Les Misérables
(2012)
PG-13 | 25 December 2012
Director:
Tom HooperProducers:
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron MackintoshCinematographer:
Danny CohenEditors:
Melanie Ann Oliver, Chris DickensProduction Designer:
Eve StewartProduction Companies:
Camack International, Working Title FilmsThe film begins with a title card containing the following written statement: “1815 – Twenty six years after the start of the French Revolution, a king is once again on the throne of France.”
End credits contain the following stage production credits: “Produced on stage by Cameron Mackintosh; Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer; Original French text by Alain Boublil & Jean-Marc Natel; Additional material by James Fenton; Adapted by Trevor Nunn & John Caird; Original stage orchestration by John Cameron; New stage orchestration by Chris Jahnke; Additional stage orchestrations by Stephen Metcalfe & Stephen Brooker; Original London production produced in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Trevor Nunn & John Caird; 25th anniversary production directed by Laurence Connor & James Powell.” Also in the end credits is the following written statement: “The Director would like to thank his parents Meredith and Richard Hooper, Rachel Hooper, Ben Hooper, and Roger Mortimer for introducing him to musicals.” Additional “Thanks” are given to the following organizations and individuals: Mairie de Gourdon, Alpers-Maritimes; HMS Victory; Portsmouth Naval Base; Winchester College; Royal Naval College Greenwich; The Duke of Buccleuch & all at Boughton House; Chatham Historical Dockyard; Bath Film Office; Michael Le Poer Trench; and the Osborne family. A “Special thanks” acknowledges “all the casts and creative teams that have kept Les Misérables so thrillingly alive on stage since 1985 and everyone at Cameron Mackintosh for their unstinting devotion to our darling Cosette.” Additionally, a written statement in the end credits indicates that Les Misérables was filmed “on location in England and France and on the new Richard Attenborough Stage at Pinewood Studios, England.”
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The film begins with a title card containing the following written statement: “1815 – Twenty six years after the start of the French Revolution, a king is once again on the throne of France.”
End credits contain the following stage production credits: “Produced on stage by Cameron Mackintosh; Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer; Original French text by Alain Boublil & Jean-Marc Natel; Additional material by James Fenton; Adapted by Trevor Nunn & John Caird; Original stage orchestration by John Cameron; New stage orchestration by Chris Jahnke; Additional stage orchestrations by Stephen Metcalfe & Stephen Brooker; Original London production produced in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Trevor Nunn & John Caird; 25th anniversary production directed by Laurence Connor & James Powell.” Also in the end credits is the following written statement: “The Director would like to thank his parents Meredith and Richard Hooper, Rachel Hooper, Ben Hooper, and Roger Mortimer for introducing him to musicals.” Additional “Thanks” are given to the following organizations and individuals: Mairie de Gourdon, Alpers-Maritimes; HMS Victory; Portsmouth Naval Base; Winchester College; Royal Naval College Greenwich; The Duke of Buccleuch & all at Boughton House; Chatham Historical Dockyard; Bath Film Office; Michael Le Poer Trench; and the Osborne family. A “Special thanks” acknowledges “all the casts and creative teams that have kept Les Misérables so thrillingly alive on stage since 1985 and everyone at Cameron Mackintosh for their unstinting devotion to our darling Cosette.” Additionally, a written statement in the end credits indicates that Les Misérables was filmed “on location in England and France and on the new Richard Attenborough Stage at Pinewood Studios, England.”
As stated in a 10 Oct 2004 Var article, Columbia TriStar had most recently optioned the filming rights to Les Misérables, but, after five years, the rights reverted to producer Cameron Mackintosh. Directors who had shown interest in the project included Jean-Jacques Annaud, Richard Attenborough, Alan Parker, Bruce Beresford, and Oliver Stone.
On 19 Oct 2011, DV reported that Tom Hooper would direct the film. According to production notes from AMPAS library files, Hooper became interested when he heard that screenwriter William Nicholson, whom he was collaborating with on another project, was working on the screen adaptation to Les Misérables. Producer Eric Fellner stated that Hooper was the only director to receive Nicholson’s screenplay and Working Title Films’ first choice to direct. While the script was still in development, Hooper decided that the film should be “through-sung” and invited composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, and lyricists Alain Boublil and Herbie Kretzmer to collaborate in the writing process, asking them to produce new lyrics for the musical and the original song, “Suddenly.”
As stated in the 19 Oct 2011 DV item, production was set to begin Feb 2012. For the role of “Eponine,” actresses Lea Michele, Evan Rachel Wood, and Scarlett Johansson were considered, along with singer-actress Taylor Swift; however, Samantha Barks, who had played “Éponine” in a London stage production of Les Misérables in 2010 and 2011, was eventually cast, as reported in a 2 Feb 2012 LAT item. The role marked Barks’s feature film acting debut.
