The legacy of Les Misérables precedes even the earliest film adaptation (1909) by decades, and the burden placed on Tom Hooper and his cast and crew is enormous. Through innovative musical filming and stellar performances, Les Misérables is a worthy representation of the award-winning Broadway show. That being said, the music is overemphasized at the partial expense of narration. Well cast and well sung, this film does have some stand-out sequences, yet the overall plot is dampened and some of the more literary aspects of the novel lost. None the less, Les Misérables is still an outstanding musical, perhaps one of the best in years.
Les Misérables follows the epic tale of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a convict released on parole after serving a nineteen-year sentence. After an act of generosity by a priest in a small church atop a hill, Valjean swears to change his life, and breaks his parole in order to start an honest life with a new identity. Javert (Russell Crowe), a prison guard and later policeman who released Valjean, dedicates his life to capturing the escaped convict. After eight long years Valjean has become a factory owner in the small town of Montreuil-sur-Mer. When Fantine (Anne Hathaway), a worker in his factory, is discovered to be sending money to her illegitimate daughter Cosette, who lives with the cruel innkeepers named the Thénardiers. Fantine is fired and has to resort to selling her hair, and later prostitution, simply to be able to support her daughter Cosette. At her bedside in the hospital, Jean Valjean promises Fantine that he will find Cosette and care of her daughter.
Nine years later, we meet Marius (Eddie Redmayne) and his fellow revolutionaries, who plot to begin a French rebellion against the autocrats. One day in the street he gazes upon a beautiful young lady, the fair Cosette (now played by Amanda Seyfried), and instantly falls in love. While Parisians have yet to grasp the concept of revolution as laid out by Marius’ group of idealist friends, they instead construct a barricade in a small alleyway and fight to the death against the army. Jean Valjean confronts Javert again, this time with Valjean as the voice of ethical righteousness, this confrontation forces Javert to question the morality of his civic duties. The film concludes in the aftermath of a battle, but really is set in the pause before a war begins.
Les Misérables follows the epic tale of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a convict released on parole after serving a nineteen-year sentence. After an act of generosity by a priest in a small church atop a hill, Valjean swears to change his life, and breaks his parole in order to start an honest life with a new identity. Javert (Russell Crowe), a prison guard and later policeman who released Valjean, dedicates his life to capturing the escaped convict. After eight long years Valjean has become a factory owner in the small town of Montreuil-sur-Mer. When Fantine (Anne Hathaway), a worker in his factory, is discovered to be sending money to her illegitimate daughter Cosette, who lives with the cruel innkeepers named the Thénardiers. Fantine is fired and has to resort to selling her hair, and later prostitution, simply to be able to support her daughter Cosette. At her bedside in the hospital, Jean Valjean promises Fantine that he will find Cosette and care of her daughter.
Nine years later, we meet Marius (Eddie Redmayne) and his fellow revolutionaries, who plot to begin a French rebellion against the autocrats. One day in the street he gazes upon a beautiful young lady, the fair Cosette (now played by Amanda Seyfried), and instantly falls in love. While Parisians have yet to grasp the concept of revolution as laid out by Marius’ group of idealist friends, they instead construct a barricade in a small alleyway and fight to the death against the army. Jean Valjean confronts Javert again, this time with Valjean as the voice of ethical righteousness, this confrontation forces Javert to question the morality of his civic duties. The film concludes in the aftermath of a battle, but really is set in the pause before a war begins.
Director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) had his actors perform all of their songs live in costume and on set. This obviously created some difficulty in the organisation and recording I can imagine, but the decision pays off by giving us some excellent musical performances. The most outstanding of musical numbers is Anne Hathaway’s rendition of the famed “I Dreamed a Dream”, at which point Fantine has lowered herself to prostitution and has little left to lose save for her daughter. Hathaway is so powerful in this song alone that I wouldn’t be surprised if she received an Oscar for her performance, despite her character’s short amount of screen-time.
While the music of Les Misérables is fantastic, and performances from Hugh Jackman to Samantha Barks are all superb, the film still feels lacking in certain areas. Firstly, the emotional peak in the film seems to be Anne Hathaway’s early song, and the ending is not as emotive or cathartic as it could be. Also, with such emphasis on musical performance, the plot is often valued second. While this pays off in terms of providing us with a steady of flow of wonderful music, it also means that we don’t care as much for the storyline and that the lengthily film doesn’t quite carry its own weight all the way through its 157 minutes. That being said, Les Misérables is still a fantastic musical with emotional and vocal power.
While the music of Les Misérables is fantastic, and performances from Hugh Jackman to Samantha Barks are all superb, the film still feels lacking in certain areas. Firstly, the emotional peak in the film seems to be Anne Hathaway’s early song, and the ending is not as emotive or cathartic as it could be. Also, with such emphasis on musical performance, the plot is often valued second. While this pays off in terms of providing us with a steady of flow of wonderful music, it also means that we don’t care as much for the storyline and that the lengthily film doesn’t quite carry its own weight all the way through its 157 minutes. That being said, Les Misérables is still a fantastic musical with emotional and vocal power.