Les Misérables - Review

This review was supposed to be in fact be about John Q which I watched a couple of weeks ago, but I went to see Les Misérable’s yesterday evening and I couldn’t help but review it straight away! So here goes;

This new adaptation of the French novel and longest running musical on the west end has been highly rated by many critics and with a cast including awarding winning Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Helena Bonham Carter it is not much of a surprise. After seeing this film for the first time yesterday the cast and a basic knowledge of the storyline was all I had to go on as I have not seen it performed on stage or read the highly acclaimed novel. However my little knowledge about the films background did not leave me disappointed, I found it to be a thriving film of emotion and brilliant performances from the cast.

Directed by British director Tom Hooper most famous for his 2010 film The Kings Speech, Les Misérable’s is set in 19^th century France and follows the life of ex convict Jean Valjean, caring for orphan Cosette, after a promise he made to her dying mother. The film focuses on the trials he faces trying to get back on his feet whilst looking after this young girl and avoiding capture again after breaking his parole. About the storyline, all I have to say was that there was a lot to take in throughout the film, not just due to its length but also because of the vast number of characters and the time scale it revolves around. Personally I did not mind too much about all of this as I feel that it gave the film a certain impact that would not have been put across as well had any of these things varied. It was an in depth story which involved thought to comprehend, which is never a bad thing when watching a film.

The large number of characters meant that the performances given by everyone can in some cases be seen as “short and sweet” for instance, Anne Hathaways character, Fantine, is only seen in the first half of the film, and yet she has won both the Bafta, Oscar and Acadamy Award for best supporting actress, which was 100% deserved. The only two characters which are in fact shown from beginning to end throughout the film are Jean Valjean (Jackman) and Javert (Crowe) each of the other characters only appear in a small number of scenes depending on the character. One actor within this film that I feel deserves much more credit for his performance was Eddie Redmayne, his character is one which requires power and emotion and in my opinion Redmaynes performance was no short of brilliance. (Watch out for him people, I predict he will be huge!! and Daniel Huttlestone!)

Emotionally, this film needs to be tackled with a box of tissues, I am not one who cries often in the cinema and so this new experience startled me a little. Every emotion I can pretty much think of is related to in one way or another throughout the film: pride, happiness, love, grief, honour, dishonour, conscience! Somehow and someway I am sure that almost every emotion is linked into this film, and that is no doubt the reason behind it tugging on your heartstrings willing a tear to fall. I am not sure if all this emotion within one film is a good thing, especially for those who can get teary eyed over less emotional scenes, but boy does it have an impact!

Tom Hoopers decision to shoot the scenes with live singing was absolute genius, it showed the raw emotion behind each performance and song that would  not have been shown had they been shot lip singing. His brilliant decisions with this and the casting of the film lead me to question his lack of nominations throughout award season for best director. Surely a nomination couldn’t have hurt? After all, the film was brilliant.