Dargis Critiques Les Miserables - Mon Dieu!

Film critic Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote a review on Les Miserables which appeared on December 24^th, 2012. Dargis begins her review by focusing on Anne Hathaway’s performance. I agree that Hathaway’s performance is incredible; she portrays Fantine as the martyr figure she is and does so by emotionally attaching herself to the character. Hathaway’s performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” is one of the main highlights of this rendition of Les Miserables. Viewers cannot take their eyes off of her during this scene. Dargis points out that the “artful grunge” on the actors is distracting, but it adds an aspect of reality to the film considering it takes place in early 19^th century France; the characters sporting dirt are members of the impoverish lower class who have nothing but the clothes on their backs. Dargis also throws an insult at director Tom Hooper when she writes, “This [“I Dreamed a Dream”] is one number in which he doesn’t try to upstage his performers.”

Dargis makes sure she gives some background information on the musical. The information she provides is relevant and interesting to readers. She spends two paragraphs mentioning the awards Les Miserables has received, moments in which some of the songs have been sung (like when Susan Boyle sang “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent), and Victor Hugo, who wrote the novel Les Miserables that the musical is based upon.

Key points of the film are pointed out in Dargis’ review such as the way the film begins. Dargis cleverly writes about Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) and how he is portrayed as a Christ figure in the beginning of the film when he is carrying the cumbersome flagpole. Hooper focuses on Christianity in Les Miserables and makes it a key theme in the film. Dargis expresses that Les Miserables is a “story of oppression, liberation and redemption,” which is true. Every character carries his or her cross, from Valjean trying to find worth in his life after being a prisoner to the prison guard Javert (Russell Crowe) struggling with internal conflict of his own. Redemption is suggested at the end of the film when the cast is singing on a “ship” made from furniture.

I agree with Dargis when she writes that Hooper’s choice of having the songs sung live rather than prerecorded is extremely beneficial. If Anne Hathaway lip sang “I Dreamed a Dream,” it would not have compared to her heart-rending live rendition. The actors’ expressions are put under a microscope in which the audience can see their varying emotions while singing. The camera enhances these emotional songs by focusing on the actors’ expressions (like Hathaway trembling).

After praising most aspects of the movies, Dargis’ review makes a turn for the worst when she writes Les Miserables lacks spark. She expresses that Hooper’s camera angles are what destroy the movie because he is always “hurtling or throwing the camera around.” She suggests viewers may wait for the movie to end out of impatience (she thinks relationships and rebellion are not enhanced in the film), but in reality, the film is just extremely long. Despite its length, I think Les Miserables is a must-see film. Although Dargis’ review contains distracting grammatical errors and slaps Les Miserables with undeserved critiques, she does provide a different opinion of the film.