Movie Review - Les Miserables

This may be a bit late for most of you, but I think that as one of the most important movies of the year, I think it would be good for a little review of this :)

**SPOILER ALERTS**

This is the first movie adaptation of the musical version of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables".
This review is going to be broken down into five categories - the singing, acting, costuming, scoring and story.

The Singing: Being a singer myself, this is the area I'm going to be most picky about!

-Russell Crowe & Hugh Jackman. OK singers, just not really up to the vocal standard needed for these two incredibly difficult roles. 
-Anne Hathaway (Fantine) amazing amazing amazing. That is all!
-Amanda Seyfried who stole the show in 2008's "Mamma Mia" disappoints as Cosette. The part of Cosette is really designed for a classically trained soprano, and she doesn't quite get up there. 
-Eddie Redmayne (Marius) was a surprise choice for the part and his singing was more than I expected (a great improvement from Nick Jonas' interpretation in the 25th anniversary version!)
-Samantha Barks (Eponine) who was in the 25th Anniversary version of the musical and also played Nancy in the national tour of "Oliver!" in the UK, is outstanding (although not quite as good as in her concert performance of the part). 
-Aaron Tveit (Enjorlas) - what an amazing voice! I bet the producers who didn't hire him for "Glee" are kicking themselves! 
-Helena Bonham Carter...where does one begin! She didn't even attempt to sing! Luckily the part of Mme Thenardier is not known for its beauty, so she gets away with it. 
-Pleasantly surprised with Sacha Baron Cohen's vocal prowess. 

I did like the authenticity of singing live. The chorus was much better than many stage show productions. Overall, though the singing was not great by any means, it did not significantly detract from the film. I would not recommend purchasing the soundtrack though, as on their own, these performances are underwhelming. 

The Acting: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit. Oscars all round! Russell Crowe wasn't quite mean enough for me, and Amanda Seyfried was just plain air-headed. The Thenardiers weren't big enough characters to properly judge their acting prowess (although I do love me a bit of Helena Bonham Carter).

Costuming: Fantastic. Liked everything bar the pink dress Anne Hathaway wore in the factory scene. Eponine's outfit was nice, as it stayed true to the spirit of her traditional costume but brought its own unique feel. 

Scoring: The orchestra was awfully out of time (however, I concede that I did not really notice this on my first, or even second viewing). I enjoyed the new song "Suddenly" and some of the new transitions worked well. 

The Story: I was (and still am) a huge fan of the musical. There is BUCKET LOADS which can be taken away from this incredibly moving story. Valjean, a criminal (petty at best) faces up to his past and is unable to let a man go to jail in his place. Javert has no understanding of grace, and would rather die than be forgiven for his misdeeds. He is unable to overlook Valjean's 'sin' despite the mercy he was shown. Fantine sacrifices her life and dignity for her daughter. Poor Eponine dies without the love she craved from Marius, but she is honoured by the students on the barricade. Five stars for the message alone!!!!

Not a children's film by any stretch of the imagination! (many of the Fantine scenes are unpleasant and the majority of "Master of the House" was bawdy.) I was more than a bit disappointed by the interpretation of "Master of the House". Although the lyrics were always pretty sus, the movie went above and beyond necessity. 

Four stars - very enjoyable. The message of this movie is enough to overlook the flaws and when you watch the film, you become so engrossed, you forget the singing at all.