If Victor Hugo were alive today, one would imagine that he would be pleased with Tom Hooper’s film adaptation of his world-renowned novel “Les Misérables.”
According to the press notes, the initial idea for making a film version of one of the world’s most popular musicals came about 25 years ago. The end result is nothing short of spectacular, due in large part to the all-hands-on-deck involvement of the creators behind the musical.
Staying true to the original story, the film opens in the year 1815 with Jean Valjean’s (Hugh Jackman) release after his 19-year imprisonment for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family. After being shown mercy and kindness by a bishop, Valjean vows to reinvent himself. And after breaking parole, he disappears from Javert’s (Russell Crowe) capture while building a new life as a mayor and wealthy factory owner.
Several years later, the poor, unfortunate beauty Fantine (Anne Hathaway), who is working at Valjean’s factory to pay innkeeper Thénardier (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his cruel wife (Helena Bonham Carter) to look after her daughter Cosette, is kicked to the curb quite literally. We witness one of the most tragic transformations as Fantine quite literally sells everything she owns, including finally her body.
Meanwhile, serving as a backdrop, the French people are becoming ever more desperate as most are living in abject poverty, and there is growing distrust of the French government.
Valjean promises a dying Fantine that he will raise Cosette as his own daughter, and his encounter with the Thénardiers provides the only respite from the otherwise tragic and somber storyline.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter are fully in their element, providing much needed levity and comic relief in their performances as beguiling, deceptive innkeepers with a penchant for stealing.
The love triangle between a grown-up Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), Marius (Eddie Redmayne), who is an idealistic revolutionary hailing from a wealthy family, and Thénardier’s daughter Éponine (Samantha Barks) is beautifully portrayed.
