Movie Review: Frozen

I was extremely hesitant to see this movie.  So much so that I did do so until this Monday (2/17/14) when it was released on 11/27/13 (yes, it's still in theaters, which is very surprising since it comes out on 3/18/14),  My reasons for hesitancy have to do with reading some less than stellar speculations about how Disney was now out to ruin Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale The Snow Queen, which it's loosely based on.  After seeing the movie, I'd say it's more inspired by or to put it another way kind of a fanfiction of The Snow Queen (but then I could make the argument that everything is a fanfiction of something, which is a whole other blog post).  When I first discovered that Disney reworked and watered down classic fairytales I was extremely annoyed in the way only a teenager can be.  I much preferred the darker and bloodier versions, but now as an adult, while I still do lean towards the morbid, I can see the value in what they've done.  Disney does tend to imply in a way that they were the originator of the tales whether it's done directly and purposely or not, but this seems like it was more for their past projects.  Most of us immediately think of them when we hear such titles as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Cinderella, and it's hard for me to presume that they would not want it any other way.

Regardless, I decided to venture out and see Frozen after hearing 99% wonderful things about it from friends and family alike.  I actually went to see it with my brother who was on his second time.  Let me start out with the soundtrack, because this is important.  Prior to even the opening credits, I had chills running down my spine from the haunting beauty of the boy's choir that precedes it..  This was an excellent meta move from a film entitled Frozen.  Like so many things I've been hesitant about (A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series mind you; Harry Potter; The Hunger Games; FFVII), I was completely wrong to wait.

Frozen is about two sisters Anna and Elsa who happen to be princesses, and I mean to say it in that way.  Their being princesses, while integral to some story parts, really is not all that important. They reside in the kingdom of Arendelle with their parents, the king and queen.  Anna is a feisty ginger ingenue, while Elsa, silvery-blond, is more mature and reserved, and this is not just because she is the elder.  Elsa has the power to literally create winter, and when the two sisters are girls, this is just a game.  They romp and cavort through the ice and snow while inside their castle until Elsa accidentally strikes Anna in the head with a wintry spell, stunning her and making a strand of her hair turn ice white.  Their parents seek help from trolls who not only heal Anna but also remove all memories of her sister's magic.  After this Elsa stays mostly locked in her room trying desperately to learn how to control her abilities, while Anna wonders why they've became so distant as the two girls grow up.  During this time, their parents are lost at sea.  Anna and Elsa are left alone in their solitary castle, where they doors have not been opened for years, and they don't even have each other for company.

When Elsa comes of age, the kingdom prepares for her coronation, and Anna, excited to finally see people, wanders the town and meets Prince Hans of the Southern Isles.  The two feel a mutual connection in that they're both sort of goofy and clumsy, even "finishing each others 'sandwiches'" as their duet suggests.  They decided then and their that they're going to get married, and Anna asks for Elsa's blessing.  In a total paradigm twister for a Disney film Elsa tells her that she can't marry someone she's only known for a day, which makes complete sense.  During the ensuing argument, Elsa loses control of her powers and bestows eternal winter upon Arendelle, before fleeing to the northern mountains.  There she comes to the realization that only in solitude can she be her true self without fear or judgment, so she casts off all shackles to literally let her hair down (it's been bound up as tight as she was prior to this, easy but still excellent symbolism) and create a glorious ice palace for herself while singing "the cold never bothered me anyway."  Her clothes change as well to a flowing, diaphanous blue gown, starkly different from her queenly and conservative garb.

Meanwhile, back in Arendelle, Anna is determined to get her sister back and heads to the northern mountains alone leaving Hans behind to take care of her kingdom.  While getting supplies Anna meets Kristoff, a mountain man with his reindeer Sven, who reluctantly agrees to help her since his ice collecting business has been ruined by the winter that never ends.  During their journey north Anna imparts how she got into this situation, and Kristoff gives her a look when she reaches the part where she and Hans were going to get married after knowing each other for one day.  I really liked that the movie had not one, but two characters who had never met nor spoken to each other, call Anna out on how bad of a move that marriage would've been.  It's as though Disney is really trying to make up for all the times that they had this very situation happen, and they're saying, "No no no, we realize now that's not the way to go.  Give us a break, we were just working within the confines of the times of our work!"

