Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Banks, Daniel Huttlestone
Certificate: 12
Genre: Musical, Drama
Awards: Best supporting actress (Hathaway), best make-up, best sound
Les Miserables is an adaptation of the musical adapted from Victor Hugo's book. In this version almost every line of dialogue is sung, which may make it difficult for some people. The story takes place in early 19th century France and mostly follows Jean Valjean (Jackman), a bread thief who breaks his parole, and Javert (Crowe), the police inspector trying to track him down. The film spans a vast number of years during the cat and mouse chase in which many other events take place, such as a factory worker being kicked into squalor and an attempted revolution.
For those not against musicals, Les Miserables is a very enjoyable film with its all star cast belting out their dialogue with brilliant songs. Whilst some have criticised Crowe's performance, he is not terrible to listen to and any flaws simply add to his character. The film is also incredibly stylised visually to create a picture like the artwork of the time. Similar to Barry Lyndon, yet perhaps more obviously computer generated.
The musical dialogue may perhaps stop the characters from becoming more complicated yet they still work as stock types that tell a story. There are still amazing moments within each character's ark that can bring a smile or tears, such as the first kindness shown to Veljean, the revolution's outcome and Fantine (Hathaway)'s fall.
Les Miserables is a triumph in the genre of the musical and works well as a great epic. The cast shine and the songs remain in one's head for days afterwards. The "live" performances may perhaps not add much but it is still extremely enjoyable in its own right.
****Good
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