Plot
After spending 19 years in prison for stealing bread, Jean Valjean begins a new life under a new identity. Life is good until an Inspector who knew him as a prisoner comes to Valjean’s new home. Valjean then embarks on a journey as he cares for a woman’s daughter and raises her as his own.
Pros
Hugh Jackman blew me away as Jean Valjean. I mean he would be a shoo-in for the award if Daniel Day-Lewis hadn’t been Lincoln. His nomination makes the Award ceremony special actually interesting this year. Another actress that blew me away was Samantha Barks. I’ve never heard or seen her before and I thought her singing and acting was very good. I thought Anne Hathaway was pretty good too, I think she might have shown the most emotion in the movie, which made some of her songs sound bad, but the emotion adds to the movie. The music reminded me a lot of rock’n'roll, not the sound, but the imperfection that leads to perfection. I think Russell Crowe did a great job as the antagonist.
The film’s overall look was pretty fantastic. It looked and felt real because it was dark and run-down in many places. There were some shots that looked and felt like they were shot on green-screen, but that’s fine. The story was interesting, but very long.
Cons
Russell Crowe was great acting-wise but if you’re watching this for the music, then you’re going to be disappointed with him. He was clearly not born to sing, or at least sing in this movie. I didn’t mind it too much though, as I felt that he brought the emotion to the role, which is more important. The movie is long and boring at many point. I couldn’t stop yawning at some scenes and I nearly fell asleep one, and I’m the kind of person who can’t sleep during the day.
As far as directing goes, Tom Hooper’s shots are often too close up. It also felt like everything was being shot at an angle, or someone couldn’t keep the camera straight. I didn’t like that.
Fun Fact: Amanda Seyfried and Anne Hathaway have performed songs with Hugh Jackman at the Academy Awards, though not all together.
Related articles
- Les Misèrables (2012) (pilgrimswatch.wordpress.com)
- Les Misérables (2012) (canadiancinephile.com)
- Review: Les Miserables (2012) (cinephilesunite.wordpress.com)
- I dreamed a dream in time gone by, Les Miserables was worth reviewing (todayiwatchedamovie.wordpress.com)
- “Les Miserables” (2012) – Review (victorsmoviereviews.com)
- Les Miserables Review: My Favorite Musical Since Chicago (rorschachreviews.com)
Lol, Russel Crowe’s singing gets no love. I personally was way more annoyed with Eddie Redmayne’s singing, but that’s just me.
Thanks for the link and good review
Redmayne’s singing wasn’t too great either, but I thought it was OK at times. I found it odd that at times his singing was pretty and low but at other times he was near falsetto. It didn’t sound intentional.
Thanks for reading.
Reblogged this on Bishop Review and commented:
A friend told me that this wasn’t showing up on his blog reader. So for all the interested parties that have not seen the review, I hope you enjoy.
I thought Russell Crowe’s talk/singing worked well with his acting for this film, but I think anyone would have struggled with how good Hugh Jackman is!
Yeah, Jackman just blew me away. This year really featured some of the best performance when it came to acting. Both Jackman and Day-Lewis were amazing and there are countless other actors and actresses who gave mind blowing performances. Thanks for reading.
I’m really looking forward to seeing Day-Lewis in Lincoln. Looks like it’s going to be such a shame for Jackman Oscar winning wise!
There’s a point in Lincoln where you forget that you’re watching a movie. That’s one of the few times it’s ever happened to me. Though with Les Mis, after a while I forgot that I was watching a movie and thought it was a play.Which is hopefully what Tom Hooper was going for, either that or I’m going crazy.
I think Hooper wanted you to know for sure the actors were actually singing,
Yeah. I know a lot of musicals are accused of using different singers or touching up the sound beyond recognition. It’s nice to know this film will never get accused of that.
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