Ed's Review Dot Com

Working Title Films, Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.,

Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, Colm Wilkinson, Bertie Carvel

Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is a prisoner, arrested for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s child. Once paroled, Javert (Russell Crowe) vows that if he misses checking in at parole, he will hunt him down for the rest of his life. Due to the kindness of a priest at the monastery, Jean Valjean changes his life and becomes an honest business owner and Mayor of the town. But true to his word, Javert hunts for him year after year. Valjean meets Fantine (Anne Hathaway) and her poor child Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) who Jean Valjean raises as his own daughter while staying one step ahead of Javert. This is finally the movie version of the Broadway musical.

Certainly Victor Hugo wrote a stunning story. I have heard the story before. I really loved the dramatic version with Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush in 1998. I have never seen the musical. I found the music off putting, certainly. There are a ton of musicals with dialog and then they burst into a song which helps to forward the story. I am used to that, but in this musical, they sing everything. I think there are probably less than 25 words spoken in the whole film. As a result, much of the dialog which is sung is really annoying, and pretty senseless. I just wanted these people to talk a little bit. Furthermore, besides the Susan Boyle classic, “I Dreamed a Dream” and a song called “On My Own” there was nothing much else recognizable at all. The strength of the story helps to make up for it quite a bit, and it is a wonderful tragic drama after all, with lots of excitement. It’s just the singing is way too much. Then they hire actors that are fantastic dramatic actors and ask them to sing. I agree with Adam Levine when he asked, “But the score suffered massively with great actors PRETENDING to be singers.” Why not hire singers who can act, if they’re going to sing everything. When the last time you sat down to purchase a Russell Crowe or Hugh Jackman album? Because of the strength of the story and the beauty of it all, and based upon the fact that it brought me to tears several times, even though I knew what was going to happen, I still gave this a good rating. But there are weaknesses, and truth be told, if you’re not familiar already with the Broadway version, and you’re also not familiar with the story, go for the 1998 version with Liam Neeson.

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