Monday, January 21, 2013

Music Monday: Les Misérables Quick Review

"On My Own," Les Misérables

I saw the movie over the break with my mom and sisters (who aren't serving missions). We had the best time! We laughed and cried and laughed again; it was wonderful! We literally passed a box of kleenex between us and enjoyed our snuck-in candy. It was such a great night!

Here's my review: Jackman as Jean ValJean was out of this world amazing! Hathaway as Fantine gave a really good acting performance which made up for her pretty good singing performance. Seyfried as Cosette was forgettable, but didn't ruin anything. Isabelle Allen, who played young Cosette, definitely helped me to love older Cosette more and filled in the Cosette character where Seyfried fell short. Allen was so incredible! Crowe as Javert was a huge disappointment, especially since Jackman was so good! You really need someone to equally counter ValJean's purity and goodness with coldness and malice, and Crowe just didn't even come close in acting or singing.

For me, the stand out performance (other than Jackman) was by Samantha Barks who played Eponine. Her voice, as you heard on the trailer, is gorgeous, and when she and Marius (played by Eddie Redmayne who also was incredibly wonderful) sang "A Little Fall of Rain" I bawled like a small child. It was so beautiful and heart-wrenchingly good! The whole movie was worth it just for that!

I would link-up to a clip of that song, but this version is the next best thing. I can't even buy it on iTunes yet, which is just not right to subject someone to such beauty and then withhold it from Amazon. But I'm strong, and I can be patient! Enjoy!

"A Little Fall of Rain," Les Misérables

3 comments:

Mary said...

I finally get to see it today- I'm so excited!

Dani and Dave said...

http://www.theonion.com/video/russell-crowe-praised-for-stunning-portrayal-of-ma,30839/

Have you seen the Onion making fun of Russell Crowe? I agree, he was just awful! However, I wasn't in love with Hugh Jackman either. Both of them actually kind of made me want to suffer hearing loss. I liked Anne H. more than I thought I would and Seyfried didn't bother me at all. But Eponine was definitely the star.

AND- I did NOT love the cinematography. It was almost awkward to watch, because the camera men just kept a close up on screen for just...painfully too long! Like, an entire 4 minute solo. Awkward!!

Kylie said...

I totally agree about Young Cosette - she completely stole the show. And I'm not a Russel Crowe fan at the best of times...and yeah, disappointing. But I loved this movie!