Les Misérables

I first was introduced to the musical phenomenon of Les Misérables (colloquially known as Les Miz),when I was 16 years old. It was on a school trip to London and Mr Hawkins, the trip organiser and depute head teacher at my school cited that it was one of his favourite shows. He then proceeded to sing a few songs from the show much to our amusement. He also explained the story to us to avoid confusion when we saw it.

I have to admit the first time I saw it I didn't really care much for it. There was only one song I recognised from the show and that was 'I Dreamed a Dream'. I first heard Martine McCutcheon sing that song on a Musicals CD I owned. Perhaps it was because I was surrounded by classmates who were not normally used to this type of musical where it's all sung through, but I have to admit I didn't really enjoy it at first.

Perhaps I was much like the critics who panned the show when it first opened at London's Barbican centre in October 1985. They referred to it as 'The Glums' and found it all too depressing. Well with a title like Les Misérables, which translates into English as 'The Miserable', 'The Wretched', 'The Poor', you would expect it to be glum and depressing wouldn't you?

A year later, I revisited the music from the musical and instantly from that moment on fell in love with it. It was that same year, I read the abridged version of the novel on which the musical and countless film and TV adaptations have been based. Les Misérables was written by Victor Hugo and was published in 1862. The full version has over 1,200 pages and I'm attemping to tackle reading it this year. I fell in love with the story and in my opinion it is one of the best stories ever written.

I went back to see Les Misérables with my family at the Edinburgh Playhouse in 2010 (fantastic production) and that year bought both the Original London Cast and 25th Anniversary Cast recordings. It was also the year I became a fan of Alfie Boe (see my blog post about him), who played Valjean in the 25th Anniversary Concert (which I've got on DVD) and in the West End in 2011.

Imagine my delight when I found out that a film version of the stage musical was going to be made. I wondered who would play the memorable characters of Jean Valjean, Javert, Fantine, Marius, Cosette, Eponine, The Thernardiers amongst others.

Just a few weeks ago I went to see that film version and I was not disappointed. I saw the trailers for the film a few months ago and was very skeptical that the actors would match with those of the stage show. I was proved wrong however, as the vocals of Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Samantha Barks, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were impeccable.

The story in a nustshell: Jean Valjean (Jackman) is a prisoner forced to hard labour for nineteen years, just for stealing a loaf of bread. He is then paroled by Javert (Crowe), a prison guard who later becomes a chief inspector. Valjean breaks his parole and becomes a mayor of a small town and owns a factory, where Fantine (Hathaway) works. Fantine is then fired for refusing the foreman's advances and for having an illegitimate child. She tries to find another job but fails and then turns to prostitution just to help provide and save her daughter Cosette (played as a child by Isabelle Allan and as a young woman by Amanda Seyfried). Cosette lives with the greedy Thernadiers (played to perfection by Borat and AliG star Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, aka Mrs Tim Burton) and their daughter Eponine (played as a child by Natalya Wallace and as an adult by Samantha Barks).

Jean Valjean promises Fantine  that he will take care of Cosette and he looks after her as she grows up. Meanwhile a revolution is happening in Paris and Marius (Redmayne) and his friend Enjolras (played by the gorgeous Aaron Tveit, drool) are at the front of it. Also fighting for freedom is little Gavroche (played brilliantly by Daniel Huttlestone). They are all dreaming of a better life 'when tomorrow comes'.

I loved all the characters, but my favourite character of all has to be Eponine. She has such a tragic life, spoiled when young, but impoverished when older. Her parents are the scrupulous Thernadiers and often she goes out robbing with her father. She is also desperately in love with Marius, who in turn is in love with Cosette. I think a lot of girls can relate to Eponine that way.

Both  Anne Hathaway and Samantha Barks' solos were amazing. Hathaway really injected emotion into her character Fantine's 'I Dreamed A Dream.' Her character was in a desperate situation and that seemed to come out in the song. Barks' sang 'On My Own' like an angel and her character sang her heart out while walking barefoot in the heavy rain. I really enjoyed Hugh Jackman's singing in the film, as well as the singing voice of Russell Crowe, he was very impressive, especially as I had never heard him sing before. Eddie Redmayne has a delightful voice and Amanda Seyfried, as we all know from Mamma Mia! can sing, with her sweet melodic voice. Aaron Tveit, alongside Samatha Barks' has one of the best singing voices in the film, after all both he and Barks are originally theatre performers.

If you enjoy musicals, then I do recommend Les Misérables. It easily is the best film of 2013. That may sound biased, but it is true, it brings out so much emotion and the characters are memorable and well-loved. One bit of advice: be sure to bring tissues, as by the end even the hardest of hearts will be softened.













Comparison: The 2012 film poster and the musical poster featuring the image of 'Young Cosette'.

A picture of  Aaron Tveit as Enjolras (phwoar) since he doesn't have his own poster:

Just look at him! That hair, that face... okay I'm getting carried away now! 


Below: Posters of the cast, the taglines are lines from the songs which their characters sing in the musical.