‘Les Miserables’, director Tom Hooper’s large-scope follow-up to ‘The King’s Speech’, is a star-studded affair, but only one marquee player gets centre stage in the film’s first teaser: Anne Hathaway. The erstwhile Oscar host and future Catwoman stars as the doomed Fantine in ‘Les Miserables’, and the first trailer is scored with her version of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, a haunting and resigned take that could actually make you mist up. Intercut with Hathaway’s emoting vocals are shots of sweeping action and set pieces, as well as the film’s other stars: Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius and newcomer Samantha Barks as Eponine. If Hathaway’s version of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ sounds raw, that’s because Hooper reportedly had the actors sing their performances live on set, a tactic rarely done on big-screen musicals, which allow many singing performances to be fixed and tweaked in post-production.