While journeying up the mountain Anna and Kristoff meet a living snowman named Olaf much to Anna's greater shock since that was the name she and Elsa always gave their snow creations.  Olaf leads them to Elsa's ice palace where the sisters are reunited, but the snow queen is still terrified of hurting Anna and refuses to return to Arendelle, insisting that her place is here alone in the cold.  Anna persists in her persuasion, which agitates Elsa's emotions to the point where she accidentally uses her powers against her sister again striking her this time in the heart.  Horrified by her actions, Elsa creates a giant snow monster to chase them away so that she won't hurt her her sister nor anyone again.  While they flee Kristoff notices that Anna's hair is turning white and realizes something is very wrong.  He decides to take her to his adopted family, the very trolls that healed the princess the first time.  They tell them that Anna's heart has been frozen, and unless it is healed by an act of true love, then she will become frozen solid forever.

Back in Arendelle, Hans decides to lead a search for Anna.  He enlists the help of the Duke of Weselton, a guest at the coronation who insisted afterwards that Elsa was a sorceress who needed to be taken care of.  He grants Prince Hans the use of some of his men, but makes sure his lackeys understand what they need to do should they encounter the ice queen.  When Hans and his men reach Elsa's palace, the ensuing battle knocks the queen unconscious so that she can be brought back and imprisoned in Arendelle.  Hans pleads with her to undo the winter she so wrought, but Elsa insists that she doesn't know how.

***Warning - Major Story Spoilers Ahead***

When Anna reunites with Hans and begs him to kiss her to undo the frozen curse, he refuses in order to reveal his amazingly unexpected (at least to me) Face-Heel Turn where he reveals he never loved her or had any interest in her.  He merely wanted to marry her to gain control of her kingdom since he has twelve older brothers and nothing else left for him at home.  At no point in any of Hans' scenes did I even get an inkling that he was going to be the main villain, and I was actually scratching my head prior wondering how they were going to reconcile Anna's two love interests in Kristoff the rough, but loyal, mountain man with Hans the slightly silly, but still responsible, prince.  I liked them both!  Hans is good-looking and handled things in Arendelle very well while both Anna and Elsa were indisposed, even doing things like handing out blankets and warm clothing to the people and making sure they had enough supplies.  The only hint that's given is in the beginning of the movie where he tells Anna about his twelve brothers and how they treated him growing up, but nowhere in his attitude is the nefarious schemer Anna sees now.  She is completely destroyed by this news as he leaves her to die from her own sister's touch.  Hans then lies to the people of Arendelle saying that Anna is dead, but they were able to say their wedding vows prior to her demise, essentially making him the king.  He then charges Elsa with her sister's death, but the snow queen manages to escape prior to execution.

Olaf the snowman manages to find Anna and builds a fire at the risk to himself.  She admonishes him for this, and he then delivers one of the most poignant and heartbreaking lines in the film saying, "Some people are worth melting for."  He tells her that Kristoff is in love with her and helps her to the frozen fjord to find him.  Hans confronts Elsa and tells her her sister is dead because of her.  Her ensuing despair at this causes the storm to cease, which gives Kristoff and Anna the chance to reach each other.  However, when Anna sees Hans is about to kill Elsa, she throws herself in between her sister and the sword, freezing solid in that moment so the blade shatters off of her ever winter skin.

Elsa grieves for her sister, but in the midst of her tears, Anna begins to thaw for her sacrifice was an act of true love.  Elsa then realizes that love is the key to controlling her powers and is able to thaw Arendelle and even make it so that Olaf can survive in the summer.  Hans is sent back to his kingdom in disgrace, Kristoff and Anna share and kiss, and the two sisters reconcile with Elsa promising never to shut the castle gates again.