In preparation for the role of “Jean Valjean,” Hugh Jackman trained rigorously in the gym and ate a very limited diet, so that he could embody the mixture of strength and malnourishment that defined his character. Additionally, for thirty-six hours before the first shooting day, Jackman drank no water in an effort to appear gaunt. Similarly, actress Anne Hathaway lost twenty-five pounds to play the role of “Fantine.”
According to a 24 Aug 2012 DV article, one week of rehearsals preceded principal photography. The twelve-week shooting schedule began in Gourdon, France, with a small crew. There, filmmakers shot Jean’s trek through the mountains after he is freed. Afterward, “principal photography moved into full swing” in England, where locations included the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, a naval base and home to the famous naval warship, HMS Victory; the Tarring Yarn House, built in Chatham in the late eighteenth-century, which served as Jean’s factory; the “Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich,” that doubled as the locale for LaMarque’s funeral procession at the Place de la Bastille; Winchester College, where Jean’s death was filmed inside the school’s chapel; and Boughton House, the Duke of Buccleuch’s residence that stood in for “Marius Pontmercy’s” family residence. Elaborate sets for the “Lovely Ladies” sequence and the “streets of 1832 Paris” were built at Pinewood Studios.
As stated in the 24 Aug 2012 DV and production notes, the cast recorded songs “live on the set.” The last “non-rock musical” to have recorded musical numbers live during filming was Peter Bogdanovich’s At Long Last Love (1975, see entry). While shooting Les Misérables, the actors wore miniscule earpieces that played an accompaniment provided by an electric piano located offstage. Music producer Anne Dudley described sound mixer Simon Hayes’s role as “crucial,” as the production sound crew acted, simultaneously, as music recording engineers. Beginning 10 Oct 2012, the accompaniment was added to the actors’ vocals during post-production by a seventy-piece orchestra.
Though the film was initially scheduled for a 14 Dec 2012 release, a 19 Sep 2012 DV brief announced that the opening had been moved to 25 Dec 2012 due to a shift in release schedules for Life of Pi (2012, see entry) and Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatbsy, both of which were initially set to release on Christmas day but had been moved.
Critical reception was mixed. In his 21 Dec 2012 HR review, Todd McCarthy complained about the film’s through-sung dialogue and lack of subtlety, stating that actors gave “stage-sized turns for the screen.” Echoing McCarthy’s sentiment in her 24 Dec NYT review, Manohla Dargis described Hooper’s direction as “maximalist,” stating that the film had “an overblown tone that rarely quiets.” Several reviewers praised Hathaway’s performance as a standout, pointing in particular to the “I Dreamed a Dream” sequence as a high point.
Les Misérables was named as one of AFI’s Movies of the Year. The film received Academy Awards for Sound Mixing, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Actress in a Supporting Role (Anne Hathaway), and the following Academy Award nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor (Hugh Jackman); Best Costume Design; Best Original Song (“Suddenly”); and Best Production Design. The film was awarded “Best Acting by an Ensemble” and “Best Ensemble” by the National Board of Review, and received the following Golden Globe awards: Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical; Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical (Hugh Jackman); and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Anne Hathaway). The film was also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song (“Suddenly,” music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil).
In 1815, on the southern coast of France, Jean Valjean is released on parole after serving nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. The officer in charge of Jean’s prison gang, Javert, provides him with yellow identification papers that indicate Jean’s criminal history. Javert warns the parolee that wherever he goes, he will be haunted by his past, and Jean soon discovers the prophecy to be true when he cannot find a job, food, or shelter. One night, however, Bishop Myriel finds Jean outside his church and takes him in, feeding him and providing him with a place to sleep. Instead of sleeping, Jean steals silver plates from the bishop and runs away. The next day, two policemen drag Jean back to the church and show the Bishop the stolen goods. After lying to the policemen, saying he gave Jean the items as a gift, the Bishop instructs Jean to use the stolen silver to become an “honest man.” Ashamed, Jean rips up his identification papers and renounces his past. Eighteen years later, Jean has become the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer, under the false identity of “Monsieur Madeleine.” At a factory owned by Jean, several workers report a young woman named Fantine to the foreman, saying she has been prostituting herself to support her child and suggesting that Fantine will bring trouble to the factory. The foreman fires Fantine, who begs for mercy as she is thrown into the street. Meanwhile, Jean meets with Javert, who is now the police inspector for Montreuil-sur-Mer. Although Javert says he recognizes him, Jean denies having met Javert and rushes out to the street when he hears a commotion. When he ...
