Les Misérable

This week I went to see the newest adaptation of Les Misérable that came out on Christmas Day. The film was very well done with an excellent cast. Les Misérable is based off the musical, which is based French book of the same name. Victor Hugo published the book is 1862 and the story is just as powerful now as it was then. The film is an excellent adaptation, as far as I can tell from last reading of the book in my high school French class.  

Tom Hooper, the man behind The King’s Speech, directs Les Mis. It has a long list of stars who deliver career performances: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, and relative newcomer Eddie Redmayne. My favorite performance was by far SachaBaron Cohen. It took me a while to place his off the wall character, but now I cannot see anyone else in that role. This film is sure to give him more respects among audiences. 

One thing that bothered me was that every single line was sung. Now I am aware that this was an adaptation of the musical, but this was too much. If ever word of the film is turned into a song, it takes away from the powerful songs. And there are many powerful songs in Les Misérable.

I cannot say enough about Anne Hathaway’s performance. She nailed the role of Fantine. I expect to see an array of awards in her arms this season. The film will also win its fair share of awards.

As a warning, Les Mis is very graphic. For anyone who is not familiar with the story, it documents the life of the poor in 19^th century France and includes slavery, prostitution, and revolution. I thought the film did an excellent job touching all the issues in a delicate manner. However, I did hear some gasps from other audience members. The film is rated PG-13.