Maybe its the fact that I've romanticized winter or maybe it's the fact that I love a good twisted paradigm, but I found Frozen to be phenomenal.  The enchantress is not evil and the handsome prince is not good (though he had many of us fooled for a while).  I loved the contrast between the two sisters.  Anna, fiery and positive to Elsa, cool and reserved.  The story was first and foremost about the relationship between the two of them.  The romantic aspect was there, but it took a back seat to what really mattered.  It reminded me of Brave in that that film was all about the mother-daughter bond, but I felt Frozen was a superior film due to the extraordinary lengths Anna goes to in order to find her sister and bring her home (not saying that Merida didn't, but I just felt that in Frozen it was more profound).  There is also the idea of the sacrifice.  The "act of true love" wasn't the typical Disney kiss, but rather the true love between siblings.  Even though Elsa was the one who caused her to be in her position, even though Anna believed at the time she was losing her last chance to live, she didn't care and threw herself in front of the blade anyway.  Maybe it's the bravery and self-sacrifice that draws me to this tale.  The willingness to risk everything for the sister you love despite the fact that they'd essentially become estranged while living under the same roof.  Even after all those years Anna didn't care.  She wanted to know why they'd become so distant and nothing was going to stop her from finding out.

This is a movie I would love for all young girls especially to see.  It's continuing a path I'm happy that Disney is starting to take in that there are greater loves than just romantic.  There are better things than a prince's kiss.  Is this the first Disney movie to show the princess ending up with a commoner?  No, of course not.  Aladdin did that back in 1992, and in Brave the princess didn't end up with anyone at all!  It is the first Disney movie I can recall where the enchantress isn't evil, and I love that.  I love that that paradigm has been flipped.  Even though her powers can be very destructive, her intentions are not, and intentions most certainly matter.  Everything Elsa does is out of responsibility.  She locks herself away in order to protect Anna.  She flees to the northern mountains for the same not realizing that she's frozen the entire kingdom.  When this is proven to her, she's absolutely horrified that her people have suffered because of her actions.

Both of the sisters are exemplary characters, Olaf the sidekick is not only a good comic relief, he also provides good insights and the one very poignant line I mentioned above.  The real love interest is someone that Anna actually gets to know (she even meets his family, shock!) before making a commitment, and the villain of the story isn't revealed until nearly the end.  There's much to be said for good timing on a villain reveal.  The longer you leave that, I've found, the better the tale.  There was a bit of a red herring with the Duke of Weselton, but he was more of a silly side note than a true big bad.  I think everyone who knows common Disney paradigms and enjoys when things like that are twisted will get much enjoyment from this wintry tale.  I give it five stars and will be seeing it for the second time later today.

Start Trek Into Darkness: On the Squee

Be warned this is less of a review of the movie and more of me fangirling over Benedict Cumberbatcch.  There are also spoilers.  You have been warned. 

With that being said OH MY GOD.  Words cannot express what that man has done to me just by looking at him.  I can't explain what is happening to my body.  Benedict plays the gorgeous villain John Harrison who is actually revealed to be the infamous Khan, the pinnacle of perfection in humanity so profound that he has transcended the bonds of that mundane state to become something so much better.  That pale, flawless skin, those endless green eyes, that otherwordly beauty, that insane strength, that unwavering purpose and need for vengeance against those who did him wrong ahhhh *shivers* Let it be known that everything I just stated describes every fangirl crush I have ever had.  I just...can't even deal with this. 

