Tom Hooper’s “Les Misérables” lacks subtlety, dialogue, and editing (158 minutes is, in fact, uncomfortably long), however, certain actors and moments and the epic nature of the project make it worth the price of admission.
The operatic nature of the film (originally based on Victor Hugo’s novel) holds back some actors from greatness and comes across as comical in some scenes. Every word of “Les Mis” is sung. Although Hugh Jackman (the main character, Jean Valjean) does a magnificent job in this film, sometimes his acting skills are hidden behind the silliness of his vocal lines.
The main themes of “Les Mis” are obvious and familiar. The boundary between good and evil is too clear: the good guy (Jean Valjean) must live morally in order to serve God and ultimately receive salvation. All of the film’s ideas or lessons are familiar and become exasperatingly more familiar after the two and a half hours in the theatre.
Anne Hathaway, although only on screen for the first thirty minutes or so, nearly makes the film worth seeing all by herself. Hathaway stars as Fantine, a woman who is forced to turn to prostitution in order to support her daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen, Amanda Seyfried). The intimately shot scene where Hathaway sings “I Dreamed A Dream” is fiercely beautiful and emotional.
Hathaway, Jackman and Russell Crowe (bad military guy, Javert) all act magnificently. Unfortunately, the men’s performances are hindered some by their singing. Neither are professional vocalists and it is often uncomfortably obvious.
Although Amanda Seyfried gives a dull performance of her arguably dull character (Cosette), Daniel Huttlestone’s small yet exciting role makes up for this. He plays a child revolutionary rebel (Gavroche) and is one of the most fun actors to watch. He is naturally likeable and his stage death is one of the most heartbreaking.
Although it is flawed, “Les Misérables” is destined for countless Oscar nominations. And though it probably won’t be remembered as the best film of the year, it will be remembered as one of the biggest.
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