Les Miserables (2012 Nominee)

In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, a man convicted of stealing a loaf of bread, breaks his parole and is hunted by Javert, a ruthless policeman.  After rebuilding his life, he agree's to care for a factory worker turned whore's daughter, Cosette.  

There was a time in the 1960’s when a musical was nominated or even won Best Picture every year. As of late however, with the exception of a few breakouts, the musical film genre has had a much rockier history; film versions of The Phantom of the Opera and the more-recent Rock of Ages among others had several fatal problems. It is because of this that I am pleasantly surprised and pleased to report that Les Misérables succeeds despite the odds and is the best film musical I have seen since Hairspray or Dreamgirls, perhaps even the best since 2002’s Chicago. That’s not to say that this film is flawless- the much-discussed live singing greatly enhances the performances but causes some issues with sound mixing, and much chagrin has been placed on Russell Crowe’s singing. Nevertheless, the good outweighs the bad- the supporting cast and art direction is fantastic and Anne Hathaway’s Oscar win seems beyond reproach. I will definitely revisit Les Misérables and it deserves its place in my top 5 of the year. 


Dear Anne Hathaway- You are amazing.  I don't care if you did sketchy things to lose weight.  I love you anyways.  

Ok, so Les Mis.  I laughed, I cried, I loved it.  Quick break down of my thoughts in the show.  If it was just a movie about Anne Hathaway... IT WOULD BE WORTH IT!  Her good girl gone ho-bag routine is LEGIT.  She is def winning that Oscar.  Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter are amazing.  They were a treat to watch.  Hugh Jackman was very good.  He had some moments were he sounded too ugly to be Jean Valjean but all was forgiven during "Bring Him Home." The girl who played Eponine was wonderful (she played the role on broadway) and her waist was way tiny.  Scary tiny.  Marius, Eddie Redmayne, was great! I was amazed.  Usually the character is sort of blah and you just want Eponine to run off with ANY one else. The scene where this movie was elevated even more was when the young men are discussing the revolution.   EVERY single person in that scene is amazing.  Especially Enjorlas.... BE STILL MY BEATING HEART!  Seriously.  Some wonderful things in this movie.  Amanda Seyfried was fine and Russell Crowe was mediocre in his finest hour.  It has become cool to crap on Crowe's performance.  He was underwhelming but not THAT bad.   Just a weak link in an extremely strong chain AND score for Seyfried because he made her look a whole lot better. 

Anne Hathaway's mother had covered the role of Fantine, the character she plays in the film, in the US national tour of Les Miserables when she was a child. 

Jean Valjean: To love another person is to see the face of God.