Following discussions with my husband (who is VERY understanding of all of my fictional crushes) it was determined that Khan was just bad from the beginning, which I find it difficult to accept, because true beauty and true evil just do not mesh.  There is ALWAYS an excuse.  Be that as it may, I believe he was utterly entitled to his wrath, but not his actions.  He was created only to be used by humanity, and when they found out he was "broken," they banished him and others like him, cryogenically freezing them because they didn't want to be burdened with the responsibility of their actions.  When Admiral Marcus wakes him up in order to help him develop weapons of war by using his own crew/family as hostages, Khan understandably responds in kind because he's ruthless, calculating, and doesn't give a shit about humanity.  Yes, he's manipulative, but he was also manipulated...he's just far better at in than humankind, which as usual does something to further their own interests and then acts surprised when it turns on them.  You reap what you sow, and if you reap in lust for power and hatred, you will sow in pain.

I don't wish this to turn into a rant about how much I hate humanity, so I will go on to say I am very happy I have a fellow fangirl to swoon over Benedict with.  I've never seen anyone real so gorgeous.  He does almost look alien he's that beauteous like nothing on this earth could ever be that lovely.  Those eyes with their long catty corners, those insanely high cheekbones, ahhh, I'm finished.  If you ever have the ill luck to be in the theater with me during Into Darkness I apologize in advance, but I'm not really sorry.

Added bonus.

How to Be a Badass Supervillain:

1.  Be unbelievably gorgeous.  Your beauty needs to be otherwordly and like nothing common mortals have ever seen.  Your skin needs to be flawless; your features should be the epitome of perfection, and  your eyes and eye color should be not of this world.  Something that people will never forget; something that will make them freeze in place when you look at them.  This leads into...

2.  Be godlike.  You can be a god, an angel, or a human plus.  Something better than man (not that that's saying much).  It really doesn't matter so long as you have the ability to back up...

3.  Be arrogant and confident beyond anything humanely possible.  Perfect the art of the intense stare. Learn how not to blink.  It will confirm that you are "something else," something better than a mere human.  Know that whatever comes out of your mouth will be obeyed instantly without question, because you are just that boss.  Also...

4.  Have a voice that will make all the pathetic commoners tremble where they stand.  It should be low, baritone, and commanding of purpose.  Supervillains with high squeaky voices do not go very far in the world and are generally considered laughing stocks or at best common villains.  You must sound the part and look the part, therefore...

5.  Obtain a long coat if you do not have one immediately.  There is nothing hotter than all of the above standing in utter arrogance and self-assurance with a long coat blowing in the wind.  Humanity will know that finally someone worthy has come to conquer them.

Also note that all of the above rules will also work if you want women to rip of their clothes and throw their panties at you.  Supervillain and irresistible sex symbol are essentially the same thing in the world of being a fangirl.

Les Miserables - One act of kindness can change the entire world

Les Miserables...

Let me just start out by saying that I love redemption stories.  Love, love LOVE them.  My novel The Serpent's Tale is a redemption story.  My short The Threads of Sorrow is a redemption story.  The first fanfiction I wrote (aptly named) Forgiveness and Redemption is a redemption story.  I LOVE REDEMPTION STORIES.


Les Miserables is the ultimate redemption story.  The original novel was written by Victor Hugo in the 1860s.  The story was adapted for the musical theatre and the musical was (finally) made into a movie in 2012.  Les Mis is the story of Jean Valjean who is played phenomenally by Hugh Jackman.  He is a man condemned to 19 years of hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving sister and child.

Valjean is called forth by Jarvert, a guard at the prison and granted parole. Javert, played by Russell Crowe, is Valjean's nemesis throughout the story.  He is a man unmoved by feeling or sentiment.  He lives his entire life for the law.  The law is absolute and cannot be mocked.  One is either law-abiding or a criminal.  There is no in between.  Once a person is a criminal they are always a criminal, and will never and can never be anything else.

