Anne Hathaway earns early praise for 'Les Miserables'
The Oscar race now officially includes聽 and 鈥� which shouldn鈥檛 come as a huge shock, seeing how the former is an adaptation of producer Cameron Mackintosh鈥檚 award-winning Broadway smash from director Tom Hooper (The King鈥檚 Speech). Meanwhile, the latter is a drama/thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden from Oscar-winning Hurt Locker聽screenwriter and director duo, Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow.
Nonetheless, both films had their first public screenings over and drew unadulterated praise from those in attendance. Read on for our breakdown of what the general consensus is for both titles鈥� so far.
贬辞辞辫别谤鈥檚 Les Miz has long been regarded as something special, seeing how suggests it infuses Mackintosh鈥檚 original pop musical with a stripped-down aesthetic that helps ground the flamboyant proceedings (unlike Joel Schumacher鈥檚 Phantom of the Opera or Rob Marshall鈥檚 Nine, to name a few examples). Moreover, the cast boasts heralded actors with聽;聽that鈥檚 in opposition to some of the recent movie musicals that鈥檝e relied on either name-actor casts (Mamma Mia!) or Broadway veterans (Rent).
Reviews for Les Miz are embargoed for the time being, but has rounded up Twitter reactions from several critics and film journalists who were at the first open showing. Here鈥檚 a bullet-point summary of the responses:
- Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean could land his first Best Actor Oscar nod.
- Anne Hathaway as Fantine is a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination.
- Eddie Redmayne as Marius turns in a solid supporting performance.
- Russell Crowe takes a 鈥�Jesus Christ Superstar 谤辞肠办-辞辫别谤补鈥� approach that distinguishes Inspector Javert (but may not be to everyone鈥檚 taste).
- The film as a whole is a 鈥渢our de force鈥� and 鈥渢别补谤箩别谤办别谤鈥� that seems destined to become a Best Picture nominee.
Similar to Les Miz, Zero Dark Thirty is picking up accolades for its leading lady 鈥� Jessica Chastain as CIA analyst Maya (who is based on the real CIA agent that led the manhunt for bin Laden) 鈥� and its qualities as a cinematic viewing experience. has published an article that touches on the heavy research by Boal and Bigelow, suggesting the two have learned some lessons from the blowback over Hurt Locker鈥榮 portrayal of Iraq war military operations (which some real-life vets criticized as聽inauthentic).
Here鈥檚 an excerpt from THR critic :
鈥淎s it has emerged instead, ['Zero Dark Thirty''] could well be the most impressive film Bigelow has made, as well as possibly her most personal, as one keenly feels the drive of the filmmaker channeled through the intensity of Maya鈥檚 character. The film鈥檚 power steadily and relentlessly builds over its long course, to a point that is terrifically imposing and unshakable. Chastain carries the film in a way she鈥檚 never been asked to do before. Denied the opportunity to provide psychological and emotional details for Maya, she nonetheless creates a character that proves indelible and deeply felt.鈥�
Time鈥榮 Richard Corliss echoes those sentiments (), saying that Zero Dark Thirty is a streamlined, but detail-oriented, representation of real events 鈥渋n the聽tradition of [authors] Truman Capote鈥檚 In Cold Blood and Tom Wolfe鈥檚 The Right Stuff.鈥� Moreover, Corliss feels that Bigelow鈥檚 film trounces Ben Affleck鈥檚 own true story CIA thriller (and fellow Best Picture contender) , in terms of both better direction and .
In summation: both the Best Actress and Picture race heated up something fierce over the holiday frame, between early responses to聽Les Miz and Zero Dark Thirty. That鈥檚 not to mention, Ang Lee鈥檚 acclaimed 3D visual feast聽聽opening in theaters () and David O. Russell鈥檚 () beginning a limited release and generating discussion about Jennifer Lawrence鈥檚 performance therein.
Sandy Schaefer blogs at .
