It's her movie, and she'll cry if she wants to.

Les Miserables isn't even out yet, but Oscar buzz is already building for the film's stars -- most notably, Anne Hathaway**, who plays Fantine, an ill-fated prostitute dying of tuberculosis. But critics aren't the only ones moved by the actress' heartbreaking performance.

Hathaway herself has admitted to breaking down in tears when she sees herself in the epic musical drama, which also stars Hugh Jackman**, Russell Crowe**, and Amanda Seyfried**.

"I cry, but I think it's because I'm still connected to the experience of making it, the process," she told MTV News. "For me, when I see it, I actually have to be aware when I'm doing press, because it brings me a lot closer to Fantine. She's so broken that I actually have to protect myself a little bit. So when I saw it, I did cry, but not because of what I was doing [on screen]. It was because I was back in the process of making it."

That process involved a drastic make-under for the 29-year-old Golden Globe nominee. Hathaway famously lost 10 pounds from her already-slim frame before shooting began -- and then dropped another 15 pounds during a two-week break from filming by just not eating "for a total of 13 days." (The brunette also got a much-discussed pixie cut.)

"I was in such a state of deprivation -- physical and emotional," she recently told Vogue of the movie-making experience. "When I got home, I couldn't react to the chaos of the world without being overwhelmed. It took me weeks till I felt like myself again."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Anne Hathaway: Seeing Myself in Les Miserables Makes Me Cry