Review of Les Misérables (2012) by Troy M — 21 Oct 2013

It was tough to give Les Misérables a final score, but in the end, despite its flaws, it deserves a 4/5 for the incredible acting and director Tom Hooper's clear passion for this project. Every one of the actors did a brilliant job, but I have to commend Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, and Russell Crowe who steal the show with incredibly powerful performances.

And Hooper's decision to film the actors singing live was a brilliant idea that gives this production and its characters an organic and sympathetic feel. As for its flaws, there are a number of them.

The story is great and powerful, but at times it feels like there's too much going on and the plot becomes a blur. Also, I never bought into Marius and Cosette's romance. It happened too quickly and I never really cared.

I felt more for Éponine (played brilliantly by Samantha Barks) and her innocent love for Marius. One other problem I had was the camera work in certain shots which sometimes felt very chaotic with the use of shaky-cam and many actors dancing and singing accordingly.

Regardless, this is one fantastic film and I can't wait to see director Tom Hopper's next masterpiece.