Review: Les Miserables

Les Miserables

Isabelle Allen as young Cosette (Taken from Studio Briefing)

Directed by Tom Hooper

Starring (in alphabetical order):

-Isabelle Allen
-Samantha Barks

-Helena Bonham Carter

-Sacha Baron Cohen

-Russell Crowe

-Anne Hathaway

-Hugh Jackman

-Eddie Redmayne

-Amanda Seyfried

Running Time: 158 Minutes

The Oscar buzz surrounding Tom Hooper's adaptation of the famous musical Les Miserables has been high. With Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Hooper himself all expecting nominations the star studded film seems to be reaping the rewards of success. Reviews have been mixed but generally positive. The film scored a 70% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a little less than I personally think the film deserves. Although I have to agree with Adam Lambert, Russell Crowe's singing was a tad off, but his effort is highly commendable.

Anne Hathway (Fantine) (Taken from Just Jared)

I am one of those newbies to the story, having never read Victor Hugo's novel, or seen any of the plays or previous films. I found the story touching. The plot centers on a diverse array of characters; a woman forced into prostitution, the bastard daughter of that woman, an ex convict who broke his parole and turned his life around, and the jailer who hunts him. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen made brilliant performances as innkeepers who had custody of young Cosette; humorous and terrifying, they are the villains any movie goer loves to hate.

For the most part the musical numbers were incredible. Anne Hathaway's rendition of I Dreamed A Dream, the mouthpiece of the entire marketing campaign put me to tears, as it just emanated suffering, the loss of dignity, pride and moral degradation. Hugh Jackman and Samantha Barks also made brilliant performances.

Les Miserables is a must see film of Summer 2013.

 I give it a solid score of:

8.5/10