Les Misérables: A Christmas Day Experience

Les Misérables is a must-see for all families on December 25th. A Christmas Day experience that will warm your heart. A movie-going outing that will bring the family closer. A story of love, pain and selfless giving.

    Musicals haven't been my favorite in cinema. 1997's made-for-TV Cinderella starring Brandy Norwood and Whitney Houston is a staple, and of course all of our favorite 90s animated Disney movies, but I'd have to say I've never been the 'screen musical type'. I haven't truly connected with one since- until now.

     Les Misérables director Tom Hooper did what most truly creative directors do, he made sure that you were in the moment. Expressing feeling through song always seems to deeply resonate with audiences but it can also easily be a hit-or-miss attempt. Les Mis was a hit. The story being a classic, the movie already had an audience's attention, but the stellar performances of which we've never seen most of the actors give along with the new faces open up the story to intrigued unfamiliar audiences. Hooper's adaptation of the Victor Hugo French classic will capture all. 

    Action, emotion, and humor. Stunning performances from leads Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne. From scene stealers Russell Crowe (whom I'd had no idea had such powerful range) and newcomer Samantha Barks, as well as from the movie's comic relief in one mischievous married couple played by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter. There were moments when I cried, moments when I laughed, moments when I felt myself falling asleep (Got ya. Only because the night before I'd had no idea the pre-screening I would attend was at 8 am. Soothing voices put you back to sleep), moments that opened my eyes to valuable lessons, and moments when I wished Eddie Redmayne was singing to me. Movies like this are important for many reasons, it was refreshing to watch such a telling story of overall beauty during the Christmas season. I smell a 2013 Academy Awards sweep. 

4.5/5

Q&A with the filmmakers

The Writer's Guild Theater hosted a SAG preview screening of the movie on Saturday, December 15th in Beverly Hills where the director and his cast discussed closely the process of making the film. Videos below of Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfriend, Eddie Redmayne and director Tom Hooper on their experiences making Les Misérables.





Les Mis director Tom Hooper, stars Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne attend a Q&A to discuss the movie following the Writer's Guild Theater screening in Beverly Hills on December 15, 2012.

The classic novel turned screen spectacle's "Fantine", Anne Hathaway calls Les Mis "quite simply the most unique opportunity I've ever been given", while also praising her co-star Hugh Jackman, the movie's "Jean Valjean", on his dedication and relentless work ethic.

Amanda Seyfried chimes in on her approach to portraying the young and innocent "Corsette", compares her experiences on Les Mis (which she says had "been the best experience of my life") to her involvement in the 2008 screen adaptation of the stage musical Mamma Mia!, in which she played the lead. The cast and director seemed to have a very mutual respect, understanding and adoration for the Victor Hugo French classic that exuded across the appreciative audience.

Recently dubbed Hollywood's "Talk of the Town", Brit talent (and favorite of mine) Eddie Redmayne talked his first auditioning experience with Les Mis director Tom Hooper for 2005's mini-series Elizabeth I, and how that didn't pan out quite so well. Eddie explained, "In my last audition, I feel like you guys [the predominantly SAG member audience] might relate to this-- just as I was leaving the door Tom said, 'Eddie, one last thing- can you ride a horse?' To which I responded an affirmative 'Yes'."

To sum up, Redmayne then cuts his story to two weeks later where there was a notable on-set outburst of 'YOU'RE A F*CKING LIAR REDMAYNE'. And so goes Hooper's first impression of Redmayne. But, given the rough start as collaborators, the actor found himself back in the director's vision for an outstanding performance as Les Mis' "Marius".

Hathaway, Jackman and Redmayne discussed more the physical dedication required to perfect their performances in Les Mis. Eddie describing "a world of lemon and honey and vaporizors and humidifiers" for voice preparation, and Anne giving insight on her London jogging weight-loss process... of drinking rain. Yes, drinking rain. As Anne puts it, "actors giving each other health advice is so dangerous."

Hugh concludes with a statement about "knowing your voice". The Tony Award winning actor stated, "It's important to know your voice, and not to give yourself a hard time about anything. You need to be relaxed. If your voice is a voice that can really only sing for 6 hours a day then that's great. If you can do 10, that's fantastic, but it doesn't really matter." Comparing Les Mis to past projects he's done involving voice projection, the actor stated, "Each day [on Les Mis], if you can imagine, was an 'opening night' and a 'closing night' all at once. The first thing in the morning was... 'Have I got a sore throat?' because if you get a cold, it was basically the end of the day."

If there was a morning you did have that problem Hugh, we couldn't tell at all.