Les Misérables; a perfect combination of music, drama, and love.

Two and a half hours of singing and a giant sea of tears later, Les Misérables came to an end. It left me devastated, but the elaborate, 17 year-span plotline left me satisfied.

Jean Valjean, played by Hugh Jackman, is a recently released convict on parole. After being treated with much kindness by a bishop, he is inspired to do good and to help others. However, he must leave town in order to accomplish this, breaking his parole. Fast forward eight years later, where Valjean owns a factory and is mayor. As the plot thickens, multiple problems arise. Valjean must flee from his nemesis Javert (played by Russell Crowe) and take care of a young girl he considers his own. His “daughter” falls in love with a man who loves her back, but there is another girl that likes the same man. Meanwhile, the French Revolution begins, and everyone is involved, whether they want to be or not.

Although there were many things happening at once, it was never too confusing to follow what was going on. The names of the characters were a little harder to catch than in other movies, but not impossible.

Unexpectedly, the entire movie was in song. However, this strengthened the plot more and added another layer of depth which would have been otherwise impossible to achieve if it were in normal spoken dialogue. It not only served as the method of communication between the characters, but it also allowed the characters to express how they were feeling at a particular moment, serving as a window into their emotions.

Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, and the rest of the actors all did a beautiful job and were incredibly devoted to playing their roles. Hathaway even had her real hair cut on screen.

Les Misérables is one of the best movies I have ever had the opportunity to see. The movie was the perfect combination of music, drama, and love.