Les Miserables (2012)

This is an incredibly intimidating production to review, in part because the film itself is an epic onslaught on the senses, but also because there is so much to talk about and its hard to know where to start. Which makes me wonder, where do I start? Well, at the beginning I guess…

Les Miserables, or ‘Les Mis’ as it is known in the theatre-loving world, is a musical production based on the 19th century novel by Victor Hugo which chronicles the life of Jean Valjean, a convicted bread-thief who, after serving 19 years for his “crime”, is freed and sets out to create a new life under the guidance of God. This does not go down well with Russell Crowe’s character, Jalvert, who makes it his life mission to track Valjean and send him back to prison. This is where our story begins, though certainly not where it ends, for it sets in motion a whole host of events which involve saving tragic-Fantine’s orphan child Cossette and raising her in the midst of a French Revolution. Like I said, there's a lot to get your head around…

Director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) does so though, and with incredible flair and an imagination and determination which ensured that this multiple Oscar-winning production will go down in film history. Here Hooper has assembled an incredibly talented set of actors and brought to life one of the most celebrated novels and theatre-productions in history, for the screen. The typical course of action on a musical production, especially one of this magnitude, is to pre-record the soundtrack and have the stars lip-sync on set. Here, however, Hooper took a different approach and recorded every song live on set, in order to capture the spontaneity and emotional responses of the actors – a move which has been praised by both his cast and critics alike. A feat like this has never been attempted before, making Hooper, ironically enough, somewhat of a revolutionary…

The shining stars of Les Miserables, these two showcased their broadway credentials and earned Oscar nominations in the process.

The cast make an outstanding job of bringing to life these inspiring characters, even down to the last revolutionary extra – most of whom are made up of West End extras that starred in the various stage versions this story has inspired. Hugh Jackman plays his part of reformed criminal and surrogate father Valjean with an intense-zeal that made it hard to believe any acting was involved at all, Jackman lived and breathed this character and the passion with which he brought this character to life emphasises this fact. Jackman’s final scenes are excruciatingly painful to witness, because he imbues them with such pain and vulnerability. I really do wonder how he missed out on an Oscar for this performance, because it was certainly well-deserved. One Oscar-winning performance, however, comes from America’s quintessential girl-next-door Anne Hathaway who takes on the brief but cutting role of Fantine. Her rendition of ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ is simply exquisite. There really are no other words for it. I won’t lie, usually I’m not a big fan of Hathaway, for reasons I’m not quite sure of, but in this film those feelings are swept aside by her visceral performance of the tragic Fantine. Perhaps she shone in this film to an Oscar-worthy level because so much of her performance was method. She endured a great deal of physical transformation in order to do justice to her character and that really shows in her performance. Hathaway’s Fantine is pure empathy. She lives the life of that character, and because of this, so do we, the stunned-into-silence audience. Another casting-choice worthy of commendation is that of Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen, who are reunited after their starring turn in Sweeney Todd (another stage to screen adaptation), who inject this film with a little comedy to lighten the load. This comedy-duo are truly marvellous, their hyperbolic idiocy and conning-cunning are just what this film needs to relieve some of its emotional burden. Though perhaps not the most talented musical performers in the entire cast, this fact is of little consequence, because without them, and I mean these two actors specifically, this film might’ve fallen a little flat. We all need a little comedy in our lives to ward off the desolation after all, and who better to provide that than Carter and Cohen?

A visually stunning scene in which our revolutionary heroes begin the battle for freedom.

The aesthetic quality of the film is also something to marvel at, from the reconstruction of the streets and alleyways of revolutionary France down to the costume design and makeup. The films aesthetics feel authentic to a 19th century France fighting poverty and the right-to-freedom. Hooper isn’t afraid to make his actors look unbecoming, in fact he welcomes it, and this attention to detail is what makes him the fantastic and fearless director he is. I particularly admired the barricade scene in which we see our revolutionary heroes/victims throw together a shoddy wall of furniture behind which they defend themselves from the armies they fight against. The scene felt raw and thrown-together – which I 100% mean as a compliment! The period detail is excellent and every person who was involved truly deserves a pat on the back (that’s a very English sentiment from me, not one I usually express…)

All-in-all this film is truly amazing and I only hope I’ve managed to convey my awe for this film and the admiration I feel for both the actors and the director. If you haven’t already, which I find hard to believe, then please make it your mission to see this film – you won’t regret it, even if you’re not really a fan of musical productions.

Best moment/s: (I know I say this every time, but there really were WAY too many to choose from, though I have managed to cut it down to two…)

#1 The first scene in which we are greeted by the comedy-duo Carter and Cohen – they regale us with the song ‘Master of the House’ and really make it their own. A fantastic stand-out performance.
#2 The final scene of the film in which we are reunited with the sadly departed of the cast, and they sing one of the greatest musical songs in history ‘Do you hear the people sing?’. If you don’t shed a tear or two over this then there is something wrong with you. That’s blunt, but true. Sorry.

To cut a long story short…
Would I recommend this film? Well I think the answer is fairly obvious, but YES! A film ramblers star rating? 

That’s it for now folks…