Review of Les Misérables (2012) by Brian Daniel L — 12 Oct 2013

A great setup by director Tom Hooper, but ultimately too flawed to be worthwhile. Needless to say, there are several great performances (Anne Hathway certainly earned her Oscar and I was pleasantly surprised by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter), but there are just as many bad ones.

Russell Crowe is Razzie-worthy all around and Amanda Seyfried could have benefitted from some better vocal coaching. The cinematography is edgy but ultimately repetitive, and the scenery is repeatedly chewed by unneeded close-ups.

And, obviously, it's needlessly long. I was pretty much done by the time the movie still had half an hour left. In fact, I was astonished to see that the film is only 2.5 hours, because its feels more like 4.

5.