Les Misérables the new movie is a smash hit. It stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried. It is about Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who was convicted for stealing a mouthful of bread. He is set free, after 19 years, by Javert, (Russell Crowe) who only refers to Jean Valjean as 24601, his criminal number. After being set free with his papers that say he is still a criminal, Jean Valjean looks for work but nobody will allow him to because he is a criminal. He goes to a cliff and tears up the papers, declaring himself a free man.
He starts a new life for himself, becoming a master of a factory and the mayor of a town. During this Javert is looking for Jean Valjean and catches him. Javert recognizes Valjean’s inhuman strength, while Valjean is rescuing a man from under a broken cart. Valjean reveals his true identity in court where Javert has accused another man of being 24601. Valjean makes a promise to a dying woman named Fantine, Anne Hathaway, that he will take care of her daughter. However, Javert will not allow him to leave if he has anything to do with it. Valjean escapes and finds Fantine’s daughter Cosette (Isabelle Allen and Amanda Seyfried) working for the evil innkeepers the Thénardiers (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter). Valjean buys Cosette away from the innkeepers. Cosette and Valjean go on the run.
The movie continues when Cosette grows up and falls in love with a boy who is the leader of the people’s army named Marius (Eddie Redmayne).
This movie was simply outstanding. The acting was stunning. I recently learned that since almost this whole movie is sung they sang it as they were filming, it was not dubbed. The costumes were realistic. This movie is very long, its runtime is two hours and 38 minutes. I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves musicals, and can handle some violence and sadness. This movie is based of the book written by Victor Hugo and has been on broadway many times. This is the first time it has been a film.
It is a PG 13 film and there is some suggestive and sexual material. Lyrics include “ready for a quick one or a thick one in the park” and “thinks he’s quite a lover, but there’s not much there”. There is some language including “s–t”, “bitch”, and “bastard”. There is a lot of violence. There are some gunfights, cannons, there are also some nasty beatings, and a bone-crunching suicide jump. There are many deaths, even some of children. A post battle scene shows a stream of blood in the street. This movie perfectly matches it’s PG13 rating. It is very sad and slightly depressing with short comic relief from the Thénardiers. I give this movie an A+ rating, it is a must see.
By Nicole Stern
Ack: Sierra Drury for editing and IMDB for the character names.