Starring:
Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Australia, The Prestige)
Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man)
Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries, The Dark Knight Rises, The Devil Wears Prada)
My Rating: 4/5
As a die hard Les Mis fan from the age of 8 I was pretty much going to love this film regardless. I can't go more than 3 months without listening to the soundtrack, much to my housemates' despair, and I make it my mission to see the theatre edition as often as possible (three so far).
Les Misérables is the 19th century story of Jean Valjean (Jackman), a convict who breaks his parole and is hunted through two decades by merciless inspector Javert (Crowe). In the process, Valjean takes penniless Fantine's (Hathaway) daughter under his wing, bringing her up as his own, changing both their lives forever.
I believe that, on entering the cinema, everybody should be given a programme, same as in the theatre. As incredible as it is, I feel that the people around me were missing the point a bit, not knowing what was going on and couldn't appreciate it fully. However, knowing the story myself, I can't deny that it was spectacular! The production was incredible and the acting was flawless. Anne Hathaway well deserved her Golden Globe and Oscar nomination, in the small time she was in the film she blew me away. I was sketchy about the casting of Crowe but even he was surprisingly good considering he doesn't have a background in musical theatre. The rest of the casting was spot on and I would recommend absolutely everybody takes a trip to see it, as long as they find out the story beforehand.
