A Hit 150 Years In The Making

By Madelyn Abry 2-9-2013 

“Les Misérables”, the beautiful and tragic story of time in revolutionary France written by Victor Hugo, was finally brought to film this year.

The music is beautiful and executed as that of a stage production with no prerecording. As the actors sang and the cameras rolled, moviegoers viscerally experienced a spectrum of raw emotions, from heartbreak to jubilance.

Already “Les Misérables”, has been nominated in the Best Picture category for the Academy Awards and won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Category, Musical or Comedy.

Hugh Jackman steals the show as a versatile and yet very genuine Jean Valjean. His character changes quite a bit throughout the movie, even adopting aliases and yet Jackman keeps you interested and intrigued.

Anne Hathaway (who has already won a Golden Globe for her performance) has been nominated for an Oscar for her role as the great Fantine. Hathaway’s scenes are gripping and heartbreaking although at times unbelievable, as the audience may start to feel like Anne Hathaway is playing Anne Hathaway.

Russell Crowe really drops the ball as Javert. His singing voice and acting are lackluster at best and he turned what would be the most climatic parts of the plot into boring, filler time.

Some newcomers that wowed were renowned stage actors Samantha Barks and Aaron Tveit as Eponine and Enjolras, respectively. Eddie Redmayne is a perfect Maruis and Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter are a wonderful rag tag team of thieves that bring a bit of comedy and life to the drama.

The film does the musical and the book justice; it is an entertaining three hours with a healthy dose of tears, revenge and joy.