Les Miserables the Movie: a Review.

***SPOILER ALERT***
**This is a long, nerdy post. Please skip if not a Les Mis enthusiast.**


The first time I saw Les Miserables,

it was Christmas day,

I went with my whooole family

(which let's be honest, consists of a small herd of people),

and my grandparents,

all of whom are big Les Mis fans who therefore have strong opinions,

also, I had only been waiting for the movie for like 17 years,

so I gasped just hearing the first notes 

and then continued to slightly hyperventilate until the very end.

I think it's safe to say therefore,

that my initial opinion was perhaps a bit skewed.

So I decided to wait to document my review of the movie

until I had the chance to view it objectively.

And here's my "objectively

Amanda" thoughts:

*eh hem..*

I LOVED  it.

I loved the costumes

and hair and makeup

and cinematography.

I loved Hugh Jackman's straggly beard
and big teary eyes and sincerity.
His version of "What Have I Done?" is in the running
for my favorite scene of the movie.
It was a powerful from-stage-to-screen moment.
Quite poignant in a different way then it could be in the theater.

I also happened to love Anne Hathaway...
I really did.
She did a superb job.
And here's how I can prove it;
very little of her portrayal of Fantine,
felt like Anne Hathaway.
Does that make any sense??
She was so in character,
that I felt like I was just watching Fantine,
and forgot about what irks me about Anne Hathaway.
I'd say that's a mark of an in-depth acting job, wouldn't you?
She definitely deserved that Oscar in my opinion.

Now, I'll reluctantly admit it,
but Russell Crowe was not a great singer,
in fact, comparatively to someone like Philip Quast,
I wouldn't even venture to say that he's necessarily a good singer.

But it's not like he professes to be,
and I always believe his acting;
 without me even noticing, he always tugs at my heart a little bit,

and I really ended up liking his (pretty different) take on the character.
He made Javert more human.

And then of course,

Sacha Baron Cohen made me giggle a whole lot.

Also, while my favorite Helen Bonham Carter character is Lady Tottington...

(from "Wallace & Gromit: the Curse of the Were-Rabbit")
...where she's animated...
or maybe Bellatrix Lestrange...
...where she's a nutcase...
and I don't usually like her as a (relatively in this case) normal person,
I thought she made a good Madame
especially to Sacha's Thenardier.
"Colette.
Cosette..."
haha

I also was grateful Amanda Seyfreid played Cosette;
I always love her
(probably because she always reminds me of Sophie)
but I am also grateful to her for making me care about Cosette
for the first time in my life.
Thanks for giving her a bit more depth, Amanda.
"Every day you walk with stronger step...
you walk with longer step...
the worst is over..."
So sweet.

As for Eponine,
Samantha Barks was just sensational.
I'd say she's the most legitimately talented when it comes to her voice.
...and her cockney accent is just the coolest too.

(Can we talk about this though??)

Can someone please let her breathe?

Aaron Tveit was just about as equally as talented.
And I loved that he was reppin' Broadway in the movie
(as all the other characters were from Hollywood, or London's West End)
...I just wish he didn't have Hobbit hair.
It made me confused as to which movie I was watching....

And then there was Marius...
Mr Eddie Redmayne.
Ohh Eddie, with your freckles and your jaw-shaking vibrato,
your slightly naive facial expressions,
and your goo-goo eyes at Cosette,
your appropriate dispersion of crying and emotion
during your pretty much perfect rendition of "Empty Chairs and Empty Tables",
just stole the show for me a little bit.
You were my favorite actor/singer/eye candy
of the whole movie you little cutie!

So, bottom line,

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I mean, thank goodness right??

What would have come of the world

had I hated it?

PS-Who was this guy??

"You at the barricades listen to THIS!"

... He was fantastic!!

I wanted to hear more of his voice!

Les Miserables quote of the day:
"Love is the foolishness of men, and the wisdom of God."