I’ll just say it, “I love musicals”. The backlash from those artists who aren’t
thrilled to death with the performances of the actors as singers (Adam
Lambert), I say, pish tosh. Yes, he’s
been on the stage and he’s very good at what he does, but I didn’t see him cast
in this film or any others for that matter, so, his opinion, is just that. I was surprised by the performances, not only
due to the amount of skill by the leads, actually everyone in the film sang…it
was a literal translation of the stage production and it was done well. Eddie Redmayne. I think, was the one that
surprised me the most. I only recall
seeing him in My Week With Marilyn before and he was a formidable Marius.
Paris, post French Revolution, is not the prettiest City you’ve
ever seen, at least the parts that we’re taken to. There are truly disgusting bits and pieces throughout
the film and if you are in the least bit squeamish about muck and what it’s
like in the sewers of a place and time where everything flows into the nearest
waterway, then consider this your heads up.
Gloom, despair, agony, defeat, getting ready to call it
quits, it truly was a miserable existence.
Despite the strum and drang theme of Victor Hugo’s book and the
relentless pursuit of a man whose only crime was stealing a loaf of bread,
there is a bit of humor in the bleakness provided by Sacha Baron Cohen and
Helena Bonham Carter, as the Thenardiers who “care” for young Cosette (newcomer,
Isabelle Allen). Both are perfectly cast
and do a precisely choreographed reaming of their victims, er, guests. Which brings us to Hugh Jackman, Anne
Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Russell Crowe, and Samantha Barks (Eponine)---stunning
portrays by all of the above. Had this
been a stage production, I couldn’t have imagined a better cast. Bravo…Rating 4 stars
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