Les Misérables

The people that go to the cinema to see Les Misérables can be split into two categories; those who have seen and are fans of the stage musical, and those who are unfamiliar with Les Misérables’ theatre-origins. I fall into the former group. My mum took me to see Les Misérables in London when I was 10 years old and I completely fell in love.

The songs were soul-stirring, the story was enthralling, and I honestly don’t know how many times I’ve listened to the soundtrack and watched both of the 10th and 25th anniversary concert DVDs. Needless to say, when it was announced that a film version was being made, I was sceptical. How could anything even come close to the intimacy and sensation that was the stage show?! It was an extremely ambitious and dangerous task.

After months of apprehension, I finally saw the film the night after it was released here in the UK and breathed a sigh of relief, for Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables was simply incredible. I’m going to warn you now, this review will be pretty (if not completely) praising, but I’m going to try to explain quite how and why this film has succeeded in pleasing both categories of viewers.
Les Misérables is split into two periods of time.

The first sees the introduction of Jean Val Jean, a decent man who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing some bread. Upon his release and breaking of parole, we see the fierce pursuit of Val Jean by the strict law-abiding Inspector Javert. Val Jean’s path crosses that of Fantine, a poverty-striken ex-factory worker who is forced into prostitution to feed her young daughter. As we jump to the second time period, we join Fantine’s grown-up daughter, Cosette, who falls in love with young student Marius on the backdrop of revolutionary Paris in 1832.

{{ quote One of the most wonderful things about Les Miserables is the range of characters to connect with.}}

The running theme of the story is the relentless clashing between Javert and Jean Val Jean, and this brings the discussion nicely round to the performances of Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe.
As other critics have summarised, Jackman is fully deserving of his Oscar nomination. His intelligent and emotional performance as Val Jean was outstanding. He serves to anchor the film and is definitely the star act. I won’t dwell too much on Jackman’s performance because it is generally agreed by everybody that he is phenomenal. However, what I disagree with most other critics about is Russell Crowe. Javert has always been my favourite character; his songs are so heart-wrenching and beautiful as you watch the moral battle within him as he begins to question all that he believes as a police officer.

I had heard early reviews which absolutely hated Crowe’s performance, condemning him as the weakest cast member and I went into that cinema with fairly low expectations. Some people will look at me with incredulous eyes at this point, as I announce that I really loved Crowe’s Javert. He managed to bring out the vulnerability and desperateness Javert that I feel that many other actors have failed to convey. ‘Stars’, Javert’s key solo in Les Misérables, was mesmerising and to be honest, I found that I had a bigger lump in my throat and more tears threatening in my eyes than I did at any other scene in the whole film.

One of the most wonderful things about Les Misérables is the range of characters to connect with. Aside from Jean Val Jean and Javert, who you could argue as the two lead roles, there are a whole host of other fantastic members. What was most important about this film being a musical, and more so than any other film, was the casting.

Not only do you need strong actors but you need them to be able to sing as well. No tinny pop-voices but full-belt, all-ranging musical theatre voices. Anne Hathaway played Fantine, Amanda Seyfried as adult-Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Sacha Baron-Cohen and Helena Bonham-Carter as Thénardier and Madame Thénardier, Samantha Barks as Éponine, and AaronTveit as Enjrolas. I really cannot praise this cast more, and I honestly don’t think there was a single weak performance from any of them. I feel obliged to pick out Hathaway’s role.

I was initially worried that she would go a little over the top, especially in ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, but I think she just about managed to rein it in with the bare emotion that it should be. I must admit, however, that this specific song has lost some magic for me. I think that this is partly due to Susan Boyle’s reinterpretation that seemed to have the entire world in some kind of delusion as to how the song should be sung. The irritation that boils up inside me, as a musicals-snob when people, upon hearing it on the radio, exclaim “Oh this is that song that SuBo sung!” is beyond words I’m afraid. Apologies, I shall step down from my soap-box now and get back to the film!

The danger that director Tom Hooper (‘The King’s Speech’) faced when making Les Misérables was losing the feel of the stage musical by blowing the action out of proportion. I think there is a tendency in cinema at the moment to scale things up in order to force the audience to appreciate the spectacle of their creation. However, what is so extraordinary about the stage musical of Les Misérables, and what I feel that Hooper has successfully mirrored in the film, is its ability to recreate the intimacy of the theatre during raw emotional scenes.

He does this in a very commendable way. The cast sung live on the set as they acted out each scene and then the music was added afterwards to create a very gritty and realistic feel to the film. It works a treat and contrasted to this, there are large scenes such as the Thénardiers jubilantly dancing around their inn, swindling guests’ money in a delightfully Tim Burton-esque charade, and barricade scenes on the streets of Paris as the students raise flags and sing “Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!”. It makes your heart pound and tingles re guaranteed to run through your whole body.

Hooper has done the stage show complete justice and manages to marry the two together with iconic images, scenes and songs. Much of the negative reviews of Les Misérables are written by critics who analyse it as purely a drama. They criticise the lack of dialogue and seem to completely miss the point that Les Misérables is first and foremost, a musical.
I could go on forever about how wonderful I thought this film was, but I really think I should let you see it for yourselves.

Honestly, whoever you are, and no matter how sceptical you are, please watch this splendid piece of cinema and appreciate it for the masterpiece that it is. Enjoy and let yourself get caught up in the barrage of emotion that will overwhelm you…bring some tissues. You will be crying by the finale.