Well, finally I've gotten round to watching Les Miserables, weeks after its initial release so you all probably know whether or not it's good. Don't care. I'm just wondering whether this is a 2012 or 2013 film, most sources appear to say 2012 most likely because the premiere was on the 5th of December 2012, but from what I can tell it got a full UK release on the 11th of January 2013. Seeing as how the official website says "in January 2013" (http://www.lesmiserables-movie.co.uk/?section=story), then I'll go with 2013.
Having not seen anything Les Miserables related before, I really had no idea what to expect going into this. Here we follow Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a convict on parole who decides to change his identity in order to escape his criminal past and go on a path of redemption. However lawman Javert (Russell Crow) is hot on his heels.Upon his travels Jean takes in Cosette (Isabelle Allen/Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of Fantine (Anne Hathaway), while they are badgered by Thenardier (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his wife (Helena Bonham Carter). Also Thenardier's daughter Eponine (Samantha Barks, reprising her role from the 2010 stage concert, and apparently beating Taylor Swift to the part according to her IMDB trivia) is in love with wannabee revolutionary Marius (Eddie Redmayne), but he's in love with Cosette. And since this story was originally written in 1862 (by Victor Hugo), it appears Eponine is the earliest person to ever enter the friend zone.
Wow twice in three days I've mentioned the friend zone. I need booze.
It's difficult to delve into a plot which was written over a hundred and fifty years ago, and it's certainly difficult to compare a stage version to a movie.There's a lot more you can do in a film than on stage. Well, mostly. Like Cosette and Marius falling in love so easily, it's such a cliche nowadays, and yet the word cliche probably didn't exist back in 1862. What I can say is that it is a very powerful story which delves into history, social commentary, love, anger, tension, to say it's good is an understatement. It is a story which has withstood the sands of time, it is purely that good.
I feel I need to address this before I go on, the length of the film. 'Les Miserables' stands at 158 minutes and one of the main criticisms I've heard is that this film is that it's too long. In all honesty, I felt it was rushed. It's like last year's 'The Iron Lady', here they're trying to cram nearly twenty years into three hours. Okay we don't literally follow twenty years, it's more 'eight years' later or whatever, but it still feels like we're still swapping scenes twenty times in the space of ten minutes. As for the length, I really had no problem with it, I had a tougher time sitting through 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'. That was ten minutes longer, but this film was still better in the entertainment department.
Now these are some of the most intriguing, the most interesting characters and we get some brilliant character development. From Jean searching for absolution, to the determined and sometimes obsessed Jarvet, to Fantine who will do anything for her daughter. These are some of the most fascinating characters ever devised. I don't like how Cosette and Marius fall in love so easily, I never thought I'd say this about a character since 'The Tempest's Miranda and Ferdinand, but "We've only known each other five seconds, but I know s/he's the one!".
Then there's the Thenardier's, who are a mixed bunch. Firstly, they do add some good humour, the problem is in a film filled with dark and sad emotions, it feels out of place. Then they keep popping up, which, while it keeps the humour and some familiarity, for me got very annoying. I understand why they're there, it's just, they're not good people. If it was different characters each time, then fine, I could live with that. But seeing the same two minor bad guys pop up constantly isn't that great.
The acting is good, it really is. In order to portray so many emotions, so many different aspects of the character, through song as well. Some tend to say Russell Crow is the weakest, personally I think Redmayne was the weakest. I felt Crow did an excellent job, especially when we see the scenes where we see Javert's depressed side. It's hard to see Jackman play any other role now apart from Valjean. Then again the last film I saw him in he had testicles on his throat. There has to be a mention for Anne Hathaway, she really was the best actress in this, the best example when she sings 'I Dreamed A Dream'. You can see the passion, the energy, you don't just see and hear the character, you feel the character, Hell, she sacrificed her hair for this role! Hathaway is pure perfection in this. There's only one thing I'd change:
Perfect.
The songs. They surprised me. I enjoyed them don't get me wrong, the rhythm, the tempo, the lyrics, the pure heart that was put into them. And I wasn't really expecting that going into this with a blank slate. I didn't think they'd be that memorable, but then I found myself the next day at work humming them to myself. In fact a couple of days after I've seen anything 'Les Miserables' related, and I've still got the songs in my head. The singing wasn't bad either, though Russell Crowe, he did surprise me. Not in a good way but he did surprise me. He wasn't bad, I'd like to point that out, it's just singing isn't his strong suit.
Really the only thing I can truly complain about is that the CGI I saw looked fake, the main example being the boat at the start during the rain. Though that's really it, I don't think there were many, if any, other effects which were that bad. Though that maybe because there weren't really that many effects in the film, besides the ship and gunfire.
So in the end, this film was brilliant. The acting is spectacular, the songs and singing are fantastic, the story is timeless, this is just a brilliant film. You want to know how much I enjoyed this? Immediately after I came out of the cinema, I stopped by Sainsbury's and bought the 25th anniversary concert version (2010) simply because I went in there earlier and knew they had it. If you haven't seen it, go and see it, pure and simple.
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