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Les Misérables
2 hours, 38 minutes
Musical/Drama, 2012
Directed by Tom Hooper
Starring
Hugh Jackman as Jean Veljean
Russell Crowe as Javert
Anne Hathaway as Fantine
Amanda Seyfried as (Adult) Cosette
Eddie Redmayne as Marius
Samantha Barks as Éponine
Sacha Baron Cohen as Thénardier
Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thénardier
"I had a dream my life would be so much different from this hell I'm living, so different now from what it seemed... Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."
When the movie first ended and Tom Hooper's name appeared onscreen, I thought "holy shit that was awesome," but then I started to think about it. I find Les Mis to be a bit of a complex movie to review, seeing as it is a relatively well known story and this is the first time I've ever seen it. But it's still a movie, so let's take a stab at it.
I've been trying to come up with a word that properly describes the movie but all I could think of were words cornier than a cornfield in Indiana: Love, hope, dreams, etc etc. It occurred to me that these are words they used in promotions, so bugger all, the movie's advertisements did their job because I actually felt that when I was watching. Les Mis exceeds in bringing powerful emotions onscreen, hell, I almost cried a couple of times in the really depressing parts.
There are, in my mind, THREE reasons Hooper was able to pull of this emotional stuff.
1) Fantastic performances by everyone, especially Anne Hathaway. If she doesn't get an Oscar there'll be riots in the streets. Her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream was, without a doubt, the highlight of the entire movie. Hugh Jackman as the title character Jean Veljean, was impressive as well, and will surely reap the awards he so deserves.
2) All (at least I think all, if not all than most) of the music sung onscreen was actually sung while being filmed. It's all live recording, none of this singing in a booth shit like it's usually done. This really brings out performances, seeing as they're not just singing from prerecorded music, but rather the actors are able to act and change up their singing at a moments notice. It's very beneficial to the film.
3) The cinematography was fantastic, but what does this have to do with the emotion of the film? Shut up, I'll tell you. Because the singing is live, many of the more intimate songs are sung on single takes, and those takes are kept in the film, for the most part. The shots are close and tight, thus making for a far more intimate experience. Not only that, but there's an unusual sense of space in the movie, something that I'm finding very difficult to describe, but it is, in a word, beautiful. I've said before that Roger Deakins should win for Skyfall, but cinematographer Danny Cohen is giving him a run for his money, I can tell you that much.
The music in Les Mis is simply beautiful. It's one of those musicals in which everything is sung, there are no lengthy dialogue sessions of any kind. And it keeps you on your toes, something I've never really felt in watching a musical. Most of the singing is solid, with an... unusual performance by Russell Crowe. He can carry a tune, which is the nice way of saying he's good at making you believe that he can kind of sing... personally, I liked it. It wasn't perfect and he definitely can't hit the high notes but his performance is solid, and I really enjoyed his singing, but I know others will disagree with me on that.
And then there's Anne Hathaway. Holy fucking fuck, she was the best part of the whole goddamn movie. Actually. Give this girl an Academy Award, she was absolutely fantastic. Remember when I said I almost cried? Yeah, she almost made me cry. The tears were there, but then the song ended.
However, Les Mis suffers from "true love" syndrome. I KNOW it's a movie, but you can't just look at someone and know they're your true love. That shit only happens... fuck... that shit only happens in movies. Dammit I just countered my own argument. They look at each other from across the street and think "I wanna marry that persona and love them forever" but that ain't how shit works. If you wanna be The Princess Bride then at least allow the characters to get to know each other to SOME extent before true-loving them off to each other. I mean, COME ON, that ain't how shit works even in musicals... except they get away with it quite a bit in musicals... Whatever. I think I'm bugged by it because Cosette doesn't have enough shit to do in the movie. She's just kind of there, used as a plot device and redemption for Jean Veljean, which is pretty important, but when she has the opportunity to do shit, she doesn't.
And then there's the other girl who literally does nothing for the movie except be jealous of Cosette. She sings a bunch, but I didn't really feel much for here when she died because she's not that important to the story. Whatever. At least she was attractive and sung beautifully.
The revolution scenes are spectacular. It's clear that this was a massive production, and it succeeded on all fronts. The battles feel epic, and the score behind the singing is fantastic. The singing and chanting makes you feel ready to join them in battle, it's just that powerful.
Overall, I would definitely call Les Mis a flawed movie, but certainly not a bad one. It really is beautiful, a word that I don't use often when talking about movies, and definitely worth checking out, even if you're not that into musicals. It runs a bit long at times, but it doesn't bring the experience down. You might be pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it is. I certainly was.
"Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!"
9.2/10
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