British Actress Blog

Les Misérables (2012)

Score: 9/10

Director: Tom Hooper

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

The Honorable Mention Series:

Synopsis: In 19th century France, Jean Valjean is being hunted down by the ruthless policeman known as Javert after breaking his parole.

Review: The former prisoner known as 24601, Jean Valjean, is out on parole trying to survive in the cruel and harsh world. Everywhere he turns he is accosted by members of society for being an ex-con. One day he is greeted by the priest of the town church and is granted food, room, and board. In the dark of the night Jean Valjean steals all the silver that he can carry from the church. In the morning he is returned to the church by the local police to answer for his crime but the priest lies for him saying that he gave Jean Valjean the silver as a gift of friendship. Having never in his life been shown that kind of mercy, Jean Valjean vows to change his life for the better, be a force for good in this cold world, and never go back to prison. His first step is to skip his parole and assume a new identity. That’s when the trouble starts.

This is Anne Hathaway’s best performance. She really gave it her all in this movie. She of course won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress along side many other awards for her role in this film. Russell Crowe is once again playing the authoritarian role in which his character believes that he is on the side of good and justice just like his other movie Noah (2014). A man torn between what he believes is good and what he is told is good. Helena Bonham Carter’s character is not far removed from Bellatrix Lestrange’s mischievous behavior. Both are hyper obsessed with material things like Bellatrix wanting a sword that didn’t belong to her and thought it was stolen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 (2010). This kind of character is very entertaining and never fails to surprise me.

Yet another truly amazing performance by one of the absolute best actor period, Eddie Redmayne. It was very fortunate that we get to see both Helena Bonham Carter and Eddie Redmayne in the same movie. Although nothing beats his performance in the perfect film The Theory of everything (2014). Hugh Jackman gives a heartfelt performance with just as much passion as his film The Fountain (2006). You can see that film and theater are more than just entertainment to him, its the true expression of art. He give every bit of himself in his roles.

The film focuses on the concept of realism. In reality revolutions don’t always end in triumph, working hard doesn’t always pay off, those who are sworn to protect the innocent don’t always do so, a good person will do bad things in the wrong environment, people can die too young, women are treated very badly, bad things happen to good people while evil people seem to live the longest, and there really is no sanctity were there should be. Its very appropriate that the film is called the miserables because that is how the characters feel about their own lives as well as most people all over the world in real life. One of the reasons movies are so popular among people is because they want to escape from their reality. In this film the main characters find love as a way of coping with reality and getting through life.

Wow! Seriously one of the best movies I have seen recently and I absolutely hate musicals. The story is always moving forward and doesn’t stagnate like so many movies I see in media in general. Some scene are a bit silly and don’t make sense which is why I wont give the film a perfect score. Some of the music sounds better in the plays and some of it sounds better in the film. The song Look Down - 10th anniversary play is much better than the film version but I Dream the Dream- Les Misérables ( this movie ) is better than the plays, but of course Susan Boyle sung it best.

The cinematography is well done. Some scenes are shot better than others. The lighting, color, set dressing, wardrobe, and background are done the way movies should be done. This is a work of art, truly. This is a long movie, way longer than most at 158 minutes runtime. Unlike the Star Wars The Last Jedi (2018), This film has scenes that are very meaningful and with propose. The casino scenes with Finn and Rose didn’t have to be in the film, which would have made the movie shorter in time duration. This film on the other hand uses its time to develop the characters more so. Both films are long movies. Bottom line is that the film is surprisingly entertaining for a musical. If you really like the arts than give this one a go.

More Films from Helena Bonham Carter:

Cinderella (2015)

The King’s Speech (2010)

Suffragette (2015)

Fight Club (1999)

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

More Films from Eddie Redmayne:

The Theory of Everything (2014)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

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