Les Miserables

So I went to see Les Miserables the movie on Sunday...This was my first time seeing an adaptation on the musical.

I thought the movie was a lot of fun, and there story was strong. For a really long film, the plot felt very fast-paced and focused. But there were still some quiet moments, so it didn't feel too fast. The characters all seemed very distinct to me, even the ones that only appeared for a few scenes. You could tell right away what kind of person someone was, and even if I didn't remember a character's name I could recognize them again right away.

I liked how grimy the poor characters looked, particularly in the Lovely Ladies song. That's a bit morbid...but the makeup was really good!

Some things I didn't like:

I wish there could have been more scenes where people were in different places singing at the same time. There were a few scenes where one person was singing, and the camera just showed a close up of their face for the whole song. Especially in I Dreamed a Dream, this seemed a little boring. During that song, it would have been nice to see flashbacks of Fantine with her child--because you don't get to see much of her backstory before. With so many characters to establish and little time to spend on them individually, it seemed like there was an opportunity missed here to fill in the gaps in Fantine's story.

Also, Marius got a bit annoying. It's unbelievable that he could pay so little attention so anyone so gorgeous and lively as Eponine! Eponine is a great character, and the actress was so pretty too. At least he showed her consideration as she was dying. Also, he has a really mopey song later on (when the film is already starting to feel long). I guess it makes sense that he grieves for his friends, but I kept thinking "Can't you be a little more grateful for being alive? Cosette, the girl of your dreams, is right there!"

I know it's this was in the book and the musical, but it seemed contrived for Jean Valjean to leave Cosette at the end. At this point, no one is coming after him. And Cosette obviously suspects that he's an ex-con (looking at the scars on his wrists), and she still loves him. I feel like he could have told her the truth sooner.

However, I still really enjoyed the movie!

And I think this is the most overtly Christian film that I have seen in the theaters for a loooooong time! I loved how straightforward Jean Valjean's religious journey was. There was no irony about his faith. There aren't always easy answers in the movie, just like life. But you really feel like Jean's Christianity was what gave him strength. I felt encouraged to show mercy in real life.