Les Misérables

Movie: Les Misérables

Director: Tom Hooper

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Amanda Seyfried

Genre: Musical, Drama

Rated: PG-13

Les Misérables has many characters and backstories so I'll try to keep the synopsis short. Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is an recently paroled ex-convict in nineteenth century France who was sentenced to jail 19 years ago for stealing a loaf of bread. Unable to find anyone who will help him get back on his feet, he is forced to become a thief to stay alive. It isn't until a clergyman shows him kindness and redemption through God that he starts to repent for the sins he has committed and start a new life with a new identity. But a justice obsessed prison officer, Javert (Russell Crowe), is determined to see him once again behind bars for breaking his parole, no matter how long it takes to catch him.

Les Misérables is a great movie. Yes, it's a musical. Yes, 98% of it is singing. BUT WAIT! Before that turns you off and makes you pass over this wonderful film know this:

1) The book from which the play was based on was by Victor Hugo, the author who wrote "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

2) The novel has been loved worldwide since its publication in 1862.

3) The English version of the musical has been going on and off since its opening in 1985.

4) The director of the film, Tom Hooper, directed the award winning movie "The King's Speech", which is great if you haven't seen it.

5) Anne Hathaway has been nominated and won multiple awards for her portrayal as Fantine.

And last but not least:

6) I dragged my 25 year old brother to go see it and he said it was the best movie he's seen in years.

I know that some people don't really care for musicals, especially ones that are non-stop singing (the latter is me). But have you ever watched an old black and white movie like "Casablanca" or "Mildred Pierce" and get so engrossed in the story that you forget you're watching a black and white? Well, for Les Mis, there were moments where I forgot they were singing.

*Spoilers* I cried during Fantine and Valjean's deaths. My mother was next to me sobbing at the end and so were the people sitting around us. As for my brother, he doesn't cry, but he did sit there in his seat for a couple of minutes when the credits started to roll to let it all sink in.

Should you go see it? Definitely. If you're in the mood for powerful performances and a great story, then I highly recommend it. But be warned that there is talk of prostitution, death, and acts of abuse in the story. It is called The Miserables Ones, after all.

Fun Facts:

• Les Misérables is difficult for some English speakers to pronounce. It is often pronounced in English as "lay miz-er-ah-b" but the correct french pronunciation is "lay miz-ah-rab". To hear it, click here. All this trouble is probably why some people like to just stick with "Les Mis".
• Instead of recording their voices before hand like all other musical films, the cast of Les Misérables sang live so they wouldn't be restricted by a recording as they were acting their scenes on camera.
• I don't know if this is 100% true, but I've heard that in Disney's "Aladdin" right before Aladdin starts singing "One Jump Ahead", he says, "All this for a loaf of bread?" which Lea Salonga, an actress who played Eponine and Fantine on Broadway and who was also the singing voices for Mulan and Jasmine, got the writers to put in as an homage to Les Misérables.