Valjean initially believes he is free, but because he is a convict, his passport proclaims this throughout the land and he is treated as less than a dog the instant so-called freedom is achieved.  He is unable to find work or even place to sleep without being driven off due to the condemning piece of paper he's required by law to show throughout the land.  He finally finds himself sleeping in a doorway when he is invited in by the Bishop of Digne who in a nice twist of meta irony is played by Colm Wilkinson, the original Jean Valjean from the the musical.  The bishop offers him food, fire, and friendship, treating him as a fellow human being and not a piece of dirt, but in the midst of the night Valjean awakens, robs the bishop of his silver and flees.  He is caught and returned to the old man's house where he awaits the judgment that will condemn him to hard labor for the rest of his life, but it never falls.  The bishop not only corroborates Valjean's story that the silver was gifted him, but also insists that he "left the best behind," and adds a set of silver candlesticks to the pot.  He tells him that he has "bought his soul for God."  It is this seemingly small act of kindness that changes Jean Valjean's life.  He is a man torn between what he has known and what he could be.  The past that haunts him and the future unknown.  He realizes the path he was taken will only lead him back to prison and so he rips up his passport thereby breaking his parole, but this act ironically is what allows him to become an honest man.

Eight years or so pass and the story moves to Montfermeil where Jean Valjean has taken on the persona of Monsieur Madeleine, the mayor of the town.  He owns a factory, which employs hundreds of workers, and because of his philanthropy and selflessness, the entire town has prospered.  A young woman named Fantine, played amazingly by Anne Hathaway, works in the factory.  Fantine is very beautiful, a fact which is not unnoticed by the lustful eyes of the foreman whom she has no interest in.  Unfortunately for her, one of the other women gets a hold of a letter Fantine was writing to an innkeeper outside of town concerning her illegitimate daughter Cosette.  A scuffle breaks out as Monsieur Madeleine enters, but before he can intervene he sees Javert who does not recognize who he really is, waiting to speak with whom he believes is merely the mayor of Montfermeil.

The instant Valjean sees Javert his attention can be nowhere else and he directs the foreman to handle the issue with patience and fairness.  Meanwhile the foreman goaded by both his need for revenge on and the harping women in the factory calling for her dismissal does just that.  Fantine now out of work and desperate for money to support her daughter resorts to selling her beautiful hair, then selling her teeth, and finally selling herself as she descends into prostitution.

I have to pause this recap for a moment to talk about Anne Hathaway singing "I Dreamed a Dream."  It was right after she had finished with one of her customers and she's sitting in the dark with her shorn hair rendering this heartbreaking song of hope shattered.  I cried openly and without any shame in the middle of the theatre for the utterly raw emotion of this scene. 

Fantine, who is becoming sicker and sicker as the days pass, is accosted by a "gentleman" walking through the park.  She refuses to give him service, which angers him enough to throw snow on her bare skin.  When she retaliates by scratching him on the cheek, Javert arrives on the scene just in time to hear the man claim she attacked him unprovoked, and because he is what he is and she is a whore, Javert takes the man's word for it and prepares to arrest her despite the piteous pleas for mercy that her daughter will die if she goes to jail.  Jean Valjean intervenes at the last moment seeing the truth of the situation and recognizing her.  Fantine, near delirium, spits in his face and tells him that he was there when she was dismissed and did nothing to stop it.  With guilt he realizes that two innocents are suffering because of his inaction.  He vows to make it right and carries Fantine away to the hospital while Javert can only angrily watch.  Valjean vows to get her daughter from the innkeeper so that they can be together when Fantine is well.

That next day Valjean saves a man trapped beneath a runaway cart by lifting it off of him.  Javert observes this remembering the only other person he'd ever seen do such a thing was Jean Valjean who is incredibly strong.  Witnessing the mayor perform such a feat makes him wonder, and angry about the incident with Fantine, he denounces him to a higher authority proclaiming that he is Jean Valjean, but then in a later scene apologizes for the action as the "real" escaped convict was found.  Javert then insists that the mayor exact punishment on him for his actions, but Valjean refuses saying the inspector was only doing his job as he saw fit.

