Well finally got round to watching this movie with Ishbel. We both thoroughly enjoyed it, however I really can't see what all the hoopla was surrounding it. It was nothing great and having seen the stage production in London I much preferred the latter to the former.It may have been the book / movie syndrome kicking in, in that the movie of a book very very rarely lives up to the drama and excitement of a good book. Yeah, Crowe, Jackman, Hathaway, et al, all put in fine performances and yes they proved that they can hold a tune, just, apart from Hathaway who had a surprisingly good singing voice and sang I Dreamed a Dream with conviction and passion.
I'm not a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen but he and Helena Bonham Carter, for me stole the show as Thenardier and Madame Thenardier, but then they almost do that (the characters that is) in the stage production too. In the theatre I was laughing out loud at these two particularly when performing Master of the House and again with Beggars at The Feast; in the movie version, they got me smiling.
I must make mention of Samantha Barks and Eddie Redmayne. Barks as Eponine, I paused the movie, always guaranteed to irritate Ishbel, and asked when was the last time you saw a woman with a waist that small? It was tiny,and fair do's as Eponine she gave a fine performance as the unrequited love interest to Redmayne's Marius. I don't know what it is about that guy but I just don't like watching him and I didn't like him in this either.....
All in all, enjoyable and the soundtrack to the stage version is a regular on my playlist so it was good to hear them all, yet again.
If you haven't seen the movie and you can't get to see the stage production, then I recommend the movie. If you want to listen to the full soundtrack from the movie it is on You Tube and I will put it on here, and hope that it works.
My Rating: Good
Ishbel's rating: Excellent
