I read on the Les Miserables website that over sixty million people in fourty two countries have seen this world wide hit. Thats a lot of people. Why didn't anybody tell me?! I like musicals. I liked Grease, Rent, I loved Wicked. So when I dragged my sister to go see Les Miserables, (she, not a fan of musicals OR Anne Hathaway-more on that later) I knew I'd come out of it a fan.
It's a bit hard to describe the movie without wanting to tell the whole story in itself, so please, bear with me. The movie starts in 1815 with Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) just getting out of prison, after serving a nineteen year sentence. He tranforms himself (under a new identity) into a great man eight years later, becoming a mayor and owning a facotry. Russel Crowe plays Javert, the prison guard who is on his tail throughout the movie. Anne Hathaway stars as Fantine, who works at the factory and is thrown out on her ass once its discovered that she's been sending money to a child she had out of wedlock (Cosette). She is then forced to turn to prostitution so she can send money to her child's caregivers. I'll end there, I just can't go any further, and it's something you need to experience for the first time by youself. If you know the story-I am sure you know what I'm sayin'.
On to the good stuff. No one shines in the movie quite like Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway. I know Hugh Jackman has theatre experience and his voice is lovely. Oh! Side note-all the singing in this movie is done live, not pre recorded and lip sync'd like most film adaptations are. The director (Tom Hooper) wanted his actors to sing live to the camera, to capture the feel and emotion of each song. I thought Hugh Jackman might burst an artery watching him sing. Amanda Seyfried (she plays the adult Cosette) has a very pretty voice as well. I was impressed. Anne Hathway sings the amazing song, 'I Dreamed a Dream' and the emotion on her face, the sadness, is overwhelming. I'm pretty sure the whole movie theatre (plus myself) cried with her. I love Anne Hathway, she is hands down one of my favorite acrtresses, and although I have not seen all the other would be contenders yet, I think she deserves an Oscar for her role. My sister always thought she was odd looking, but after seeing her in the movie, I think I may have made her an Anne-fan (although she will probably deny it after she reads this). Biggest Eye Roll Moment? Every time I had to hear Russell Crowe sing. I'm sorry but the guy just seems awkward and forced every time he opened his mouth. Maybe I am being biased, he is the bad guy after all, and I never usually like him in anything (besides Gladiator, but who doesn't like Gladiator?).
Guys, I know, you're probably all thinking blah blah blah why would we want to see this?! I feel ya. Even a hottie like Anne Hathaway is not going to get you in, because she's not really hot in this movie-quite the opposite actually. But you know what? There is actually a lot of action and laughs in this movie. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen provide much needed comedy relief as the crooked inn keepers who watch after Cosette. I'm sure if your a guy, this probably is not going to be your thing and I get that. Hell, even girls sometimes dislike musicals. But this is a movie you should eventually see, because it is very good and deeply moving, and it has to be if it's been seen by so many people around the world! Guys, you might score points with a chick if you take her to see this one! I said might.
