Les Miserables (2012)

Title: Les Miserables
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Banks, Sasha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter
Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

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Nineteen years Valjean (Jackman) had been in prison--all for stealing a loaf of bread. As cruel treatment is apt to do, Valjean harbors nothing but bitter resentment and hatred in his heart, especially towards the cruel jailer, Javert (Crowe). When Valjean is finally released from prison, his only aim is to get as far away from Javert as possible, even if it means breaking his parole. But Valjean's life is changed when he is taken pity upon by a Monseigneur of the Church; Valjean is given a room to sleep in and food for his belly. And when Valjean steals precious silver dishes, the Monseigneur does not turn him in. Rather, he gives Valjean the candlesticks as well and tells him to go and make something better of his life.

Fast forward a couple of years and Valjean is no longer Valjean. Rather he is Mister Madeline, respected business owner and mayor; he is loved by all. But always in the back of his mind, Valjean waits for the day when his secret will be found out and when Javert finds his way to the same city (for a job), Valjean definitely feels that "the jig is up." This, however, does not stop Valjean from repaying a kindness with another kindness. He takes Fantine, (Hathaway) a young woman forced into prostitution, into his care and on her deathbed, he vows to honor her dying wish--take care of her young daughter Cozette who is currently living with innkeepers (Cohen and Carter). Valjean also cannot let another man accused of being himself go to prison...all of these things add up to a dramatic confrontation between the the two men.

But it isn't the end of the story. Not by a long shot............ =D

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I have grown up with the story of Les Miserables. I did try the book years and years ago (and hated it. There was WAY too much French history for my young teenage mind.) However, I have watched several adaptations of the film: a '30s version, a '50s version, and a '70s version. It is a beautiful story of human frailty and of beautiful redemption. Well, when I heard that the Broadway play was being made into a movie, I knew I wanted to see it. After all, it was going to be cheaper seeing it at the theater than when the show came through Boise back in September. Besides, you had A-listers in it. It was bound to be good.

It's a good thing, though, that I heard most of the dialogue is done via singing or else I would have been totally lost during the film. I'm also glad I knew how long it was! All of the other adaptations I have seen are not nearly this long. Frankly, I do think the length works for the film; they didn't skimp on elements or leave crucial parts out. The costuming and cinematography are beautifully done, as is, duh, the musical score. How about the singing though?

I'm just going to go ahead and say it: GIVE ANNE HATHAWAY AN OSCAR RIGHT NOW!!! Seriously, the girl who will always be Princess Diaries to me stole the show for me. Her portrayal of Fantine was hauntingly beautiful and her voice--she definitely has one. I cannot say the same for Russell Crowe. At moments, I thought his singing was passable, but other times, not so much. In fact, he came across as wooden to me. And Hugh Jackman *mostly* hit the right notes. Considering that he has done Broadway things before, I expected a bit more from him. However, I did think he did a great job. (I just think the Oscar performance goes to Hathaway.) Amanda Seyfried also has a voice and hits notes that I can only dream of hitting. Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Banks were two Broadway performers and you could tell: they were fantastic. So the casting was pretty spot on. Crowe was the only weak spot for me, though I am not sure who you could have put in his place.

Content. Ah yes. I'm going to go on record and say that reviews I read of the movie made it seem WAY worse than it was. The main problems take place during the song, "Lovely Ladies," in which we watch the women of the street sell their "wares." There's one line of dialogue in that song that made my eyebrows raise. Big time. We do watch Fantine sell herself, but she is fully clothed as a guy forces himself on top of her. The other "scene" involves a Santa Claus; it's so quick you might be like me and nearly miss it ;-) Because it is nineteenth century France after all, the fashion definitely is low cut. I honestly thought "the girls" would come spilling out on more than one occasion.....but they never did. As to other content, I didn't catch any language and yes, there is violence. Plenty of people are shot, one of them being a young boy. In light of the recent Elementary School shootings, that might be a bit for some to stomach.

Here's the thing that surprised me. I didn't cry. Yes, you read that right. And trust me, I am a crier--no a bawler--in movies. I got teary eyed, but I wasn't sobbing. And I wondered why. I'm going to it a second time hopefully soon so maybe I will A.) cry or B.) figure out why I didn't. I do know that I missed these "cat and mouse games" between Javert and Valjean that were in other adaptations I had seen. I wanted to see Valjean breaking out of prison and getting caught. I wanted to see how Valjean had really come to detest Javert and why Javert had such drive to capture Valjean. All of that was missing for me. And I never can get past how a grown up Cozette and young Revolutionary, Marius, fall so madly in love after meeting, like, an hour before. I love romance but even that can be far fetched for me. That being said, I did like the trade off of, say, Javert singing at the very end. It gave me a glimpse into his brain and I could see why he was doing what he was (as opposed to just conjecture on my part.)

It's a beautifully well done film and one that I would gladly sit through again. At the end of the movie--and during the gorgeous "I Dreamed a Dream" song, I found myself wanting to break into applause, which I have a feeling was the emotion director Tom Hooper was going for. However, if you hate musicals, you might want to wait until it comes out on DVD. That way you can skip through "Lovelyv Ladies" and any other songs you might find boring or too long. Because, trust me, this is definitely a musical lover's type of movie! It's a gorgeous one though--one that I will be thinking about for quite some time.