One Sentence: It’s an opera not a musical.
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: 25-Dec-2012
Nudity: None
About 1 minute before the movie started, the announcements came about the movie. The announcer said one thing about the movie that stuck out, “This is a musical where all the words are sung.” I have never seen Les Miserables, and really knew very little about it, one of the things I did not know is that it is not a musical, it is an opera. Where music is the driving force of the story, not the words. I slunk down in my seat, I already knew it was 2 hours and 40 minutes long. I just found out however that all the words will be sung. I personally have never liked opera sung in English. However I was going to give this one a try.
Les Miserables is a beautifully shot movie, with the amazing work of some amazing singers and actors evoking emotion though song and pain. It is powerful, beautiful, and an amazing film epic. It is also a 2 hour and 40 minute movie that is completely sung. There are conversations where they are going back and forth in song, like it should be a conversation, but they are running the words with the music and it takes FOREVER.
I am having a hard time with “Les Mis,” because it was amazing. The way it was shot, the costumes, the music, the acting, everything was truly top notch. I would expect some Academy Award nominations, and it already has some Golden Globe nominations. It was all very good, but I wanted for it to end so badly. It just kept going, and it felt so slow and long. Things kept going through my head, like how many acts is this, I get why they have intermissions in Broadway my ass is killing me, and another chorus? How much longer can this movie go?
So I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know how many people have any experience at all with English opera, and Les Miserables might be a little too much for them to start out. I knew what I was getting into and it felt long to me. I would say if you sound like you can handle it, then it is worth seeing. If 2 hours and 40 minutes of non-stop music sounds like too much for you, it probably is so stay away.
