Les Miserables hit theaters on Christmas Day. The large group musical turned movie is expected to rake in the Oscars and leave drama fans fully satisfied.

Les Miserables, the movie, has taken a well-known play and put it onto the big screen. The original story is Les Miserables, by French author Victor Hugo. The book was later adapted to a play and many years later found success on Broadway. The play was later put on the big screen in different versions.

“There’s so much expected of a Broadway show that some things you can transition to movies and some you cannot. I want to see how they manage to pull this one off,” said senior William Kersey.

The most recent Les Miserables movie was directed by Tom Hooper. Hooper has received endless praise for his take on the movie and flawless casting. Those who were allowed an early viewing of the movie gave it soaring compliments and many posted glowing reviews on Twitter after the film. Each song was followed up by massive cheers from the audience and the entire film received a standing ovation from the crowd upon its conclusion.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how they reproduce the set of the French Revolution and how the singing is [because they] recorded live,” said junior Maeve Hoppen.

Critics are also giving Les Miserables good reviews. Praising the casting Hooper chose, many have said the characters are able to connect better with the audience and deliver amazing renditions of their character.

The movie itself was also different from most musicals converted to film as it used live filming during the song. Instead of acting to a soundtrack, the actors sang their songs live on set. This contributed to the raw emotion so many have praised the film for. After the performance of the songs, editors went back and the song track was added behind the initial live music.

In the film, many famous actors and actresses tackled the roles of the well-known characters of Les Miserables. Some of the cast includes familiar faces such as Helena Bonham Carter, Amanda Seyfried, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

The young role of Cosette, Fantine’s young orphaned daughter, was given to ten year old Isabelle Allen. The girl was spotted playing a role in a school’s production of the Pied Piper. Soon after, Isabelle was contacted and given the role.

Jean Valjean, the leading man, is being played by none other than Hugh Jackman. Playing a thief turned good isn’t the easiest role, but Jackman has been praised for being a strong lead and giving the film life.

Anne Hathaway, though, seems to be the real star of Les Miserables. Taking the role of Fantine, worker turned prostitute, Anne not only went on a diet to lose weight for the role, but also cut her hair to fit the character. Not long after the early viewings of Les Miserables were out, critics had already released glowing reviews of her performance and the almost certain chance for Hathaway to earn an Oscar for the show.

“I think she has the voice but not the vocal commitment for the character,” said sophomore Lizzie Shugart.

Altogether, the show has so far received great reviews and the movie has seemed to satisfy critics and former fans of the play. Les Miserables is definitely a film worth viewing.