As mentioned yesterday, I screened Les Miserables in New York on the weekend but reviews are embargoed until closer to the release date. We are allowed however to post reaction to the film.
My reaction is that I ugly-cried HARD.
And that I love Hugh Jackman.
People keep talking about how much weight Anne Hathaway lost to play Fantine. But Hugh did the same. And he also deprived himself of water for almost 2 days prior to shooting the opening scene on the chain gang because he wanted to look as gaunt as possible -- a prisoner enslaved for 19 years.
Hugh is SO GOOD. And he’s right when he says that every step of career was building to this -- the stage training, the skill of live performance, AND the physicality of Wolverine, all of it together led him to this film, to be Jean Valjean.
Last year, Sarah came out of the gate early with a bold prediction that Gary Oldman would win Best Actor for Tinker Tailor even before he was considered a lock for a nomination. Oldman was indeed among the 5 but in the end it didn’t turn out that way. Still, that’s the fun in the whole process, right? And this award season in particular may be the most fun we’ll have in a while, especially since the field is so deep and the race is so tight. So let me follow Sarah’s tradition this time and take a big swing at it this year, even though Daniel Day-Lewis is probably the surest bet there right now.
Hugh Jackman for the upset. Hugh Jackman for the win!
Here are Hugh and his wife Deborra picking up Ava from school today.
