Nothing to be sad about
Victor Hugo’s classic story about Jean Valjean who after an extended prison sentence is released from hard labor and after finding it hard to survive being honest steals from a Bishop who offered him food and shelter but when caught instead of seeking retribution lies to protect Valjean and saves him from more hard time for breaking his parole, and from Javert the police officer hell bent on up holding the law. He then swears to change for the good and help others as he was once helped but can only do this by creating a new identity and running from the law, Valjean becomes a factory owner and a town mayor but still haunted by Javert. After unwittingly causing Fantine a factory worker to lose her job thus forcing her to a life of prostitution after her death swears to protect her daughter, living with the Thenardiers (played by Cohen and Carter).
If you like musicals you will love this film it captures the performance and the power of signing live by recording whilst filming rather then being dubbed over in the edit, in the same way people prefer vinyl to a digital copy. You feel you are getting a performance rather then a note perfect piece of cinema. Although Russell Crowe might not be the best singer in the world his performance is more then adequate and holds his own against the fantastic performances from the rest of the cast, which is a great bit casting and really makes this film. One of the biggest surprises was the appearance of Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter who don't have the longest scene time but have a huge impact and provide some humous moments and work off each other fantastically well and are a great double act. Musicals might be out of fashion with hollywood but when they are done well like this it becomes as close to watching a live performance on stage as you can get. Even if you aren't a fan of musicals and are being forced to watch this you wont feel that you are being tortured its size and majesty makes it worth seeing at the cinema or will get the best out of any good home cinema system, although you get the feeling it will get many showings on the big screen and will become a favorite with the sing-a-long crowd just as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Sound of the Music have. A long film but plenty going on to keep you entertained if there was one criticism that would the cockney accents the young kids seem to have towards the end, i know it’s a Brit film but it is based in France so found this a bit odd but nothing major.
Verdict: If you like a musical you will love this if you don’t you cant help but be impressed, well worth a Cinema visit, and guys it will get you browny points with your girlfriends.
