Les Miserables
starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks and Daniel Huttlestone
screenplay by Alain Boublil, William Nicholson, Claude-Michel Schőnberg and Herbert
Kretzmer
directed by Tom Hooper
Rating: ◊◊◊◊◊
What a load of total shitty crap!! It’s unfortunate, too, because the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo is one of the greatest and most dramatic stories in the history of literature. I know. I’ve read it. Twice. From its reputation I was expecting a much better movie. So I bought the DVD, not rented it, in anticipation of a show to match the reputation. Now I’m ready to toss the DVD in the trash, but I won’t. I’ll keep it in the hope that in the future I might appreciate it better. Or, even appreciate it at all.
I was so turned off by the music and singing that after ten minutes I was ready to stop watching. Instead I fast forwarded through the entire 158-minutes of it, stopping now and then for the most dramatic scenes. And there were a lot of dramatic scenes. The stagecraft and costumes are magnificent. It’s the music and the singing that suck.