacha Baron Cohen, who brings great laughter to an otherwise bleak story as his performance as Thénardier.
What pleased me about this film was how it’s use of songs and music didn’t affect the film’s storytelling, in fact it probably aided it with the character’s showcasing their emotions for the whole world to see. Fantine (Hathaway) in particular seemed to show her character’s pain beautifully as you could feel what she was going through with every word she sang. The voices of Hathaway, Redmayne and Seyfried especially were great, which is something that unfortunately can’t be said for all cast members.
While I thought Hugh Jackman’s performance was worthy of an Oscar nomination, his singing was not as strong as his acting. Crowe is similar, with his voice especially more of a loud talk. Still, they should be commended on their effort and at times they were decent, however I definitely felt their singing took away from the film’s other great voices.
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As mentioned before, Cohen is hilarious, there is something about his voice in this one that is very likable and funny. His chemistry with on screen wife Madame Thénardier (Carter) is also a positive, as she gives her usual uniqueness to the role as well.
I had braced myself for an extremely long film, it is 157 minutes after all, and I think this helped me as while it felt long, the time managed to fly relatively fast. I do think this will be an issue for some, so if long movies aren’t your thing, you may get a little bored in this one. The other downfall for myself was one that many have lauded as a positive, the emotion. I simply didn’t feel much at all throughout, with some memorable scenes but nothing that lingered in my thoughts after the movie emotionally.
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The costumes and set for Les Misérables are visually appealing and straight away you feel like you have been transported into the past. I have never seen the play or read the novel, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but the story is decent and as I mentioned before, it flows quite well too.
While I wouldn’t say I truly loved the film, I can definitely say I admire and respect it hugely. I enjoyed myself and was glad the songs entertained and aided to the story. I am sure those who are a fan of the play or musicals at all will have a great time. B
Really looking forward to this, I’m halfway through the book. Awesome review
Great review! I’m a big fan of Anne’s and after hearing just few lines of her song in the trailer I can already tell I will weep like an idiot during her scenes. I’m not surprised Crowe is not doing well with the singing, he is a great actor but well, no anyone can sing. Glad to read Cohen and Carter were good, they seem like a risky casting for such villains in otherwise serious story, but it’s clever of Hooper to feature some comic relief in this one.
Haha! Yeah, I thought he was a poor singer.
Some have said Cohen + Carter were the worst part of the film, but I certainly think it was a bold, risky move that paid off. Without them I honestly think I would have liked it a lot less – I needed that comic relief!
Glad you actually made it. And you liked it.
I’m really looking forward. I know the musical back to front so there’s a lot riding on it.
@ Lights Camera Reaction, beware the end of the novel, it is an absolute killer. You will be drained.
Awesome, let me know how it was for someone who loves the musical!
I read Victor Hugo’s book when I was a kid and was enriched by the story. Over the years, I have seen a couple of film versions of the story. What was truly remarkable about the stage show (and seems to escape the vast majority of the public) is the retelling of the story as a musical – this is a veritable tour-de-force on the part of the lyricist(s)- Have not seen this movie yet but I will, purely because of this. The writers have brought Victor Hugo’s achievement to the masses.
Thanks for your thoughts Tony! I’m quite interested in reading the novel and then giving this another rewatch.
Having now seen the film; I can say that the cinematography is impressive but, in comparison to the play, the nuances of speech and song could have been handled better. While largely sticking to the bones of the story, Director Tom Hooper has exercised a degree of license that, at times, seemed, to me, at any rate, appropriate and inappropriate; for example, the opening scene of prisoners hauling on ropes on a slipway is a reasonable attempt to depict the type of work prisoners would be engaged in at the time, however, attempting to wring every vestige of pathos out of a later scene, the director has Javert pin his medals on the body of the dead Gavroche – this seems far too trite and inappropriate (I certainly cannot recall any mention of this in the book).
Anne Hathaway’s rendition of the key song will win many accolades and I thought that Eponine appeared far to healthy and vibrant – they could have done more to make her appear less well-fed, it would have suited the general depiction of the times. On balance, the play was far more edifying (as was the book). For me, the major accomplishment of the musical (which is what this film (and the play) is) was the rendition of the story in song (an achievement that really ought to have earned much more recognition than it has).
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I love the play and this movie!
I heard a lot of negative comments about Russell Crowe before I saw it but I thought he pulled it off as Javert fine since his songs are more staccato anyway.
Also I found it hit the mark emotionally for me, especially in the final scenes and everyone directly around me in the cinema was teary too.
Oh and Anne Hathaway was my favorite! She is amazing.
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