Les Misérables

Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks

Dir. Tom Hooper
Scr. Based on musical of same name, which is based on book of same name by Victor Hugo.

The funniest thing I read about this glorious film is that it was too bombastic. Excuse me? A musical in the truest sense of the word, not short of religious sentiment, set against the backdrop of revolution, about love and redemption. If it wasn’t bombastic I would have asked for my money back. Right from the opening scene, we are swept away by the grandeur of it all. But, much to Hooper’s credit, Les Misérables is also incredibly intimate. Please don’t see this film if you are one to scoff at sung dialogue or overwrought emotion. THIS IS MUSICAL THEATRE! Trust me, there is nothing here for you poor soulless types. Everyone else – see it. See it now.

Set in early nineteen century France, Les Misérables is the story of Jean Valjean (Jackman), a French peasant set free after serving nineteen years of hard labour for stealing a loaf of bread. Valjean reinvents himself as a respectable businessman and community leader, but continues to be haunted and hunted by police inspector Javert (Crowe). A part of his journey of redemption is the adoption of the daughter of one of ex-employees, Fantine (Hathaway), who he feels responsible for condemning to a life of poverty. Running alongside Valjean’s tale is the story of a group of young revolutionary idealists hell bent on taking France back for the common man. Please be warned – this is not a jolly tale. It’s full of filth and grime and heartache and death. Some critics have called it miserable. Ah, yes. It’s right there in the title.

As I said above, this movie is grand. It’s big and bold and relentless. It is a blockbuster in exactly the same exhausting way that Iron Man is and much more so than any other musical has been in recent memory. Hooper has taken full advantage of his medium and we have a Les Misérables that we could never have on the stage. But much more impressive, in my opinion, was the intimacy he was able to achieve by choosing to do that other thing that is impossible on the stage – the extreme close up. When Hathaway sings I Dreamed A Dream or Redmayne sings Empty Chairs At Empty Tables, we get up close and personal and the emotion is suddenly right in our faces. Which is, to say the least, intense. And here is Hooper’s masterstroke – his cast are all singing live. This isn’t all that new, but it certainly hasn’t been done in a big movie musical for quite some time. Obviously, you need a cast you can sing extremely well. Or quite well and can act themselves out of any weaknesses they might have. For the most part, Hooper has that. The raw emotion of a four-minute close up song, sung live, is amazing. And, for me, provide the high points of the movie.

Les Misérables is packed full with great performances. Jackman said in his Golden Globe acceptance speech that he very nearly told Hooper to find someone else, that he wasn’t up to the job. Which was really quite amusing – there is no one else! If Jackman couldn’t have pulled off the central role of Valjean, I’m not sure there is anyone out there that had even half a chance. He is commanding and larger than life, but also vulnerable and damaged. Brilliant, as expected. What I didn’t quite expect was the brilliance of some of the others. Hathaway and Redmayne are simply exceptional. Much has been said of Hathaway’s performance and, in particular, that song. You will not be disappointed. Redmayne’s Empty Chairs, though, was at least as good. Better perhaps, if you take into account all that has happened in the scenes preceding. Seyfried, Tveit and Barks are all extremely good. Providing us with some sorely needed comic relief, Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter are hilarious and brilliant. It has to be said, and it has been said again and again, the weak point here is Crowe. I suppose I suspected this going in so perhaps didn’t judge him too harshly. There is no doubt he doesn’t have the range and projection of Jackman. But he certainly didn’t ruin the scenes he was in and his raspy, restrained, soft rock voice suited his repressed, straight-laced, dark character. But I don’t doubt he will annoy a great many Les Misérables fanatics.

Les Misérables is an emotional, action-packed roller coaster. A blockbuster. I nearly cried four times but held myself together. Until the end … when I simply couldn’t contain the sobbing. I think you’ll know whether this is a movie for you. And if you’re not sure, see it anyway. You certainly get plenty of bang for your buck.

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Fantine: I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I’m living.