Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables

My Favorite Scene: Les Miserables (2012) “I Dreamed a Dream”

Some Oscar wins are the product of decades of work. Some reward powerhouse performances that carry a film. Sometimes, though, they go to the best five minutes of the year. I’m not a giant Anne Hathaway fan. I am not a part of the disturbingly vocal “Hathahate” community on the net, but I honestly have never been blown away by her. The giant exception to that is the best five minutes performed by any actor or actress in 2012: Hathaway’s phenomenal performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” in Les Miserables.

Holding the camera for five minutes by simply acting your way through a song performance is about as difficult a task as a screen actor can be handed, but Hathaway is mesmerizing. “I Dreamed a Dream” is unquestionably Les Miserables’s signature number, and there are a staggering amount of awful things happening to her character by the time she breaks into the anthem about shattered hope. It would have been easy to end up chewing the scenery or being swallowed by the material, but Hathaway gives a nuanced and powerful vocal that stole this film. I saw this on Christmas Day 2012, which was a bit of a surreal experience. To me, misadventures of tuberculosis-ridden French revolutionaries does not exactly say, “Seasons Greetings!” I was, however, soundly outvoted by my family. While I may be lukewarm on the film as a whole, this scene was easily more than worth the ticket price.


Les_Miserables_Poster

5 thoughts on “My Favorite Scene: Les Miserables (2012) “I Dreamed a Dream””

  1. One of my favorite scenes from the movie and yet still crying during this scene when I watch the movie. I still am emotionally hit whenever I watch Les Mis either the film or on stage- I still am this emotional wreck- but I don’t care- if it makes me feel that way; then I am not sick and tired of it

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi, Wids. I’ve had a lot happen in the last month and I’ve had to take some time off from KT. I’m not sure how long. Right now I don’t have the mental bandwidth to do more than I’m doing if that makes sense in a very vague way. I hope to return at some point, but I honestly don’t know when. Hope you’re doing well.


      Liked by 1 person

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