Les Misérables (2024)

'Les Miserables' titled in French sung in English by 'Russell Crowe' and 'Hugh Jackman'; Anne Hathaway and a priest. Victor Hugo the author or writer who brought the kings to their 'gilotines' but fortunately reminds us of crucifixes. The drama is a grand production with 'Les Miserables' being a front runner; like in the 'Victor Hugo' play. Cinema from a play did achieve acclaim; in the third world it has by our knowledge. Like all reviewers who seek contact from the opposite end 'this movie is serious'. The play cannot be read without knowing French but the movie here is wonderful.

The utter emotion the actors displayed while singing is actually moving. I had tears in my eyes multiple times. Seriously incredible. Hugh Jackmam and Anne Hathaway gave the best performances imo.

This is a very difficult film to assess. It has significant flaws, but on reflection I believe this to be principally down to the difficulties of translating this musical into a film. To begin with, I was seriously underwhelmed - the opening sequences seemed overblown and melodramatic, and the storytelling rather clumsy, particularly in its knitting together of scenes. As the film progressed, however, I began to realise that these faults were actually fairly similar to the faults with the musical itself - I have always found the opening scenes, with their hyperactive drama compensating for rushed narrative, to be the weakest of the show. Having accepted this, I relaxed and began to appreciate what was being done. In many ways this is a remarkable piece of work. Visually, it is utterly stunning, be it set design, costume or cinematography. The big numbers are superbly rendered in a broader space than is available on stage, giving a real sense of scale and weight to the production. Most importantly, it retains the emotional tug of the musical. I honestly wasn't expecting it, but as the old familiar songs emerged I felt myself drawn further and further into the story, as I have always felt in the theatre, and come the ending, as usual, I was a blubbering wreck. I had expected a polished effort, but I had not expected the film to so fully engage me. To make an audience feel is a powerful skill, and it was used to full advantage here.Despite all this, I cannot really give the film top marks. Whilst I accepted the flaws of the opening, it was still disappointing that no solution had been attempted. I was also rather horrified by Hugh Jackman's remarkable changes of accent - in the first quarter of an hour he cycled indiscriminately through Irish, Australian, American, and several of the major British regional dialects. Once he settled, he was a passable Valjean - his voice matured through the film, and his acting was solid. Eddie Redmayne gave a surprisingly fine performance as Marius, and many of the minor characters were well played. I was, however, disappointed with some of the casting. The principal voices, overall, were a mixed bag. Whilst I wasn't myself a fan of Anne Hathaway's Fantine, despite its widespread admiration, I could accept its objective merits. Russell Crowe is seriously miscast as Javert, lacking menace, and with a voice entirely ill- suited to its purpose. Not his fault, just a bad casting decision. The Tenardiers, too were a disappointment - Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham-Carter are fine actors, but they played their roles far too much down the kooky path for my liking - weirdness for weirdness' sake, without the genuinely slimy charm and wit the roles deserve.Nevertheless, this film will remain a fond memory for me, and will get a rewatch one day - anything that can invoke such deep emotion has a true spark of genius in it, despite its flaws.

"Les Miserables" is the first musical I have ever seen. At first, I found it difficult to follow the plot,given that I was not used to musicals. But after the first scenes, I appreciated and got used to the songs and music, I also watched more times some scenes to listen to the music again. The character voices were also really enjoyable.A really good musical indeed!