Les Miserables Review

In my opinion, the movie was done rather well.  I was wondering how they would pull off the prostitute part without making it too awful and uncomfortable to watch (which of course it’s a little uncomfortable…we are talking about prostitutes after all) but they pulled it off pretty well. One exception being a quick part in the tenardiers place that I think could have been left out with none knowing the better.  Didn’t need to see that part.  Anne Hathaway stole the movie for me.  I’m not a huge fan of hers other than in Princess Diaries, but she was amazing in this.  I was captivated everytime she came on the screen.  I couldn’t take my eyes off her. 

At first when the singers began, my first reaction was that they were not great singers and they should have gotten real singers, but then as the movie progressed I realized that had they had perfect singers, the movie would not have felt so raw, so real.  It would have felt like a prettily sang opera movie.  I wouldn’t have felt the emotion I did.  I liked that it wasn’t perfect.  I liked that they didn’t perfect every scene.  I enjoyed the imperfections in this movie like I wouldn’t normally feel for any other movie.  I normally like them to be perfect scenes, but had  that been the case for this “play” it would have felt too scripted.  I think  director Tom Hooper did a good job with it.  I loved the close up shots that felt so intimate.  I enjoyed the scenery.  I thought it was all done rather well.

What I didn’t enjoy was how much camera shake there was, but then again, it adds to that “Real” feel, so I guess I can excuse that.  Maybe it wouldn’t have felt so awful had I not been so close to the big screen.

I struggled with Russel Crowe playing Javert.  Maybe if I watched it again I wouldn’t mind him so much.  He just came off a little more cowardly then I would have liked, and his looks are too nice to see him as the tough mean guy

I also think the ending – wedding part – ended too abruptly.  The tenardiers  just didn’t seem to get to play the part I think they should have.  It seemed cut so short for them.  My favorite adaptation of that scene I have ever seen is still from when Floyd Salisbury directed it for Ellen Eccles a few years back.  It was very entertaining, and gave the tenardiers a chance to shine.  The movie just seemed to move right past them, and moved on so fast.  Same with the scene in the sewer when the tenardiers are stealing from the dead…

It was of course a long movie with lots of singing…but if you went to it expecting anything less, you don’t know Les Mis.  I almost felt like it was cut too short in spots.

Anyway, that was my opinion.  There wasn’t much I didn’t like, because I just absolutely love Les Mis.  It’s my all time favorite.  I think it helped that I didn’t let myself go with huge expectations, because I really didn’t want to be disappointed.