by director Tom Hooper was released nationwide on Christmas Day, and in just a few short

weeks earned $200 million dollars. A faithful adaptation of the 1980's musical, which itself

was based on the 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo, the sung-through style of the picture,

which has virtually every line of dialogue being sung by the actors can honestly be distracting

at times. The music and performances are so enthralling, you forget you're supposed to

be paying attention to the exposition within the lyrics. With all of the A-list cast commendably

singing live, Hooper's decision to film many of the movie's most delicate moments with

non-steady cam handheld was jarring at times. Especially so, when juxtaposed to the rest

of the otherwise deliberate and conventional filming style: the dimly let Paris backdrop

gloriously photographed in every scene. The plot of this 158-minute musical drama follows

Hugh Jackman as a paroled prisoner who decides to care for the wayward daughter of a troubled

factory worker, played by Anne Hathaway who has been reduced to a life prostitution, all

while Russell Crowe, a ruthless Parisian policeman attempts to track them down. Undergoing impressive

make-up changes to make his character age 16-years over the course of the film, Jackman's

leading performance is remarkably relatable and engrossing one: audiences should have

no issue rooting for his Academy-nominated performance. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena

Bonham Carter are briefly featured as scheming housekeepers, their delightfully fun duet,

"Master Of The House", infuses this rather somber British musical with some much needed

comic relief. Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried contribute a lackluster love-story later in

the film, but even their above-average singing wasn't enough to truly sell their passion

for each other. Despite her limited screentime, Hathaway's Oscar-nominated performance is

a brilliant show-stopper, her goosebump-educing singing soliloquy of the musical's most famous

number, "I Dreamed A Dream" is as amazing beautiful as it is emotional resonant. In

that intensely intimate, uncut three-minute close-up, she single-handily made audiences

everywhere cry, while simultaneously winning herself an eventual Oscar, frustratingly belting

out, "I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living!" But with two hours

left after this incredibly memorable scene occurs, the picture never quite returns to

the powerfully moving experience: falling back on unlayered stereotypes, and relationships

between characters that lack much importance. Throughout it all, Crowe continues his fugitive

purist, but eventually his character seems desperate and clueless, with his singing curiously

falling flat in a few scenes. The introduction of an almost completely new plot halfway through

the picture was bothersome as well, but the visuals, costumes, and set-design are all

breathtaking: for all intents and purposes, this movie was filmed in 19th century France,

even if it all but glosses over the importance or historical context of the Paris Uprising

Of 1832. Considering this entire overly long picture is nothing but singing, I was surprised

that so few of the number were catchy or memorable... but rather a commendably performed means to

an end. Fans of the original musical and soundtrack will no doubt love this picture, but as it

was only truly incredible in a few scenes, it ultimately left me wanting more. Les Mis�rables,

"Enchantingly powerful, but only sporadically." Now lets check out the YouTube comments to

read some of your reviews.

A NINE and an EIGHT for Les Mis�rables. Your opinions were widely varied on this one,

but only to a degree of how emotional effective, and how well the singing was performed. Unanimous

praise was given to Hathaway's performance, while you were less impressed with Crowe - rating

the movie an "Awesome". As you probably guessed, I'm not a huge musical guy, but of the few

I've seen, this is easily the strongest. You remove Anne's amazing performance though,

and this picture is maybe a six. As is though, I enjoyed this picture, despite its flaws:

I thought it was GREAT.