Jean Valjean is again a man torn.  He knows the poor wretch they found is only unfortunate enough to look like him, and even though he, too, is a convict, it is unspeakably wrong that he should be condemned to Valjean's fate.  But the life so made as mayor of the town must also be considered.  He is the "master of hundred of workers," and the idea of abandoning them to what they had before his arrival is almost equally terrible.  Almost.  The mayor travels to the courthouse where he declares himself the true Jean Valjean, exonerating the condemned man before leaving as quickly as he came to return to Fantine.  He promises her he will be as a father to her daughter right before she succumbs to her illness and Javert arrives to bring him to his fate.  Valjean tries to plead with him by saying that he is the only one who can save the poor woman's daughter, but it falls on deaf ears.  The two men fight, and Valjean being the stronger manages to overpower Javert and escape.

At the inn, Cosette is being mistreated by Thenardier and his wife who are played by Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen respectively.  Though both of them are nothing but rascals, they do provide the much needed comic relief for the drama despite this, nor could better actors have been cast.  Madame Thenardier forces Cosette to go fetch water from the well in the wood even though night has fallen, and though the little girl is terrified, she has no choice.  While there, she comes upon Jean Valjean and is initially afraid of him until he reassures her he will do her no harm.  Carrying her water bucket back to the inn Valjean pays the the supposed "debt" the Thenardiers say were owed for taking care of Cosette and takes the little girl away.  He finds himself experiencing the pure love for and from a child for the first time in his life, but the wonder of this is interrupted by the sight of Javert at a checkpoint seeking him out.  Valjean hides himself and Cosette on the top of a wall, which surrounds a convent.  In there he finds the very man whose life he saved beneath the cart working as a gardener, and the past act pays for the forward gratitude when Valjean pleads for help for both him and the child.

Several more years pass and Javert is still looking for Valjean who lives in Paris with the now lovely, grown up Cosette.  The is much dissidence in the city where the ranks of the poor are growing, while the rich grow fatter and fatter.  The Thenardiers, too, live in the capital where the man runs a street gang.  He attempts to rob Valjean believing himself owed more than what he gave for Cosette.  Javert sees the trouble, but fails to recognize Valjean before he escapes.  In that incident, also, Cosette sees a young man named Marius, and they both instantly feel an attraction.  Marius is part of a group of students who see the growing issue between poverty and decadence and wish to do something about it, but Marius distracted by the girl he has seen asks his friend Eponine to find her for him.  Eponine is the once pampered daughter of the Thenardiers, forced now to live on the street with undying and unrequited love for Marius.  Because of this she finds Cosette's residence for him where they finally meet and fall in love.

The students led by Enjolras decide they need to do something about the plight of the impoverished.  The only public figurehead who cares about such issue is General Lemarque who is dying.  When he finally succumbs Enjolras decides that this is the sign they need to rally the people of Paris to revolt against the status quo.  They decide to build a barricade, and Marius decides to be on the very front line once he finds out Cosette is leaving.  Unnerved by a recent attack by Thenardier's gang along with Marius's interest in Cosette Jean Valjean decides to abscond for England where he will be safe from Javert forever.  When he intercepts a note for Cosette from the boy, he decides to go down to the barricade.  Meanwhile, Javert has been playing spy and feeding the rebels false information until he is called about by Gavroche, a street urchin who hangs around them.  They tie him up in a bar behind the barricade declaring "the people will decide your fate."  When Jean Valjean arrives they suspect him, too, but he soon proves his worth and is rewarded by being allowed to execute Javert.  But once out of sight he unties the spy and lets him go.  Javert goads him to do what he's been wanting his entire life, but Valjean refuses even when Javert insists he will never stop hunting him.

