"Les Miserables" Review

The latest from director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) is an adaptation of the famous Broadway musical Les Miserables by Boublil and Schonberg. For those who don't know, it chronicles a criminal named Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) as he rebuilds his life over roughly twenty years, climaxing at the dawn of the French Revolution. Along the way, Valjean dodges multiple confrontations with the French policeman Javert (Russell Crowe), a man determined to see him locked up again. Valjean also becomes the benefactor of young Cosette (Isabelle Allen / Amanda Seyfried) whose mother (Anne Hathaway) dies from what can be assumed as complications from HIV/AIDS.

It's a much bigger film than Hooper's King's Speech, but he's able to pull it off magnificently. At first I had some second thoughts. I didn't realize going in that literally every line in the film, save maybe seven, is presented in song. That's two and a half hours of nonstop singing. The stage adaptation must be the same way, because I was expecting a typical musical (scenes of dialogue culminating in song). Boy, was I off the mark, but that's not so much the film's fault as my own. I didn't dislike Les Miserables for straying from my expectations. In fact, it turned out to be one of the grandest, most magnificent pictures of the year.

I became truly hooked after the first forty-five minutes when Anne Hathaway sang "I Dreamed A Dream". Positively incredible. I had no idea she had such talent. Her rendition knocked me flat and got me emotionally invested for the next two hours. That five minutes alone, to me, was worth the price of admission.

Suffice it to say, that's probably my favorite scene. I also enjoyed Javert and Valjean's confrontation in the hospital, as well as just about any scene with the revolutionaries at the barricade. Young Daniel Huttlestone is marvelously entertaining as Gavroche. 

I can't say I was surprised to see Helena Bonham Carter, essentially reprising her role from Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, as the wife of the innkeeper Thenardier (Sacha Baron Cohen). The duo seem to play such similar characters all the time, and things really aren't different here. Bonham Carter and Baron Cohen are up to their usual demented hilarity once again, complete with shoddy makeup and tattered, flamboyant 19th century clothing.

As I mentioned, I wish there had been more dialogue instead of constant singing. For me, it started to get a little annoying and seemed to make an already intimidating 2.5 hours seem like well over three. Such an approach would have kept Les Miserables fresh, but again, this is an adaptation of the classic stage musical. I won't discredit the filmmakers for not satisfying my own ignorant expectations. In fact, I thank them for showing me just how brilliant a musical this is. It also confirmed my belief that 2012 has been an incredible year for movies, and I hope for more of the same in 2013.

See Les Miz on the big screen soon. It's nominated for numerous awards, including 4 Golden Globes.

3.5 OF 4 STARS

(P.S. I forgot to mention that Hooper's style is certainly on display here. Anyone who's seen The King's Speech might remember the cinematography. Hooper chooses to frame his shots in ways that present a fascinating contrast to the viewer. For example he will place a medium shot of an actor who is situated to the right or left of the frame against a background of solid color (in Les Miz it's often white or blue). His close-ups are often framed in a similar manner.)