So before I talk about the movie let me talk about the preview for the new Star Trek movie. It looks so good. I have high hopes especially after how good this last one was. J.J. Abrams is very talented and I enjoy his work.
So, Les Miserables... well I am going to attempt to review the film without spoiling it for those who haven't seen or are unfamiliar with the plot. I already enjoy musicals more than I probably should and this was no exception. The music was superb. All the songs I know and love from this production were present in the film. Most of the songs however were modified musically so the timbre of the songs were changed. Some I didn't know what they were until I recognized the lyrics.
I was quite impressed with the level of cry-singing in this film. Both are not easy to do and even more difficult when combined. If that was spoilery than you need to wake up as the word "miserable" is in the title. Back to the singing, I enjoyed the female performers in this movie as a whole. Anne Hathaway was lovely and definitely got me choked up during a few scenes. Amanda Seyfried was probably my least favorite singer of the females in the cast. Helena Bonham Carter was great but it was sad to see her pretty much reprise her role from Sweeney Todd. Talk about type casting? Or is that type acting? Finally, the young lady who portrayed Eponine was spectacular. What a lovely voice, I was saddened that we didn't get to hear her sing more in the film.
As for the male performers, I didn't recognize Hugh Jackman at first (great job wardrobe and makeup departments!) and his singing was ok. Sometimes I loved his voice and other times in the film I found it to just be ok. Russel Crowe did not move me with his vocal performance but he was adequate. The person who played Marius had a beautiful voice but his head kept shaking when he would vibratto which grew rather annoying as the film progressed. I was surprised to see Sasha Baron Cohen in this movie but not surprised once I saw the character he was playing, a similar character to the one he portrayed in Sweeney Todd.
Did the producer of this film see Tim Burton's version of Sweeney Todd before they did the casting for this? Both characters that Cohen and Carter played were almost identical to their characters in the aforementioned film. Nothing against those two actors It was just interesting because I wasn't expecting to see them in this type of film.
Overall, I liked this movie. After seeing it I now understand all the Oscar buzz it is generating. I will give it an 8/10. The movie kept the same spirit of the broadway musical and presents a theme that is very powerful. I kept my compusure through the movie but finally broke down at the end. This a powerful, dramatic, epic of a film that has set a new bar of what musicals can be.
Did you see the movie? If so, write your comments about the film.
Les Miserables, musical theatre, musicals, Spoiler Alert!, Spoiler Free!
