Les Mis

Title: Les Misérables
Year: 2012
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
Red Rating: RRR (3/5)
High Point: On My Own (song)
Low Point: The ending

I dreamed a dream that I would find this film captivating and awesome, just like my fellow musical loving friends had told me I would. The huge named cast including the amazing Hugh Jackman, Helena Bonham Carter and Amanda Seyfried as well as some amazing newcomers like Samantha Barks, runner up Nancy on I'd Do Anything for all you British readers, worked tremendously hard to bring the story to life, and most the actors played their parts incredibly. The ageing process of Jackman throughout made him almost unrecognisable and Anne Hathaway's performance as a prostitute, though shocking for those unfamiliar to the play, was played so well that, again, she was almost unrecognisable as the girl who played the unknown princess in the Princess Diaries so many years ago.

One downside, however, is that you cannot watch the film if you have plans to do other things whilst watching, it is definitely one you need to put your full attention to, as I received a phone call mid way through, I found it difficult to catch up with what had happened within the 10 minutes I wasn't concentrating. It also goes on for a very long time, 158 minutes to be exact, so it's not a quick one or one to watch in bed as you'd probably fall asleep mid way through if you're anything like me.

The musical lover in me really enjoyed the musical element of the film, seeming though there were actually very few spoken words in the film which is down the the fact that it is actually an adaptation of the stage show enjoyed by many around the world. A particular favourite would be Samantha Bark's performance of On My Own. The song tells the story of how she is in love with the man who she sees as her love interest, however he is more interested in Seyfried's character, Cosette, not to be confused with a courgette which had me puzzled for the first half hour of the film. The raw passion and emotion she showed made me wonder how she lost out on the role of Nancy on the British talent contest created by Andrew Lloyd Webber to find new talent for the West End in London.

The director, Tom Hooper, could have made the year obvious to the viewers in another fashion rather than just having the year and the place emblazoned on the screen in huge gold letters, a sign maybe, a calendar? I don't know, I'm not a director, but for your next big film, try something a little more abstract, it's just a suggestion Tom. yes the huge characters worked but it didn't always fit with the background, a grotty street full of homeless people covered with golden lettering, really? I'm being harsh now, I know that, but surely you should tale more care when tackling such a prestigious piece of culture. However, Hooper's use of mise-en-scene really set the scene, more so than the obvious pointing out of setting and time period with the lettering. The costume and scenery added to the viewer's feeling of wanting the underdog to win as we really got to see how the poorer French people lived during the revolution, I don't know if this was the same for everyone but I really wanted a better life for the less well off French peasants.

Another negative now though I'm sorry! So the film, the book and the play were all set in France, and I believe through time French people, no matter what language they are speaking, have always had a slightly French accent when they speak naturally. So why is it that most of the cast spoke in dodgy cockney accents for the majority of the film? I felt at one point like I was watching Oliver and not Les Mis. Sacha Baron Cohen attempted the French accent and had a good, natural sounding accent for some of his performance, however, this didn't last for long and by the end of the film, he had the same cockney accent as everybody else. Knowing his previous films such as Borat and Brüno, I knew he could do accents well, so this for me was a huge disappointment.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!
Okay so the ending, Jean Valjean dies and we see a return of all the characters who had died throughout the film, this for me was incredibly confusing as both Seyfried, whose character was still alive, and Anne Hathaway, whose character had died around an hour previous to this point, were both on screen together with a dying Jackman with no explanation, it wasn't until the credits that I realised this was symbolic for Jean's death and that he had actually died on his daughter's wedding day, again to me a directorial error to this time be too unclear about what was happening.

Overall, I'd say Les Mis was an alright film, it wasn't terrible but it wasn't anything special either. I was told to watch it as it was, in the words of one of my friends 'amazingly spectacular', however I don't think I was left as mystified as she was after watching the film. I'd say if you were a fan of the stage show or incredibly long operas, this one's for you. Anyone else, don't be too upset if you don't get the chance to see it, you'd actually probably thank me for telling you that you should probably give it a miss.