Directed by : Tom Hooper
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/
I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I am living.
Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who is known as prisoner 24601 by the on duty officer Javert (Russell Crowe), is released from the prison on a parole. Valjean goes around a rich place completely tired and hungry, the person owning the place is very helpful and caring, as Valjean is given everything he wants yet Valjean tries to run away stealing things and eventually caught but the place owner lets him go telling cops he didn't steal anything. That incident changes Valjean's life for a good, as he breaks his parole and goes away. After a span of 7 years, he is now a well known Mayor of a place where he helps a suffering Fantine (Anne Hathaway) and takes her daughter Cossette (Amanda Seyfried) under his care and protection. Javert is always on a look out to find Valjean, while Valjean is looking to make sure Cossette leads a good life away from troubles that her mom Fantine faced, and Cossette is in love with Marius (Eddie Redmayne) but their destiny is in hands of what would happen in a rebellion that is about to happen in France where the movie is set.
The plot has lots of suffering, even begins on that note and goes that way for most part. There's fightback, and romantic moments mainly between Cossette and Marius, or Eponine (Samantha Barks) who secretly loves Marius. All this makes for a great viewing, but not to be so as everything is presented in form of songs. A loud opera or musical drama as many would call it. There's hardly a single regular conversation in the movie, so basically you are watching a 2 hr song performance oriented movie.
Such genres just don't appeal to me, for me normal conversations have to be in dialogues and not songs. Even if it was plain background music, I would have connected but the lip synch songs just made it worse. Though that doesn't take away anything from the lyrics of those songs, which very well keeps the narration of movie going but the imapact as a dialogue would had been much bigger to me.
My favourite among 20 some songs was Anne Hathaway's 'I dreamed a dream', Isabelle Allen's 'Castle on a cloud', 'Look Down' performed by lots of actors together, 'A heart full of love' by Samantha, Eddie & Amanda and 'One Day More'.
There's many moments in the movie where I felt for the characters, and the next moment they drop into a song removing my connection quickly. I think normal version of this movie has been released some 10 years ago, would love to see that, most likely I would have more good things to say for that one.
Cinematography is brilliant, special mention to the opening scene where large amount of prisoners are working as slaves to pull off the ship in rainy windy weather. Also, the rain sequence of Samantha, and the rebel where they build a post kind of place through furnitures.
Hugh Jackman delivers the best performance of the movie easily, so does Anna Hatheway as a badly suffered woman in the story, plus how well she sang 'I dreamed a dream' song. Russell Crowe is decent at best. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter provide great humour to the movie, though their 1st sequence has some yuck shots of food. Amanda Seyfried looks sweet, and plays her part very well. And that small kid who does his share of job in the rebel fight. Rest cast does fair job.
In the end, this musical Les Miserables gives some good moments for sure, but as a whole not a movie I would say I liked.
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/
I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I am living.
Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who is known as prisoner 24601 by the on duty officer Javert (Russell Crowe), is released from the prison on a parole. Valjean goes around a rich place completely tired and hungry, the person owning the place is very helpful and caring, as Valjean is given everything he wants yet Valjean tries to run away stealing things and eventually caught but the place owner lets him go telling cops he didn't steal anything. That incident changes Valjean's life for a good, as he breaks his parole and goes away. After a span of 7 years, he is now a well known Mayor of a place where he helps a suffering Fantine (Anne Hathaway) and takes her daughter Cossette (Amanda Seyfried) under his care and protection. Javert is always on a look out to find Valjean, while Valjean is looking to make sure Cossette leads a good life away from troubles that her mom Fantine faced, and Cossette is in love with Marius (Eddie Redmayne) but their destiny is in hands of what would happen in a rebellion that is about to happen in France where the movie is set.
The plot has lots of suffering, even begins on that note and goes that way for most part. There's fightback, and romantic moments mainly between Cossette and Marius, or Eponine (Samantha Barks) who secretly loves Marius. All this makes for a great viewing, but not to be so as everything is presented in form of songs. A loud opera or musical drama as many would call it. There's hardly a single regular conversation in the movie, so basically you are watching a 2 hr song performance oriented movie.
Such genres just don't appeal to me, for me normal conversations have to be in dialogues and not songs. Even if it was plain background music, I would have connected but the lip synch songs just made it worse. Though that doesn't take away anything from the lyrics of those songs, which very well keeps the narration of movie going but the imapact as a dialogue would had been much bigger to me.
My favourite among 20 some songs was Anne Hathaway's 'I dreamed a dream', Isabelle Allen's 'Castle on a cloud', 'Look Down' performed by lots of actors together, 'A heart full of love' by Samantha, Eddie & Amanda and 'One Day More'.
There's many moments in the movie where I felt for the characters, and the next moment they drop into a song removing my connection quickly. I think normal version of this movie has been released some 10 years ago, would love to see that, most likely I would have more good things to say for that one.
Cinematography is brilliant, special mention to the opening scene where large amount of prisoners are working as slaves to pull off the ship in rainy windy weather. Also, the rain sequence of Samantha, and the rebel where they build a post kind of place through furnitures.
Hugh Jackman delivers the best performance of the movie easily, so does Anna Hatheway as a badly suffered woman in the story, plus how well she sang 'I dreamed a dream' song. Russell Crowe is decent at best. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter provide great humour to the movie, though their 1st sequence has some yuck shots of food. Amanda Seyfried looks sweet, and plays her part very well. And that small kid who does his share of job in the rebel fight. Rest cast does fair job.
In the end, this musical Les Miserables gives some good moments for sure, but as a whole not a movie I would say I liked.
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