Les Misérables (2012) / IMDb / Cinema / / Working Title Films / 157 minutes
Cinema poster:
Plot:
Quote:
Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables travels with prisoner-on-parole, 24601, Jean Valjean, as he runs from the ruthless Inspector Javert on a journey beyond the barricades, at the center of the June Rebellion. Meanwhile, the life of a working class girl with a child is at turning point as she turns to prostitution to pay money to the evil innkeeper and his wife who look after her child, Cosette. Valjean promises to take care of the child, eventually leads to a love triangle between Cosette, Marius who is a student of the rebellion, and Eponine, a girl of the streets. The people sing of their anger and Enjolras leads the students to fight upon the barricades.
Comments:
I saw this film at a tiny one-screen cinema that is very local to me. A cinema that I was seemingly never out of in my teens, but stopped going after realising that I didn't actually like most of the films that they showed (a lot of the films they show are either geared to children, or are rather bland comedies or major Hollywood productions that I have no interest in). They sell cups of tea in real mugs and play 'God Save the Queen' before the trailers start. As for the film... hm. I hate musicals. In fact, the only musical I ever got on with at all was
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. So I wasn't going into this with high expectations.
The story itself is pretty moving, but I think the sheer fact that the entire film was sung (as is the stage play) really does it a disservice. It distracts quite badly from the entire film. I was very tired whilst watching it and nothing that really happened on-screen piqued my interest. I thought it was far too long, and after about an hour I'd had enough but unfortunately, as the cinema was completely packed in, there was no way I could move. I took an enormous dislike to the rich pretty boy kid who played Marius, the revolutionary (Eddie Redmayne). I don't know, perhaps I disliked the character or perhaps I disliked him personally. I disliked him and his cohorts so much I was rooting for the royalists to massacre them all so that the film would finish!
As for the performances - they're all pretty good but apart from one or two songs (notably "Look Down" right at the beginning of the film), I disliked most of the others - particularly the godawful revolutionary song that popped up over and over again. Hearing that same faux-uplifting song over and over again did my bloody nut in.
Perhaps the main bright spot in the film - apart from Hugh Jackman's Jean Valjean, were Sacha Baron-Cohen and Helena Bonham-Carter, who played the Thénardiers. I think it was mainly because they at least provided some form of comic relief as compared to the deadly boring and depressing leadenness of the rest of the picture. It probably didn't help either that the two old biddies that were sat right next to me passed loud comments to each other throughout the film's quieter, non-dialogue and non-action sequences.
I know I will probably be savaged for this but, God help me, I really didn't like this film and I never want to see it again. I knew I shouldn't have bothered with it, but I thought I'd go along and see if my predictions that I wouldn't like it would be proved wrong. I wasn't wrong at all. I was bang on.
Gah!
C'est la vie.