Anyone who's familiar with me or my blog knows I am not a lover of musicals. Or Amanda Seyfried. As such, Les Mis was never going to be a barrel of laughs for me. Add into that the storyline of whores and soldiers during the French Revolution and you have a pretty dire prospect on your hands. But factor in a best friend who has loved the stage show since she was 5 years old and now you hopefully understand my motivations for seeing this new adaptation.
The story is relatively simple to follow. Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) was imprisoned 19 years ago for stealing bread to feed his sisters child. We meet him as he is being released from prison by the fierce lawman Javert (Russell Crowe). Shortly after his release and unable to find work Jean soon finds he must steal again, but an act of kindness from the man he wrongs leads him down a path he never thought he'd know. He breaks parole but becomes a better man in the new life he leads. We find him years later running a factory but still dodging re-capture by Javert. A woman working in his factory, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), becomes a whore through no fault of her own and he makes her a promise on her deathbed to take in her child, Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) and care for her as if she was his own. A task he commits to until Javert discovers him and threatens to tear all of their worlds apart.
Set to the backdrop of the French Revolution, the film features sumptuous costumes, stunning sets and all of the classic songs from the musical which, whether you've seen it or not, you'll find you somehow still know the words to I Dreamed A Dream, Master Of The House, On My Own and Do You Hear the People Sing? The film also features some new songs but these never quite fit with the originals.
The actors put their all into their respective roles but there is still something silly to me when they suddenly burst into song or sing lines that you feel should be spoken. I must admit though that I fell to pieces when Anne Hathaway sang I Dreamed A Dream. I'd heard that the majority of songs had been performed live on set when they were filming, and I must say that this worked perfectly in the case of this song as Hathaway's performance was so raw in this scene that you felt every emotion in the lyrics. I was literally sobbing when that scene came to an end and it took me some time to compose myself. The rousing cast numbers definitely made you want to join in and as such I think a singalong Les Mis would probably be very well received by fans.
Seyfried wasn't so bad and Eddie Redmayne who I'd previously thought of as being slightly creepy was similarly watchable. The most annoying performance for me was that of Russell Crowe. He was just too pompous as Javert and seemed to be shouting his songs. Definitely the least talented singer of the bunch but he tried and I give him snaps for that.
I think if you're a fan of the musical, slightly curious or a fan of the actors involved then you definitely shouldn't miss seeing Les Mis. If you hate musicals or depressing films then avoid it like the plague! 7 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 11th January 2013
UK Release Date - 11th January 2013
Cast Overview:
Hugh Jackman ~ Jean Valjean
Russell Crowe ~ Javert
Anne Hathaway ~ Fantine
Amanda Seyfried ~ Cosette
Sacha Baron Cohen ~ Thénardier
Helena Bonham Carter ~ Madame Thénardier
Eddie Redmayne ~ Marius
Aaron Tveit ~ Enjolras
Samantha Banks ~ Éponine
Daniel Huttlestone ~ Gavroche
Director ~ Tom Hooper
Writer(s) ~ Claude-Michel Schönberg (book), Alain Boublil (book and original French text), Victor Hugo (novel), Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics), Jean-Marc Natel (original French text), James Fenton (additional text) and William Nicholson (screenplay)
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