The 2012 big screen adaptation of Les Miserables is a recent take on the popular musical based on Victor Hugo's famous novel. Les Miserables, considered as one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century, is a story about love, sacrifice, politics, justice, religion and moral philosophy. The novel essentially centers around Hugh Jackman's character, Jean Valjean, a very compassionate ex-convict who lives his remaining life as a fugitive on the run after stealing a loaf of bread for his hungry nephew.
Jean eventually becomes the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer and owns a factory where Anne Hathaway's character, Fantine, works. She is later fired from her job because the workers and her supervisor discover that she has a daughter born out of wedlock. She then has to swallow her pride and succumb herself to lowly, vile occupations to support her child, Cosette. In the meantime, Jean's dark past catches up to him in the form of Javert (Russell Crowe), a police officer with a serious case of obsessive compulsive disorder. When Javert is after a target, he will make sure he gets his target. Jean eventually finds out that he has incidentally caused Fantine's misfortune and decides to make things right by promising Fantine on her deathbed that he will look after Cosette as his own daughter. Jean and Cosette then spend the next 8 years running from Javert. The film seems to showcase a cat and mouse chase between Jean and Javert with many subplots to entertain the audiences in between.
This film has great production value. The sets are beautifully staged and filmed. Costumes and art direction are top notched. It's a pleasant surprise to see Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway singing out their lungs beautifully to the songs from the original stage musical itself. Anne Hathaway does an impressive job with I Dreamed A Dream. Isabelle Allen looks strikingly similar to the original drawing of little Cosette by Emile Bayard. Amanda Seyfried plays Cosette's older self while Eddie Redmayne plays her love interest, Marius Pontmercy. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter star as the swindling innkeepers, Thenardier and Madame Thenardier, respectively.
Having never read the story nor watched any of the staged productions, I watch this film as a Les Miserables virgin. The story is very interesting, and the audiences are likely to react positively and emotionally to Jean Valjean's benevolence and random acts of kindness. Here is a man who on at least two occasions are given opportunities to put an end to his fugitive lifestyle. Instead, he chooses the moral path even when he knows full well that it will jeopardize his comfortable lifestyle, safety and well being. Jean Valjean is a virtuous, pious man and he does what few men can do if given the same choices, and Hugh Jackman does justice to the character. Anne Hathaway is also another standout performer in this film. Her character undergoes so many misfortunes that one can't help but feel sorry for her. Being able to stir this kind of emotion from audiences is no easy feat, and Anne Hathaway has successfully done it with her touching performance as Fantine. This film is a winner for fans of the musicals, but can be a little slow at times for everyone else. The singing can be a bit much for those who are not familiar with the musical. But I would recommend it for the story and grand production value as well as for both Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway's portrayals of the saintly Jean Valjean and Fantine, respectively.