[Movie Review] Les Misérables: Hits And Misses
Images via Beyond Hollywood
Possibly the most (over)hyped movie of the year, the most recent incarnation of Les Miserables, stars Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, with Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thenardiers. Directed by Tom Hooper, the man behind the Academy Award winning The King's Speech, Les Miserables is a big, broad movie that embraces its considerable largess.
There are problems of course. Hooper's insistence on sticking the camera firmly in every singing face is off-putting. I suspect I may well know every nook and cranny of Anne Hathaway's tonsils. To add insult to injury, the camera work is shaky; an artistic choice I'm sure, but a highly irritating one from the audience's point of view. The dialog is hard to follow at times as it is sung all the way through. This is no fault of Hooper's of course, but newcomers to the musical may find it difficult to follow along.
There are very lovely touches though. The light melody of "One Day More" plays throughout and transitions into other numbers beautifully. It goes a long way to tie the movie together tonally, and helps dictates the mood from beginning to end. Tangentially, I found myself highly amused by the plethora of poor dental work, and the muskets that were good for only one shot.
But the real selling point of the movie is its stars. From Wolverine's feats of strength to seeing Catwoman's head shaved and teeth pulled, the cast is varied, but ultimately strong.
