Tom Hooper attempted something huge with his "Les Mis." It was supposed to be, as I had heard, either be an amazing adaption of both Victor Hugo's book and the original Broadway musical...or it was going to be a massive flop. For the most part, I would say it was the amazing adaption. I have never seen the Broadway production or the past film starring Liam Neeson, so this was my first time seeing Les Mis on the screen. Overall I was impressed, though disappointed with some scenes.
The film won three Academy Awards (including Best Supporting Actress, for Anne Hathaway) and was nominated for eight. The cast included Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russel Crowe as Javert, and Anne Hathaway as Fantine.
SUMMARY
When the movie begins, criminal Jean Valjean has been in jail nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread (in order to feed his sister's starving child). He is released under parole by the legalistic Javert. He finds no refuge anywhere until he comes across a man of God, who is kind to him. He then becomes a believer in God and turns his life around.
Years later, we find out that he is a successful mayor. Unfortunately, Javert comes to town on government business and almost immediately finds something familiar about him. Later, the inspector decides that the mayor is not the convict Jean Valjean and believes he has found someone else.
The mayor reveals himself to be the true Valjean. After the death of the poverty-stricken Fantine, Valjean escapes Javert to take care of her young daughter Cosette. He rescues her from the godless and theiving Thénardiers. Javert is soon on his trail, though, and stops by the inn run by the Thénardiers.
In short, the remainder of the two and-a-half hour film continues to the rebellion and ends with the aftermath.
CONTENT
The violence in this movie is heavy. The most violence is during the attack on the barricade towards the end of the film. All but two rebels are killed during the battle, including a scene where a young boy is shot. The filmmakers were not afraid to show blood (there is one scene where women are shown scrubbing the blood from the street). There is violence throughout the entire movie, but I think the battles were the most violent. One thing the viewer must understand is that the time period in which the movie is set was a very dark and violent era.
There were two inappropriate and immoral scenes that we fast forwarded. I will not go into detail, but the first scene features prostitutes. My mom thought these two scenes should have earned the film an R rating. Also, some of the women are not dressed modestly.
The language is moderately heavy, including a b***h, a b*****d, at least one h**l, Christ's name, d**n, and God's name three or four times.
Apart from these elements, the movie was wonderful and moving. Themes that are expressed throughout are those of forgiveness, loyalty, and faith. For example, Valjean's faith in God is what gets him through his trials. Also, I think I should mention this is the first musical film to record the actors singing live, rather than add their voices later. This made a big difference.
This film is meant primarily for adults and perhaps some teens. I would definitely NOT view this film without either of my parents.
In conclusion, Les Misérables is an amazing film, though it is littered with filthy content as nasty as the sewers in the movie. If you do not like musicals, I would not watch this movie (the lines are mostly sung, with few spoken words for the entire two-hour film). It provides some good history, but not what you could get from other films. So my final words would be that many will enjoy the film, but to watch with CAUTION. I would suggest looking for the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre presentation of the book which is much more mild (being for the entire family).
GENERAL INFORMATION
Length: 158 minutes (2 hours, 32 minutes)
Rating: PG-13 (for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements)
Director: Tom Hooper
Producers: Tom Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg
Year of release: 2012
Primary Audience: Adults, (teens, with parental approval)
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