Les Miserables (2012) – Encore Review 3

“Oh, my friends! My friends, don’t ask me what your sacrifice was for! Empty chairs at empty tables, where my friends shall sing no more” – Marius

Number of Times Seen – 6 (15 Jan 2013, Mid-Feb 2013, 23 Oct 2013, 2 Oct 2014, 22 Nov 2016 and 19 Nov 2019)

Link to original review – Here, Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – A former prisoner in Napoleonic France tries to redeem himself by caring for the orphan child of a woman who he inadvertently wronged.

My Take on it – I have always loved the story of this film and have seen the stage version numerous times in different languages even.

They do an amazing job adapting it for the screen and make the story feel even more epic by the way that they present things.

This is a such an iconic story and the manage to find a way to raise the poignancy of the story even more with this adaptation.

The story is quite breathtaking to watch unfold here largely due to the way that the sets are organized because they add so much more scope to both the characters and the plights that they encounter along their journeys than the way that the stage limits things.

The songs are excellent and they are able to enhance the story so much due to the themes of love and redemption tat are quit present in this story.

The film encompasses lots of different themes that are all developed quite well over the course of the story and makes things even more poignant to watch.

The film’s length is slightly over two and a half hours, but due to the great pacing, it moves along really well without the feeling of it dragging or standing in place.

The cast of this film is wondrous and they all do really well with these characters that they inhabit.

Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway are all able to give really great performances here which raise the level of the poignancy of the story so much.

Hathaway won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work on this film despite her character’s limited screen time.

The theme dealt with in this story are quite comprehensive, but the main issues of love, redemption, trust, forgiveness and of course freedom ring so true throughout.

This is by far the best film of 2012 IMHO and is so enjoyable to watch over and over.

Bottom Line – Amazing adaptation of this superb musical that is quite iconic. The way it is presented onscreen is breath taking because the sets add so much more scope to these characters and their plights than the stage allows. The songs are excellent and enhance this story about love and redemption so much. Love the way that the story is able to encompass so many different themes and allows each to be developed properly over the course of the story. The film’s length is over two and a half hours yet moves along so well that it never drags or feels as if it is standing in place. The cast is great with Jackman, Crowe and Hathaway all giving amazingly poignant performances. Hathaway won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her very emotional portrayal of her character even if she has very limited screen time. The themes of love, redemption, trust, forgiveness and of course freedom all ring true here so well. The best film of 2012 IMHO. Highly Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Typically, the soundtrack for a movie musical is recorded several months in advance and the actors mime to playback during filming. However, on this film, nearly every song* was recorded live on set to capture the spontaneity of the performances. Everyone involved, from Hugh Jackman to Russell Crowe to producer Cameron Mackintosh, has praised this approach as it allowed them to concentrate on their acting as opposed to lip-syncing properly. They have also praised director Tom Hooper for attempting this on such a scale; something no director has ever done before. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10) (no change from original review)