As the excitement increases for the holidays, so does the anticipation for Tom Hooper’s “Les Miserables,” an iconic story written by Victor Hugo about the lower class rebellion during the French Revolution. This epic tale will be coming out on Christmas Day, Dec 25.
The story begins with Hugh Jackman starring as Jean Valjean, a convict trapped in prison for stealing a loaf of bread for his family. After nineteen years of brutal hardship in prison, Valjean finally escapes but is hunted by a lawman, Javert, played by Russell Crowe, for breaking his parole.
After years of running, Valjean is able to gain wealth and status by becoming the owner of a factory and mayor of his town. One of his factory workers, Fantine, played by the lovely Ann Hathaway, is a single mother living in poverty. In order to provide for herself and her daughter Cosette, played by both Isabelle Allen (younger) and Amanda Seyfried (older), Fantine is forced into prostitution and decides to sell her hair. A heart-wrenching plot with this A-List cast makes creates even higher expectations for this memorable story.
But what really sets this film apart is the directing style of Tom Hopper, who is known for his 2010 Academy Award-winning “The King’s Speech”. “Le Mis” already has a Golden Globe nomination.
In an interview with BBC News, Hopper revealed, “I’m just pleased for the whole team who made Les Miserables. Making a musical is an intensively collaborative type of filmmaking, because it requires such an army of people. An army who aren’t there on a conventional movie.”
However, some disagree with Hooper’s interpretation of “Les Miserables”. Scott Mendelson for the Huffington Post believes that the film didn’t catch the breath-taking feeling like it has on Broadway.
“What perhaps felt epic on stage comes off onscreen like a rushed and overstuffed story with occasionally inexplicable narrative choices and occasionally misplaced character emphasis,” said Mendelson. “It comes off feeling less like one of the great epics of Broadway and more like a simplified and audience-pleasing version of the original Victor Hugo novel.”
Despite many reviews like this, many students at New Trier are already making plans as to when and with whom they will see this highly anticipated musical. Sophomore Caroline Smith, is looking forward to the upcoming film. “Based on what I’ve seen from the trailer, it looks fantastic,” said Smith. “I think it’s going to be entertaining with a great cast and I’m really excited.”
Senior Lizzie Armstrong, is most excited to see Ann Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried as Fantain and Cosette respectively. “I think they’re both going to do amazing,” said Armstrong. “They’re really dynamic actresses and I saw Seyfried in ‘Mama Mia’ and her musical performance was phenomenal.”
Both Hathaway and Jackman are also up for nominations at the Screen Actors Awards and Golden Globes. Jackman is a nominee for Best Actor-Musical and Best Actor-Comedy, and Hathaway for Best Supporting Actress. The two have been praised for giving incredible performances and are getting audiences excited.
If you are planning on seeing the movie, I recommend you bring tissues, someone you can grab the hand of, and an appetite for entertainment. Although it is heart wrenching and emotional, “Les Miserables” is one of the most celebrated musicals of all time. A truly beautiful story that Hooper and the rest of his team will no doubt capture.