|
Saw this the other day and man was it fantastic, one of the best musical films I've ever seen.
Hugh Jackman did pretty darn good and Crowe surprised me with how good he actually was (although I think he was a bit too monotone at times) and did a great job on one my favorite songs. But Anne Hathaway stole the show early on with her songs, especially with "I Dreamed A Dream". She freaking nailed it in such a raw way. The song "on My Own" was another stand out, but really there probably wasn't a single song I didn't think wasn't done well.
It was very cool seeing such an epic musical with all these set pieces come to life on the big screen with high production values. A little over-the-top at times, but I actually liked it more for that. It was just nothing but emotion throughout. I also like the use of closeups to further plunge you into the moment of some of the more powerful songs, although the constant use of it was distracting at times.
Now I've always been a bigger fan of the novel by Victor Hugo than the musical itself and think that some of the psychology behind the characterizations in the book can be lsot in the dramatization of the musical, but overall as its really no large complaint for me since this movie is indeed based off the musical first and foremost. Although they did have plenty of little additions from the book that were not in the musical with small events involving Fauntine and such that I appreciated seeing as a fan of the novel.
Overall, breathtaking movie, one of my favorites of the year.
|