On December 5, Tom Hooper's new adaptation of Les Miserables had its world premiere. The stars lined up to promote their new film and critics went to see what the new adaptation had to offer.
The film had its first screening in New York on November 23 and was under a review embargo. However after the premiere, critics have started to unveil their views on the Oscar contending film.
While the first reactions at the New York premiere were positive, the first reviews from critics seemed mixed .
Todd McCarthy of the Hollywood Reporter complained about Tom Hooper's style of filmmaking. He stated that Hooper "stages virtually every scene and song the same manner, with the camera swooping in on the singer and thereafter covering him or her and any other participants with hovering tight shots." He also states that "when all the emotions are echoed out at an unvarying intensity for more than 2 1/2 hours on a giant screen, feels heavily, if soaringly, monotonous. Subtle and nuanced are two words that will never be used to describe this Les Miserables."
McCarthy does credit the actors for their live singing. He states that "Anne Hathaway dominates the early going, belting out anguish as the doomed Fantine. Playing her grown daughter Cosette, Amanda Seyfried delights with clear-as-a-bell high notes, while Samantha Barks, as a lovelorn Eponine, is a vocal powerhouse.
He also phrases Hugh Jackman stating that "Jackman finally gets to show onscreen the musical talents that have long thrilled live musical theater audiences."
Justin Chang of Variety also complained about the film's technical aspects stating that as the film "shifts from one dynamically slanted camera angle to another via Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens' busy editing, the picture seems reluctant to slow down and let the viewer simply take in the performances. That hectic, cluttered quality becomes more pronounced as the story lurches ahead to the 1832 Paris student uprisings, where the erection of a barricade precipitates and complicates any number of subplots."
Just like McCarthy, Chang writes that Anne Hathaway is the standout of the film. He states that "Hathaway's turn is brief but galvanic." Her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," captured in a single take, represents the picture's high point, an extraordinary distillation of anguish, defiance and barely flickering hope in which the lyrics seem to choke forth like barely suppressed howls of grief."
Some major publications were far more positive, including The Telegraph and Daily Mail.
Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail wrote, "Hugh Jackman gives the performance of his career." He also states, "Anne Hathaway is indescribably wonderful as Fantine and her singing of 'I Dreamed A Dream' is one of the film's most memorable highlights."
Robbie Collin of the Telegraph states that "the showstopper is Hathaway. When she half-sings, half-sobs I Dreamed A Dream, hair cropped and eyes shining like Maria Falconetti, Hooper captures her performance in a single, unblinking, breath-catching close-up. This will be the clip they show before she wins her Oscar." He also stated that "Les Misérables feel not only definitive, but utterly cinematic. You leave with not one song in your heart, but ten."
The film opens on December 25 and is expected to be an Oscar contender. However, after these initial reviews, it is possible that the film could lose some steam, especially with other films such as Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty picking up buzz.
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