This is an extraordinary film, well worth seeing, especially if you’re a fan of musicals in general. I think it’s also a good choice if you’re open to experimental and avant garde film. It’s rated PG-13 for “suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements,” and that’s fair. This film looks at the lives of the forgotten, excluded homeless of early 19th century France, people drawn into worlds of violence, crime, and prostitution. It’s grim beyond belief but if you’re willing to indulge the production, by which I mean you’re willing to suspend your disbelief to theatrical proportions, you’ll find a stunning, cohesive work of art. Yes, I said it: this film operates as an art piece in its entirety; it creates a world where virtually every utterance is sung and sticks with its premise to the end. I think it succeeds much more than it doesn’t. Except for a few moments that dragged a bit, this production was stirring and engrossing and Hugh Jackman now seems in a class by himself: that rare bird who can act as well as he sings; he’s among the best of the best in both arenas.
