Les Miserables is a long running, well established stage musical, now retold for film. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway lead the cast in this epic sing off, almost as long as the musical itself.
A petty thief Jean Valjean (Jackman) comes out of jail after a long spell inside only to continue his crime spree. When a chance encounter with a Priest who lets him off from stealing all his silver, with the proviso that he uses all the stolen silver to change his life for good. Valjean takes this one in a lifetime chance and becomes a model citizen, runs his own business under the new guise of Mr Le Mer. When a young lady is fired from his factory because of the jealousy of the other female workers, thus starts a long walk down into hell as we watch Fantine (Hathaway) fall into prostitution to get any money for her young daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried).
Valjean agrees to take on destitute Fantine’s burden after she falls terminally ill, thus forging his new relationship as father to Cosette. All of this happens in the midst of the French Revolution. We then see Cosette in the future falling in love with a revolution warrior Marius (Eddie Redmayne).
I love a musical but this interpretation has made me love it on stage more. It just doesn’t translate on film. The constant singing even in conversation does grate on my nerves. Jackman and Hathaway are fantastic in this film, they act to the 100th degree, musical theatre dripping from their pores. Some great acting from Redmayne and Samantha Barks as his unrequited love interest. Unfortunately the good parts together do not make a completely amazing finished product. Seyfried’s shrill singing was so high and out of tone, I thought all the glass in the cinema was going to shatter. Just not necessary at all.
Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen were not required in the whole film, it’s a bleak story and we don’t need some light entertainment in there. It was just stupid and bought the whole film down.
If you like this kind of thing, go for it but personally it was a bit average and I have seen better.
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