Les Miserable Opens Friday at the Liberty

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Mis­er­ables is the heart- wrenching story of pa­roled con­vict Jean Valjean ( Hugh Jackman). Released after being arrested for stealing a loaf of bread and serving his time, he breaks parole and escapes to start a new life. He spends his days running from his past.

After his escape, Valjean runs a factory where he em­ploys women, including Fan­tine, (Anne Hathaway), who is fired by a foreman for sus­pected promiscuity. Fantine is determined to provide for her sick child, so she sells her hair and teeth, and ultimately her body when she turns to prostitution. Valjean finds Fantine and feels responsible for her pain, so he vows to look after her child, Cosette (Amanda Seyfreid). Valjean takes Cosette in and they spend their life on the run, trying to make a life away from Valjean’s tireless perse­cutor Javert (Russel Crowe).

The computer-generated images (CGI) in this film are stunning. The opening scene transitions seamlessly from CGI to real people and ob­jects. The hair, makeup and costuming create an over­whelming feeling of despair that compliments the lyrics nicely. They left a heavy feel­ing in my heart.

A lot of reviews have openly criticized the singing in the film, which is often the expectation when big name actors take on singing roles. But Hathaway’s rendition of “I Dream a Dream” brought me to tears and Seyfreid’s songs were lovely, as hers have been in musicals in the past. Some of the lesser char­acters really made the music, though. Isabelle Allen, in the role of Young Cosette, has a beautiful voice and captured Cosette’s innocence well. Other smaller roles, like Eponine and Marius, (Samantha Barks and Eddie Redmayne), offered major contributions to the film as a whole by providing astound­ingly lovely musical support.

This musical film is abso­lutely amazing and while it is heartbreaking and heavy, it is a really incredible rendition of the classic show.

Les Miserables is showing at the Liberty Theater in Day­ton on Feb. 8, 9, 10 and 12.