Friday, January 4, 2013

Les Miserables Est Formidable

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Went to see Les Miserables yesterday, and Honey and I loved it. 

We thought it was exceptional. 

Hugh Jackman is excellent, Anne Hathaway fantastic, and Amanda Seyfried and Samantha Barks are great.  We had never seen Eddie Redmayne before, so he was a delightful surprise.  Russell Crowe was adequate, less than you might expect from an international superstar, but he got the job done.

If you are expecting to see a typical Broadway-style musical, don’t.  As Honey pointed out early in the show, it comes a lot closer to being an English-language opera.  There is very little actual conversation – almost all dialogue is sung.

Film critic Richard Roeper called it "an unforgettable moviegoing experience, sure to garner multiple Oscar nominations."  We would agree, but according to one story on the internet, only about 72% of film critics do.  Some thought it was awful.  The worst review I saw was this from  the New Yorker.

If you are not familiar with Victor Hugo’s classic novel, I should warn you that this is not your typical musical comedy romp in the park.  There is a lot more tragedy than comedy here - and I suspect that many of those writing negative reviews felt that there is something inherently wrong with viewing that much squalor, pain and degradation as entertainment.

I believe that Les Miserable is an experience that should not be missed, but you should go see it and judge for yourself.

 

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