Les Misérables is a timeless tale filled with romance, war and sorrow. It originated as a book and then became an opera, play and movie. In its most recent adaptation in 2012 the director, Tom Hooper, did an excellent job deciding on the editing and casting of the movie. In the adaptation, the movie begins with a ship. It then draws closer with slaves working on the ship who are extremely hungry and exhausted. Javert, a police inspector, gives the news to Jean Valjean that after 19 years of enslavement from stealing a loaf of bread, he is released. This sets up the relationship between Jean Valjean and Javert that is extremely important to the plot of the story. The beginning scene also sets up Jean Valjeans journey, which is the underlined main plot of the movie. The movie continues on and slowly yet surely the audience is introduced to all of the people that shape Jean Valjean’s life while telling the tale of the American Revolution.
One of my favorite parts of the movie is that for the serious songs such as “I dreamed a dream” and “On my Own”, there are no edits or cuts through the scene. It is filmed in one take and specifically focused on the actor/ actress singing the song. This allows the audience to have a deep connection with the character because there are no cuts or editing that distract the audience away from the emotions. Through the serious songs, they are closer up shots of them to illustrate their emotions as well. On the other hand, in the powerful songs, such as “One day More” and “Do you hear the people sing”, the scenes are filled with jump and cross cuts. The edits create dynamics and show how many people are involved in the scenes and portray the revolution well. The edits are needed in the larger shots because I love the intensity and passion from every character in the movie. The graphics in the movie are superb as well. They are very detailed and high pixelated, however, not too high. There is nothing in the movie I do not like. Every song, every actress, every scene, every edit is perfection to me.
Captain Kirk's Log 