"Les Mis" - The Movie

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Oscar shall have a revolution of his own to contend with, as Hugh Jackman and his powerhouse voice bring Jean Valjean to the big screen. Daniel Day-Lewis ("Lincoln") has brilliant competition, in his race for the gold. Actually, we thought the entire "Les Mis" cast well chosen. The children are beyond astounding. Russell Crowe voice trained for a pretty solid delivery in his role as the antagonist, Inspector Javert. Of course, I'm a huge RC fan and a tad biased, so you'll have to decide that call for yourselves.

"I Dreamed A Dream" shall forever remain my favorite song from the show; it was performed to heart-wrenching perfection by an amazing Anne Hathaway, in her role as Fantine. However, I thought the show-stopping performance for a single song to be from Eddie Radmayne as Marius and "Empty Chairs At Empty Tables". One could just feel the loss and despair.

If you've never seen the play, go see the movie first... highly recommended for its clarity in the telling (singing) of Victor Hugo's 150-year-old story. The scenery, sets, graphics, staging... all magnificent backdrops to intense emotions felt from the least significant character to the star(s). But then...

Go see it live. One can never consume enough "Les Mis"... it simply never gets old and the music is positively exquisite. We're blessed to have enjoyed multiple Broadway and London theater versions.

Joe rated the movie a 9, reserving his 10 for "Lincoln" and DDL. I'd agree with his call, but for a different reason... nothing can quite compare with the stage version and its accompaniment by a live orchestra.

To Note: The movie was playing every hour in multiple theaters at Palisades. In ours, you could hear a pin drop... till the end, that is, when people stood and cheered.

"To love another person is to see the face of God." Jean Valjean