Les Misérables (2012)

Les Misérables is about 19th-century France where a former prisoner, Jean Valjean, takes in a troubled girl.

Director, Tom Hooper, has some great shots. They are so short though a few times that they could be missed for how wonderful they are. It's not his fault the CG isn't up to par. Speaking of the CG scenes, they are sometimes so bad it's laughable. At the beginning of the film, Jean Valjean rips up papers and throws them to the wind. The papers fly up like in every film that has this floating effect to end a scene, but the papers are so obviously fake the effect was ruined. Hooper has very few technical issues when it comes to direction though and that's to be expected from the director of The King's Speech.

Hugh Jackman's origin and introduction are mostly meh. His singing is a miss for me at the early parts of the movie. Jean Valjean is such an interesting character but I only wish that the faces Jackman made didn't make me think of Wolverine. I couldn't separate the two and for that, the film suffered. It's hard to sing and act at the same time, especially when you have such strong lines to deliver.

Russell Crowe is surprisingly good. His singing isn't ideal but his acting is. I enjoyed his character and delivery more than Jackman. He technically is the antagonist of the film but his stoic and strong poses fit the character. His delivery is reminiscent of Gladiator but put to a wonderful score.

Helena Bonham Carter shows up to show everyone that she can still sing like in Sweeney Todd. I've always enjoyed her alternative choices in acting. Sacha Baron Cohen does a very good accent much like Talladega Nights. Their scenes together though just feel out of place in the overall story. The scenes are necessary don't get me wrong. Eddie Redmayne also shows up and does his best, but I think his scenes are like Carter's and Cohen's.

The greatest scenes belong to Anne Hathaway. Even with dirt on her skin and a shaven head, she's still gorgeous. Not only can she act, but she's one of the better singers in this musical as well. Her singing is soft which allows her to act through the music which I think is why she's the standout.

Result: B+ (Normally I don't really go for musicals. This is a recommended exception.)

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