Review: Les Miserables

The review of the week is about the musical of the moment and to save you some time, we tell you this- if you don't really like musicals or just barely stand them, then this movie is definitely not for you. The rest of you, here is our review of 'LES MISERABLES'.

When you go see a movie based on a musical, you know what you are getting yourself into: Romance, comedy, dancing, top-notch cinematography, crazy editing and, for the most part, lots of imagination. 'LES MISERABLES' a worldwide renowned Victor Hugo novel has been onstage on Broadway since 1987 becoming one of the biggest box office successes of all time.

Director Tom Hooper, Academy Award winner for 'THE KING'S SPEECH', brings us this cinematic beauty (based on the Broadway play) and even though his work must not be ignored, what makes this musical different from any other are the characterizations by the actors.

Not long ago we gave you our thoughts on 'LINCOLN' and mentioned Daniel Day Lewis as a lock to win the Oscar in the Lead Actor category. After seeing Hugh Jackman's portrayal of 'Jean Valjean' (easily the performance of his career), we believe this race is much closer than we anticipated.

Anne Hathaway has been winning awards around the world for her interpretation of 'Fantine' and she deserved each one of them. She gives everything she has into her roll; by the way, good luck trying to keep your eyes dry when se performs "I dreamed a dream". Unlike Hugh Jackman, she is a LOCK for the Oscar on Sunday night.

Going back to the technical aspects, since going through each of the actors' performances would turn this into a bible, the editing and the cinematography are both amazing. Photographers will fall in love with the colors and frames used. In some sequences you might think you are looking at a photo-collection worthy of being in the Louvre.

Okay, we've covered a lot of things and you might wonder why we said that if you don't like musicals, then stay away. It's simple- 95% of film is done in songs. Dialogue is practically inexistent and this makes the film feel a bit too long. If this isn't a problem for you then by all means go see it.

Finally we recommend you get the movie's soundtrack. You will not regret it, it is full of life, excellent music and songs that you may be familiar with but didn't know were part of this musical; a special mention to Samantha Barks' interpretation of "On my own". SUPERB!