Les Miserables is an epic, tragic, triumphant film. It is also cumbersome, unwieldy, and blunt. It is a film that manipulates your emotions without a shred of subtlety, and yet somehow manages to be endearing. Despite its faults, it is still a vast cinematic spectacle and is certainly worth seeing.
The film does two things particularly well: It presents an impressive vision of 19th century Paris, and it also is very good at capturing the viewers’ sympathies and stirring their emotions. The spectacle aspect is, well, spectacular. Through CGI and an impressive amount of costume and set design 19th century France is recreated, complete with all of its splendor and filth. The movie does not flinch from showing the depths human wretchedness can attain, and it brazenly contrasts such misery with the wealth of the Parisian rich.
I did not cry through this movie like some, but when seeing it, it quickly becomes clear how this could happen. Les Mis is determined to manipulate the viewers’ emotions, and it uses every possible hook it can to do so. For this reason, the film is a very intense experience.
All of the lines in Les Mis are sung, which at first is rather off-putting (I laughed the first time Hugh Jackman started singing), but it is surprisingly easy to get used to. Ultimately, it actually made the movie better by allowing recurring musical themes to enhance the dialog.
The main criticism I have of Les Miserables is that it lacks subtlety. Some of its emotional appeals are clearly sincere but many are gratuitous, and the movie often verges into saccharine sentimentality.
Les Mis is also excessively ponderous, for a movie that is so intense. I found myself growing bored during some of the longer solos, particularly when the subplot between Cosette and Marius is introduced. The movie tries too hard to cram too much of Victor Hugo’s novel into what is already a long movie, and it results in some parts being dragged out and others underdeveloped.
Ultimately, Les Miserables is a wild, emotionally charged ride through the highs and lows of the human experience. It is sentimental, and often unwieldy, but if you want to see a movie that provides a powerful, epic, vision of humanity, Les Mis is the movie to see.