Movie Review: Les Misérables
Since its debut in 1980, Les Misérables, the musical based on the 1862 French novel of the same title by Victor Hugo, has become a true phenomenon of the stage. And like many fans of Les Mis, as it’s colloquially known, I wondered if the long-rumored movie adaptation would ever emerge from the depths of development hell. In March 2011, it was announced that Tom Hooper, director of Red Dust (2004), The Damned United (2009), and The King’s Speech (2010) would be taking on Les Mis as his next project, and I started to get excited about it. When Hooper began putting together his cast, all the choices seemed like great fits for their roles, and my anticipation grew even more. Well, I’m happy to report that the wait was worth it. Les Misérables is an excellent film, and easily one of the best dramatic musicals to come out of Hollywood in the last decade.
Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a man who was arrested for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family, is finally released from Toulon prison after nineteen years. After being helped by a kindly bishop, Valjean breaks his parole and sets out to create a new life for himself. He ends up becoming a factory owner and mayor of a small town, and after learning that Fantine (Anne Hathaway), a young woman who worked in his factory, has been forced into prostitution, he promises to take care of Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), the woman’s illegitimate daughter. All this time, Valjean is being hunted by the ruthless policeman Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe). The pursuit ends up consuming the lives of both men, and after nearly two decades on the run, Valjean finds himself in the midst of the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris.
One of the key components to the film’s success is the great ensemble that Hooper and company have put together. The anchor of the cast is definitely Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, who is the absolute perfect choice for the role. He has exactly the combination of physical presence and soulfulness the character needs. People who are only familiar with Jackman from his role as Wolverine in the X-Men series will be in for a surprise here, when they see what an amazing singer he is. While some people expressed doubt over the casting of Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert, I think he’s done a really good job, and he makes a great adversary for Jackman. Anne Hathaway is amazing as Fantine, and the physical transformation she made for the role is just incredible. Amanda Seyfried as Cosette and Eddie Redmayne as Marius also did a great job, despite having less screen time than some of the other major characters, and really helped me get invested in their love story. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter do an excellent job of playing the Thénardiers – the closest thing to real villains in the story – two characters who are both utterly despicable and often quite funny. Samantha Barks as Éponine, the Thénardiers kind-hearted daughter, was a real standout for me, and absolutely holds her own against her more experienced costars. I also have to be sure to mention child actress Isabelle Allen, who really impressed me with her performance as young Cosette. And in a nice piece of casting, Colm Wilkinson, the original Jean Valjean from the Broadway and West End musical productions of Les Mis, makes a cameo as the Bishop of Digne, the man who helps put Valjean on the path to redemption.
As anyone who is familiar with the original stage version would expect, the music in the film is really incredible. I’m sure there were some raised eyebrows when it was announced that the actors would be singing live on set, rather than lip-syncing to prerecorded tracks. But the experiment has paid off very well, and it gives the songs an extra edge of rawness and immediacy. Just as it did when I first watched the film’s teaser trailer, Anne Hathaway’s rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” literally gave me goose bumps. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter’s take on “Master of the House” made me laugh out loud. “Do You Hear the People Sing?” made my heart soar. I could go on and on, but it’s better for me to let all of you witness these performances for yourselves.
If you will pardon me using a rather clichéd phrase, the movie is truly a feast for the eyes as well as the ears. The production design by Eve Stewart is absolutely beautiful, and all the settings look completely authentic and believable. I also appreciated the fact that the film takes advantage of the elements – rain, snow, water, wind, etc. – in ways that could never have been done on stage. When Valjean and his fellow prisoners are pulling the ship into the dock, they’re really standing in the surf and being battered by waves. When young Cosette is sent out into the woods, she’s really in the middle of a snowy forest. And when Éponine and Marius say their tearful farewells, they’re really soaked to the bone with rain falling down around them.
Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables.” © 2012 – Universal Pictures.
While this is a very good film, it definitely does have some flaws. First off, this is a very long film, and while I didn’t have a problem with this, I can definitely see how this could detract from the experience for some people; unlike the stage production, here you don’t get an intermission in the middle of the show. While I thought he did a good job overall with the role of Javert, Russell Crowe’s singing voice does seem a little weak at times, at least compared to his extremely talented costars. It’s not that he ever sounds bad; it just seems that some parts of Javert’s songs fall outside of Crowe’s comfortable vocal range. I also thought the filmmakers could have gone farther with the old-age makeup for Valjean in the last portion of the story. Hugh Jackman is only forty-four and quite handsome, and it’s going to take more than some gray hair and a few wrinkles to hide that fact. Finally, in the scene at Toulon prison at the beginning of the film, I thought some of the VFX shots of the ships looked dodgy. Fortunately, that scene was the only time this issue came up.
But make no mistake, this is a great movie that I would recommend to everyone who’s old enough to handle the subject matter. Fans of Les Mis have been waiting a long time for this day, and I’m so glad that our wait was not in vain and our patience has been rewarded. With a great cast, amazing music, impressive visuals, and a timeless story, Les Misérables is without a doubt one of the highlights of this holiday movie season.
Timothy Monforton