The barricade falls to the national troops and everyone dies except for Marius who though shot is saved by Jean Valjean who takes him through the sewers.  At the exit Valjean meets Javert who holds him at gunpoint.  Valjean begs him to let him take Marius to a doctor as "he has done no wrong."  He realized at the barricade that the boy was yet another innocent and that he had no right to keep Cosette from finding a love he could not.  For the first time in his life Javert falters and lets Valjean go, then he climbs to the top of a bridge overlooking the Seine river utterly unable to reconcile the fact that he was spared by a convict.  He has no sense of mercy or forgiveness only the law, and the law is absolute.  There is no grey with Javert: only black and white.  You are good or you are evil.  You are law abiding or you are a criminal, and criminals follow their own code.  Valjean was meant  to kill him just as Javert was meant to hunt people like him, but his conviction is wavering.  In the movie Javert is the only character whose appearance really doesn't change, which mirrors his conviction.  It is steadfast and obstinate, and he cannot bear the thought that his entire life what he believed was wrong.  He throws himself into the Seine knowing it is either "Valjean or Javert," and the choice has already been made.

Marius recovers and he and Cosette marry, but Jean Valjean unable to bear the thought of her finding out the truth tells Marius and then leaves knowing Cosette is safe and provided for by him.  The Thenardiers crash the wedding and Marius realizes the man has the ring he pulled from his finger while he was being carried through the sewers.  He finds out that it was Valjean who saved his life and he is heartbroken by how thoughtlessly he treated him.  Valjean had returned to the convent of Cosette's youth waiting alone to die when they arrive to be with him.  He gives Cosette the story of his past and how he promised her mother she would live under his protection, and then dies, being led to heaven by Fantine in the most heartbreaking scene imaginable.  Just remembering it brings tears to my eyes.  The finale of the movie shows all those who died standing in the light of a new day singing "Do You Hear the People Sing," which was the rallying cry of the revolution.

Even though Les Miserables is probably one of the saddest stories I have ever heard, its overall message is about hope.  The belief that things can become better...that the struggle is not in vain despite the destitution and despite the despair.  The one act of kindness that rippled across the years, because one man had faith in another deemed unworthy of such a gift.  Jean Valjean is the atoner character.  He spends his entire life paying for that one crime, even though he committed the act for another.  It was prison that truly turned him into a criminal, a social commentary that is difficult to ignore.  And after being released, he was treated as worse than filth, which would have only led him back to a life of crime, but the bishop's faith restored his humanity and made it so that he could become an upstanding citizen and improve the lives of others by such a virtue.

Les Mis really doesn't have a human villain.  Yes, Javert is Jean Valjean's nemesis, but he is not evil.  He is merely a man who is as dogmatically devoted to the law as the bishop was to his faith.  Even as Valjean admits, he does his duty and cannot really be faulted for it.  He never wavers; he never falters not until the very end, and once that happens, he knows he can no longer exist in the world.  Even prior to his suicide when he looks at the bodies of the dead students where Gavroche the street urchin is laid out as well, you see even his heart of stone quavering as he places the pin from his lapel on the child's chest.  As convicted and unwavering as he is, even that is too much.  It is part of the downward spiral that began when Valjean let him go, continued when he did the same, and ends with his demise.

See this movie.  See it now.  Hugh Jackman was the perfect choice for Jean Valjean, and Anne Hathaway's performance as Fantine is nothing short of brilliant.  I have heard "I Dreamed a Dream" rendered many times, but I have never seen it done with such raw emotion and pain.  She sang it as the song was meant to be sung.  The desolate anthem of a woman who has lost everything except the love of her daughter that allows her to sacrifice her body and pride to make sure she will live.  The only complaint I have is Russell Crowe's singing voice.  Javert (like most villain characters) has always been a baritone, whereas Crowe is a tenor.  I felt there was a lack of power there.  Roger Allam as Javert from the ten year anniversary cast has a very powerful and intimidating voice as is expected from such a character so I was a little disappointed, but not enough to lessen the greatness of this piece.  If there aren't at least two awards earned, the message of injustice presented in the film will have achieved meta status and ring even more true.

PS.  The movie has one funny/creepy moment.  When Jean Valjean meets up with Cosette in the woods, he asks her where she lives and for just a second it just had this total creeper vibe.  They fixed it VERY quickly, but I had to suppress a snicker, and I heard a few from the theater at large.  

Four stars.  Why are you still sitting there?  Go see it!