Susan Boyle and Glee may have brought “I Dreamed a Dream” into the consiousness of youths, but millions already recognised this as an unforgettable anthem of Les Miserables, one of the most beloved and long-running musicals in Broadway and on the West End.

Now, as sung by Anne Hathaway in the trailer of the latest movie adaptation of the classic 1862 novel by Victor Hugo (also famous for novel The Hunchback of Notre-dame), it re-enters the world 14 years after the similarly titled movie which starred Uma Thurman, in the role of Fantine that Anne Hathaway takes, Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush and Claire Danes.

In fact, the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman, Wolverine) an escaped prisoner whose encounter with the superhuman forgiveness of a priest changes his life, and who then transforms the destinies of those around him, is so well known, that the trailer’s skimpy on the details.

Then again, what movie, much less a 98-second clip can do justice to the original story that’s 365 chapters long and told over 5 volumes?

In a nutshell, the story set in the 19th century in France, follows police inspector Javert’s (played by Academy Award winning actor Russell Crowe, Gladiator) dogged pursuit of Valjean, who has worked his way to respectability becoming mayor in a small town that knows nothing of his criminal past of stealing a loaf of bread. Hathaway’s Fantine, enters his life as an employee discharged for having an illegitimate daughter, who is forced into prostitution and ill health to support her daughter, Cosette (played by Isabell Allen as a child). Feeling responsible, despite not being a part of firing her, Valjean, at risk of being re-arrested, promises the dying Fantine he will care for the young Cosette, who has been fostered out to/abused and bullied by the Thenardiers and their daughter Eponine. In later years, the tables turn as a grown Cosette (played by Amanda Seyfried, Mamma Mia!) , now the daughter of Valjean, becomes of the love of Marius (Edward Redmayne, My Week With Marilyn) a young French revolutionary, who’s the secret love of an impoverished Eponine (Samantha Barks), who is forced to introduce them.

Besides Hathaway and the star-studded cast, the Golden Globe-nominated film also stars comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen (The Dictator)  and Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series) as the crooked and crude innkeepers Thenardiers.

As with the stage musical, but unlike the 1998 movie, we were treated to non-stop singing for the entire 2 and a half hours – yes, everything was sung, even dialogue. But kudos to British director Tom Hooper (who won the Best Director Oscar for The King’s Speech) for the idea of not using any pre-recorded music for the film. This required the actors to literally “sing” their lines, which provided freedom for them to showcase their raw talent by singing in whatever way they want, and allowed the audience to capture fully the emotions they were trying to portray.

Using original songs from the musical composed by Claude-Michel Schonberg and written by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, the film offers such gems as “I Dreamed a Dream”, which has been sung by a host of gifted musical theatre talents including Lea Salonga (who also did an unforgettable Eponine years earlier), Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel and Lea Michelle. While not as powerful vocally, Hathaway’s manages the song competently and manages to infuse the emotions effectively, justifying the occasional lapses in perfection. The best test is that it continues to linger even after the film’s over.

UrbanWire‘s second favourite number is Samantha Barks’ performance of Eponine’s  “On My Own”. Singing in the rain at night about her loneliness and her unrequited desire for Marius, the setting was perfect, down to every detail. Every lyric of the song bares the heart wrenching longing of her character, making your hair stand.

However, while the idea of almost 150 minutes of singing sounds dreamy, it can really tire you if you’re not used to musical theatre. As mentioned, every single word is sung, and you might try so hard to catch every single word they’re singing, you secretly hope that a snatch of spoken dialogue will emerge to relieve your senses and allow you to breathe.

Nevertheless, the impeccable execution of the songs were coupled with acting performances that were nothing short of spectacular.

We all know Anne Hathaway well, and how she’s evolved from her Princess Diariesdays to a drug addict in Rachel Getting Married (for which she received her first Best Actress nomination at the 81st Academy Awards) and as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. Once again, she dazzles us with her mind-blowing if short performance as the tragic victim of societal scorn. We’re glad to see her making use of her good voice, which was only known to the world after her performance with Hugh Jackman during the 2009 Oscars. Nevertheless, despite not being blonde, she easily portrayed Fantine’s fraility and desperation with a surprising maturity, flooding the audience with a sea of emotions and despair.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were simply perfect as The Thenardiers, adding a much needed humour to the otherwise depressing film. Being perfectly eccentric in their original selves, it must have been effortless for the both of them to accomplish their roles, and to keep a back-room full of stolen products with labels from “spectacles to buttons” and so on.

Russell Crowe, on the other hand, was a little disappointing. Donning his immaculate uniforms combined with his “manly” aura, he was probably too dashing and charming, to be the righteous man everyone loves to hate.  Geoffrey Rush did a better job at sending chills down our spines from the previous film adaption in 1998, given his strictly no-nonsense demeanour.

To prep for this film, Hugh Jackman went on a water-free diet for 36 hours, to lose weight and to look unrecognisable with sunken cheeks. An already slender Anne Hathaway lost 4 kg for the film (not to mention she’d her hair shorn). These sacrifices lend authenticity and together with the emotionally compelling and story of romantic love, human redemption, mercy and justice and patriotic idealism, and the inspirational music, leave you with a timeless and universal  film masterpiece.

Vive la Les Miserables!

 

  • Movie name: Les Miserables
  • Rating: 4/5
  • Release Date: 25th December 2012
  • Runtime: 158 Minutes
  • Language: English
  • Censorship Rating: NC16
  • Genre: Drama
  • Director: Tom Hooper
  • Main actors: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried