#3 - "Les miserables" (2012)

Well, what can I say.

This was (and still is) my favourite musical of all time.

I'll never forget the first time I saw it in London at the tender age of 10...I was mesmerised by the spectacle of it all.

Having seen the musical 11 times, when I heard that they were making the film....I wasn't sure what to think....would they ruin it? would it be easily transferrable from the stage to the screen?

Let me assure you, they didn't ruin it...the film is a triumph.

Now, I am trying to do this review with as few spoilers as possible, and will probably add a further blog post in the future going into more depth, but as this only came out today (and yes, I took the day off work to watch it!!) I am very aware that a lot of you are yet to se it. So I promise you....I will not be doing any big plot reveals.

If you are genuinely interested in reading more about the plot and the characters, here is the Wikipedia link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables

This link is to the Wikipedia article about the original novel by Victor Hugo, from there you can find links to articles about both the stage show and the film.

I'll also give you the IMDB link for further information about the film:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/

So.....Where to begin.

Yes its a film where more of the dialogue is sung rather than spoken, and I understand that this may be a slightly daunting prospect, but it is done so sympathetically and with such beautiful cinematography that sometimes, you forget that the actors are singing because you are drawn into their world.

There are three actors who really stood out for me, and that's not to say that anyone was bad, the whole cast was excellent.

I can't review this film without first talking about Hugh Jackman as Jean Val Jean. For anyone who knows anything about the stage show, he has some pretty big shoes to fill. He is following in the footsteps of true stage icons such as Colm Wilkinson and Alfie Boe (to name only two). It would have been very easy for Jackman to have become a carbon copy of any of the previous Val Jean's - and had he done this, I fear he would have been a complete flop. However, he didn't, Jackman is as much Jean Val Jean as Colm or Alfie has ever been , but in his own way. With Jackmans Val Jean we see more of the tortured soul through his facial expressions than his voice, which is obviously easier to do on the screen than the stage. All in all, his performance was excellent and he definitely deserves his Oscar nomination for Best Actor, however, having now seen the trailer for "Lincoln" (review to follow once I have watched it) I think it will be a tough race between Jackman and Daniel Day Lewis.

Russell Crowe...Russell Crowe...Russell Crowe...this is really going to shock anyone who knows me but I LOVED HIM!!! He will not be to everyone's taste as Javert, and whether he was amazing because he is a wooden actor who has finally found  role into which he fit or whether it is because he is a very talent actor, I don't know (and I am not letting past performances or my general dislike of him cloud my judgement here). I had very low expectations of him after seeing trailers for the film and I felt sure that he would be the one person that I had a lot (of negative things) to say about him, but I can't fault his performance. He played the character in a way I have never seen Javert played before and I loved that, he was quietly menacing with the right balance of hatred and pompous authority with a dash of something almost akin to regret and grace thrown in for good measure. I really did love the way he played the character and this performance has really changed my opinion of Russell Crowe.

The person who completely stole the show for me was Anne Hathaway as Fantine. From her first moment on the screen right up until her very last I was mesmerised. there really isn't much else I can say without talking about the plot other than I was (and still am) in complete awe of her! She is a VERY strong contender for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar - in fact, I have told my housemate that if she doesn't win, I am never watching another film ever again (which might mke this blog a little difficult!!).

I should also Mention Samantha Barks as Eponine, who made the transition from the West End and 25th anniversary concert to the big screen like a complete pro!

I wish I could mention every single person and I am sure, once I have watched it again I will have to do an edit of this post and add some more but I came out of the cinema feeling emotionally drained and all cried out.

It is not very often a film comes along with the power to evoke such strong emotion in me, or even to move me to tears, but suffice to say Les Miserables definitely moved me.

I would recommend it to anyone, whether you know everything about it already or nothing.

This has been a particularly hard post to write without referencing any part of the plot or scenery but I hope when you see it that you will love it as much as I did.