So, the plot… a 19th century Frenchman named Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is finally released from prison after serving nineteen grueling years for stealing a loaf of bread. As he jumps parole and tries to make a new, meaningful life for himself, he’s ceaselessly hunted by Javert (Russell Crowe), the man who made his life extra hellish in prison. Just as he’s about to surrender to Javert, Valjean finds a new reason to remain free when he vows to raise the young daughter of a destitute, dying factory worker (Anne Hathaway), and later finds himself fighting alongside the passionate young rebels of the French Revolution.
In addition to the breathtaking cinematography and wonderful directing by Tom Hooper (The King's Speech), what makes this version so successful is the casting. Pure genius, with maybe one or two missteps.
Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman are just astounding. Hathaway’s raw portrayal of Fantine is just hard to comprehend. The musical’s signature song, “I Dreamed a Dream” has been done a zillion times, yet she manages to totally own and reinterpret it in a gut-wrenching fashion. How the heck do you emote and sob to the degree that she did, while maintaining vocal control? If they did overdubs, I don’t want to know.
And Jackman’s amazing transformation into a hollow, unrecognizable shell of a man at the start of the film is mindboggling. He then proceeds to ably carry the entire film, and beautifully performs some seriously, seriously difficult songs. Holy smokes, is that dude talented.
The child actors are all heartbreakingly spot-on, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen as the innkeeper and his wife are brilliantly absurd, and the rest of the supporting cast members just nail it. Then, there’s Russell Crowe. One of the aforementioned missteps. Oh, Russell. Bless his heart, he’s not bad, but next to all the powerhouses, he just falls short. You can sense the incredible amount of effort he puts into the role, but it just doesn’t measure up to everyone else. I felt sort of the same way about Amanda Seyfried as the adult Cosette. The acting was great, the vocals just didn’t do it for me. Bummer.
Other than those two blips, the rest of the film is just perfection. Do yourself a favor, though – be sure to go with fellow musical lovers. It’s pretty faithful to the stage play – all singing, all the time for two-and-a-half hours. Trust me, you do not want to sit next to someone sighing and squirming throughout the movie, as I did. You may also want to make a pact with your fellow moviegoers to be allowed to freely and openly weep, as needed. I seriously would like to rent an entire theater out for myself so I can sing and sob to my heart’s content.
It’s a true masterpiece. Enjoy!
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