Les Miserables at Plymouth cinemas, a review
LES MISERABLES (12A)
Tom Hooper, Oscar-winning director of The King's Speech, dreamed a dream of immortalising Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil's powerhouse musical without the lip-synching.
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That audacious gamble – asking the actors to sing live in every take – pays off handsomely, teasing out the heartbreaking emotion in an adaptation of the global phenomenon stage show.
The London production of Les Miserables, which opened in 1985 to lukewarm reviews, is the longest-running musical in West End history.
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Hooper's terrific film embraces the Schonberg and Boublil songbook with bold directorial flourishes and tour-de-force performances, including a cry from the heart from Anne Hathaway that virtually guarantees her an Oscar.
Hugh Jackman also richly deserves a nomination for his fearless portrayal of a convict, which required the Australian actor to shed 30 pounds to convincingly portray his emaciated hero.
The film begins with a thrilling overture in a dockyard where Valjean (Jackman) and his fellow prisoners haul a ship out of the frothing water under the watchful eye of Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe).
Valjean gets parole and leaves his tormentor but can't get a job because of his shameful past.
Only the kindness of a bishop saves him from starvation.
Eight years later, Valjean has reinvented himself as a revered factory owner in Montreuil-sur-Mer, where one of his workers, Fantine (Hathaway), is cast out when the foreman learns she has an illegitimate daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen).
Determined to raise the money to keep her child under the roof of villainous Thenardier (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his wife (Helena Bonham Carter), Fantine sells her hair and then her body as she sobs I Dreamed A Dream.
The movie is a towering achievement. With live singing, Hooper can film set pieces in lip-quivering close-up, capturing the emotion and political turmoil
Only Crowe is miscast. His soft, sweet vocals render Javert somewhat impotent next to Jackman's booming delivery.
Bonham Carter and Baron Cohen provide stomach-churning comic relief.
Animal lovers should avert their eyes when the Thenardiers grind meat for their pies during a rumbustious sing-along to Master Of The House.
Magnifique!
RATING: 9/10
Comments
by DoWhatNow
Friday, January 25 2013, 1:38PM
“@ Felix_Devil. I saw this at Vue (Screen 12) and I thought the volume was, if anything, a little high. I had no problems at all in hearing every word. I'm surprised you found it quiet... And no, my hearing is not the best, believe me!”
by Felix_Devil
Friday, January 25 2013, 10:23AM
“Which cinema was it seen at? Enjoyment at Vue Cinemas has been ruined because their sound is so quiet, you can hardly hear dialogue. Les Mis, which should be a roaring feast plays in quiet voice in the Vue Plymouth cinemas. I took a bunch of visitors there for the film and all complained.”
by Matt2112
Monday, January 21 2013, 9:20AM
“Is this supposed to be a review or a partial synopsis?
There are plenty of reviews of Les Mis out there, why did the Herald feel the need to attempt one but not put any effort into it?”