Les Miserables Review Roundup: Early Critics Split on Film, Praise Anne Hathaway

Back on November 23^rd, Les Miserables was premiered in New York to a tremendous critical reception with a number of early pundits calling the film an Oscar favorite. However, after the film's more recent premiere on December 5^th in London, the picture seems to be quite different.

The film currently has a 69 percent approval rating from critics on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes as of Friday morning. The film is not slated for release for another two weeks and more reviews are expected to come in but the first 16 reviews on the film have not been keen to proclaiming the film the masterpiece that early reviews indicated.

Film.com's Stephanie Zacharek stated that the film insists on imposing emotions on the viewer rather than actually earning them and quips that "shellacked with appropriate levels of grimy grandeur. It's designed to make us feel every emotion fortissimo - because pianissimo is so 1862."

Todd Glichrist of Celebuzz also notes that director Tom Hooper is overindulgent in his setpieces and has an " inability to discern the difference between quiet and loud - not just musically, but as a storyteller and dramatist." The Guardian's Catherine Shoard is even less complimentary and notes that "By the end, you feel like a piñata on the dancefloor: empty, in bits, the victim of prolonged assault by killer pipes."

Positive Reviews on Actors

However, the negative critics are still in the minority and the rest are praising the film mainly for the performances of Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman. Zacharek, who gives the film a D+, notes that Hathaway delivers the strongest performance in the film, while Jackman proves that the can really sing. Emmanuel Levy, who gave the film a B- and found it unsatisfying, does state that Jackman is one of the main reasons to watch the film. He also notes that Anne Hathaway is impressive in her famous number "I Dreamed a Dream." Robbie Collin of the Telegraph gave the film five stars and also reaps praise on the actors, especially Hathaway who he calls a "showstopper."

Comingsoon.net's Edward Douglas gave the film a 9 out of 10 and also applauds Hathaway by stating that her performance is" beyond heartbreaking and if the song doesn't bring you to tears, you're probably not human."

The film comes out on December 25^th.