Les Miserables

My Grade:  B-

I have to start this by saying that I didn’t really want to see Les Miserables because I don’t like period pictures and I don’t like musicals. I do, however, like Oscar nominated films and I don’t turn down free movie tickets. So, needless to say, at least I got my money’s worth.

I did not like this film but that’s not to say it’s a bad film. The cinematography is fine other than a couple of overly dramatic, somewhat distracting shots when Russell Crowe is singing. The sets are epic and strangely beautiful despite how grimy the locals are. The lighting is doesn’t take away from the film. All the filmic elements are exactly how they should be, so kudos to Tom Hooper (the director who won Best Director for his last film The King’s Speech).

It’s well-made but it’s considerably too long. When this play is performed on Broadway, there is an intermission... too bad the film doesn’t have one. Unless you are a huge fan of musicals as a genre or this particular play, you will probably be checking your watch throughout because it’s a really long 158 minutes. And a depressing 158 minutes. If I had a dollar for every song that is sung while the performer is crying, I would be able to pay admission to see it again (even though I wouldn’t dare do that).

There are a lot of mixed opinions of this film, but there is one undeniable fact:  Anne Hathaway rocks the house. She sings beautifully, she exhibits raw emotion better than many performances I’ve seen this year, and she’s not bad on the eyes even after a barbaric haircut and a few of her teeth being ripped from her skull. When she sings the famous song “I Dreamed A Dream,” I literally applauded afterwards. That scene alone is why she deserves the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

The biggest problems I have with the film (other than the length) are Russell Crowe’s singing voice and the love story. It’s not that Russell Crowe is necessarily that bad, but he’s not really that good either. His acting performance is strong, though, and that’s big for me to say because I’m not a Russell Crowe fan at all. 

The bigger problem, however, is the love story that is essentially the entire emotional thread holding second half of the film together. Marius (Eddie Redmayne) sees Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) for a brief moment across a crowded square and falls so madly in love with her that he questions his allegiance to his best friend, Enjolras (Aaron Tveit who is the best male voice in the film), and the other revolutionaries with whom he has been working and planning for a long time. I don’t buy it. But, also, she falls so in love with him that she can’t live without him? That’s more flimsy than the relationship between Ryan Gosling’s character and Emma Stone’s character in Gangster Squad. At least they had a conversation and even slept together. Still flimsy, but they interacted before falling in love and risking their lives for each other.

Overall Les Miserables is a well-made film but is overly long, emotionally manipulative, and held together by one of the weakest B-story romances I’ve ever seen. It looks great and the singing is wonderful, though, but I found some of the melodies a bit monotonous and boring. Anne Hathaway makes this film worth watching, I just wish she was in it more.