Les Miserables
Alhamdulillah, I had the opportunity to watch this musical film last week with a good friend (terima kasih M sudi temankan :) ). I have never read the book, watched the theatre, or even read the synopsis so I went with an open mind, devoid of preconceptions. And I was completely blown away!
Based on a classic novel by Victor Hugo, the story follows the lives and interactions of several characters in the era of French Revolution in the 19th century, focusing on the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption (from Wikipedia). It was sad and moving, and I was literally in tears almost from the start to the finish. What a poor condition the society was at that time.
The movie is well-filmed too. I love the close-up technique for the solo songs. You can really see the good acting, all the emotion, every line and crease of the face, every drop of tear and yes, even the saliva - I think it worked well. I was particularly impressed by Anne Hathaway's rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' - easily the best scene in the movie. It's no wonder she bagged the Best Supporting Actress Award in the recent Golden Globe for this role. Eddie Redmayne (playing Marius) was pretty good too when he was weeping over his fallen comrades. And so is Hugh Jackman, who's had quite a few solo songs, being the central character. Unfortunately, Russel Crowe was not very expressive, his solo acts didn't invoke much emotions. Samantha Barks's (playing Eponine) solo 'On My Own' sounds a bit pop-ish, if you know what I mean. I knew this movie is a musical so there will be lots of songs, but what I didn't expect was that it's almost 95% songs! Even when the characters speak, they speak in singsong intonations.
150 minutes well-spent.
Based on a classic novel by Victor Hugo, the story follows the lives and interactions of several characters in the era of French Revolution in the 19th century, focusing on the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption (from Wikipedia). It was sad and moving, and I was literally in tears almost from the start to the finish. What a poor condition the society was at that time.
The movie is well-filmed too. I love the close-up technique for the solo songs. You can really see the good acting, all the emotion, every line and crease of the face, every drop of tear and yes, even the saliva - I think it worked well. I was particularly impressed by Anne Hathaway's rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' - easily the best scene in the movie. It's no wonder she bagged the Best Supporting Actress Award in the recent Golden Globe for this role. Eddie Redmayne (playing Marius) was pretty good too when he was weeping over his fallen comrades. And so is Hugh Jackman, who's had quite a few solo songs, being the central character. Unfortunately, Russel Crowe was not very expressive, his solo acts didn't invoke much emotions. Samantha Barks's (playing Eponine) solo 'On My Own' sounds a bit pop-ish, if you know what I mean. I knew this movie is a musical so there will be lots of songs, but what I didn't expect was that it's almost 95% songs! Even when the characters speak, they speak in singsong intonations.
150 minutes well-spent.
0 comments:
Post a Comment