Quick and dirty, spoilery review of Les Miserables:
I am hoping for an uncut version!
Full disclosure: I've never seen the stage show, so everything was new to me, I was totally unfamiliar with the story, and know none of the songs.
While Javert's suicide may not have come across as it typically does in the show, I will say specifically that it had a shocking and sobering impact. My husband and I both gasped aloud and I had to look away for a few minutes after. (I have suicide triggers, so that relates, but it was still much more startling than I had expected.) I agree completely that Crowe was a little too consistently stoic.
Anne Hathaway _blew me away_. Admittedly I couldn't watch about 1/3 of the _Lovely Ladies_-_I Dreamed a Dream_ scenes/transitions because tooth-pulling and let's-be-honest rapey-happenings, but her voice was incredible, and every single line she delivered, every single needle and punch of her voice - it was unbelievable. If she doesn't get ALL of the awards I will be fully ashamed of Hollywood to a greater degree than ever before. Just, wow.
And Jackman! WOW. His long notes were completely enthralling, and his performance was so, so sad. I can't say enough words about him. Pretty much every time he was singing or talking I was like "but Noooooo! Happy times!" The scene with him and little Cosette in the carriage was beautiful and hopeful and yet just like a held breath.
I was really impressed with Amanda Seyfried. She's one of the least-tried of the actors that I am aware of, especially for musical productions, so I was excited to see her performance and I was not disappointed at all. She made me give a crap about Cosette, which I might not have otherwise.
Marius! Oh, my god, Redmayne was great. He was so very good in every scene, and the Empty Tables song (which I have never heard) had me just clutching my chest. So much loneliness, regret, and his acting and his voice together were fantastic.
Eponine was quite incredible. I watched one live performance of hers as Eponine for the Les Mis anniversary and the film version was quite a bit more interesting and emotive because it was, obviously, in context and also much more influenced by her environment and acting. Quite fantastic.
The children in this movie were amazing. Gavroche is my favorite character without a doubt because he was _super badass_ and I have a love for doomed characters, apparently, since I also liked the revolutionaries and Fantine and Jean Valjean.
I cried a couple of times, but nothing hit me as hard as the final scene - which, by the way? When Fantine shows up, and from there out? One of the most emotional scenes I have ever seen in a film. It was heartbreaking and beautiful and just... wow. Wow. Very wow.
Basically, everyone in the film blew me away.
The cinematography was incredible. The costumes were very well done and had a huge impact on how I saw the film. The scenery and sets were, to be truthful, some of the best I've seen in regards to realism-but-hyper-realism, which is, I think something the directors and set creators were aiming for.
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