So, I know it’s been out for a few weeks now, but I saw Les Misérables yesterday with a friend. Oh My Word. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much at a film – and I cry at EVERY film I’ve ever seen, not to mention a fair few books and TV programs (I wish I were exaggerating – trust me, I’m not). I’ve been meaning to read the book for a while now, but it’s very long and so I’ve been putting it off until my college coursework deadlines are out of the way. However, let’s just say that after watching the film, I can’t wait to read the book.
Les Misérables is about a man
(Jean Valjean) who steals some bread and is sentenced to a period of hard labour – basically, he is made a ‘slave of the law’. When
he is finally released, he is supposed to be on parole for the rest of his
life, but he breaks this parole. I don’t want to give too much away for those
who still want to see it, but the story is basically about Jean Valjean and the
policeman (Javert) who is hunting him down to make him pay for breaking parole.
Usually with films, there is
one single point where I just HAVE to cry. It doesn’t have to be at the end, or
even a particularly sad bit (I’m notorious for crying at happy parts as well),
but once that bit is out of the way, I’m totally fine. Well…not this time! Les
Mis (as I shall affectionately refer to it as from now) is the sort of film
where there’s a really sad bit and so you cry. And after the really sad bit
everything’s okay. Then, just as you’ve put your tissue away, along comes
another really sad bit for you to wail at. Then, everything’s okay again but,
just as you think you’re safe…yep! You guessed it – sad bit comes back again.
Let me just say, I LOVED THIS!
I’m not just being
unreasonably emotional like I normally am with films either. My friend (whom I
watched it with) NEVER cries at films unless an animal is dying. There were no
animal deaths in Les Mis, and yet she cried even more than I did. Maybe they
put something in the popcorn. I hope we’re not alone; how anyone can watch this
film and NOT cry is beyond me.
Now, of course Les Mis is a
musical and, as a musical, you would expect it to have singing. I loved the
songs in Les Mis (Do you Hear the People Sing is now one of my favourites). When I got home from the cinema, I actually
spent about an hour listening to the soundtrack on YouTube and reliving my
emotions again (read as: cried a whole load more). Some people have remarked
that the actual singing in the film (i.e. the actors’ ability to sing) is not
the greatest and, I have to agree. However, this is probably because they are
ACTORS. For them, the acting of their parts comes first. In the stage versions
of Les Mis, the actors are trained in musical theatre and not just acting like
Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman and the rest. And so, keeping this in mind, I think
they did an amazing job!
Moving on to the actual
characters in Les Mis then. Primarily, Les Mis is the story of Valjean and
Javert, with Fantine, Cosette and the rest being (albeit very important) merely characters in the
supporting plot. The characters are all played beautifully throughout the film,
and I genuinely rooted for them. I know Cosette’s supposed to be my favourite, but I honestly
prefer Éponine. I
nearly always do this – I prefer the secondary characters because it isn’t
their story that’s being told and so I find them a whole lot more interesting. Éponine is one of my favourite characters without a doubt.
How Marius didn’t see just how much she loved him will always be a mystery to
me, and On My Own was beautifully done. The emotions of Éponine’s character were flawlessly portrayed, and I loved
every minute of her time in the film. Samantha Barks is an amazingly talented
woman. Another character I loved was Gavroche – the witty, slightly annoying
little street urchin. He told the story of France before he was even born and
he was so brave and adorable that I found myself waiting for his moments. All
through the film I was muttering, “Please don’t die, please don’t die”. Well,
to save spoilers, I’m not going to say whether or not I was in mourning as I
left the cinema.
In conclusion, Les Misérables
is a flawless film. I’ll definitely be getting it on DVD when it comes out, and
I’ll probably get the soundtrack too! I enjoyed every moment of the film, even
when I was crying, and the ending broke my heart and yet managed to lift it up
at the same time. I don’t know what it is – the brilliant acting, lifelike
characters, neatly tied up ending, or the fact that this actually happened. Les
Misérables charts, through the revolution/rebel people (Marius, Gavroche and
the rest), the journey up to the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris. Maybe that’s what
makes this film, and undoubtedly the book, so different to others I watch. I
sobbed my way through most of this, but I’d watch it again and again and I
strongly recommend it to everyone, regardless of whether or not you’re
interested in history or France. Hands down, this is the best film I’ve seen
for some time.
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