In 1815, on the southern coast of France, Jean Valjean is released on parole after serving nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. The officer in charge of Jean’s prison gang, Javert, provides him with yellow identification papers that indicate Jean’s criminal history. Javert warns the parolee that wherever he goes, he will be haunted by his past, and Jean soon discovers the prophecy to be true when he cannot find a job, food, or shelter. One night, however, Bishop Myriel finds Jean outside his church and takes him in, feeding him and providing him with a place to sleep. Instead of sleeping, Jean steals silver plates from the bishop and runs away. The next day, two policemen drag Jean back to the church and show the Bishop the stolen goods. After lying to the policemen, saying he gave Jean the items as a gift, the Bishop instructs Jean to use the stolen silver to become an “honest man.” Ashamed, Jean rips up his identification papers and renounces his past. Eighteen years later, Jean has become the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer, under the false identity of “Monsieur Madeleine.” At a factory owned by Jean, several workers report a young woman named Fantine to the foreman, saying she has been prostituting herself to support her child and suggesting that Fantine will bring trouble to the factory. The foreman fires Fantine, who begs for mercy as she is thrown into the street. Meanwhile, Jean meets with Javert, who is now the police inspector for Montreuil-sur-Mer. Although Javert says he recognizes him, Jean denies having met Javert and rushes out to the street when he hears a commotion. When he discovers a man, Fauchelevent, who has been pinned underneath a wagon, Jean lifts the wagon to free him, and Javert observes, saying that he once knew a prisoner with such strength who has since broken his parole and disappeared. That night, Fantine goes to an alley filled with prostitutes and sells her hair along with two teeth, which a man forcefully removes. Fantine then agrees to sell her body, and, after having sex with a sailor for money, she cries in bed, recalling a time when she was in love and felt hopeful about the world. The same night, another man propositions her in the alley but she refuses, prompting him to shove snow into her dress. Fantine fights back by scratching his face, and Javert arrives, demanding an explanation. Before Javert can arrest her, however, Jean appears and reasons with him. Recognizing her from his factory, Jean takes pity on Fantine, delivers her to a hospital, and agrees to find her daughter, Cosette. One day, Javert makes a confession to Jean, saying he mistook him for an escaped convict and reported him; however, since then, the “real Jean Valjean” was found. Javert apologizes and suggests that Jean press charges against him, but Jean refuses. Wracked with guilt that another man might have to serve his sentence, Jean comes forth at a court hearing and claims he is the true Jean Valjean. After the judge ignores his confession, Jean visits Fantine at the hospital and finds her dying. Jean promises to take care of Fantine's daughter, Cosette. Javert confronts Jean at the hospital, having heard that he came forth to claim his identity, but Jean eludes the police inspector. In Montfermeil, at an inn owned by the corrupt Thenardier, Cosette, now a slave, dreams of an easier life. Madame Thenardier reprimands the girl for not working hard enough, even as she coddles her own daughter, Eponine. That night, Jean finds Cosette in the forest where she has been sent to fetch water. Jean leads Cosette back to the inn and tells the Thenardiers that he plans to take her with him and will pay any “debts” they are owed. Although the couple attempts to swindle him, Jean leaves a set amount of money and takes the girl. Soon after, Javert appears, demanding to know where Cosette went, but the Thenardiers cannot tell him. Cosette and Jean ride in a carriage to Paris, but when they are stopped at a gate, Jean fears they will be detected. Arriving on horseback, Javert spots Jean and Cosette as they leave the carriage. Although Javert chases them, Jean manages to escape with Cosette by scaling the wall to a convent. The convent’s groundskeeper, Fauchelevent, stops them but recognizes Jean as the man who saved his life when he was stuck underneath a wagon. Jean informs Fauchelevent that he and Cosette are seeking sanctuary. Nine years later, in 1832, masses of people are banding together in the streets to protest the monarchy. One of the revolutionaries, Marius Pontmercy, is spotted by his grandfather, Gillenormand, a rich man who reprimands his grandson for bringing shame to the family. One day, Marius sees Cosette in the street and becomes infatuated with her. Eponine Thenardier, who now lives in Paris with her parents, secretly loves Marius and is heartbroken when she learns that he has fallen for Cosette. When the Thenardiers approach Jean for money, attempting to con him by pretending to have a baby, Madame Thenardier recognizes him as the man who took Cosette. Jean denies his identity, inciting a quarrel with the Thenardiers, and Javert arrives to break up the commotion. Jean escapes, but the Thenardiers provide Javert with enough information to suggest that they were talking to Jean Valjean. Later, Marius asks Eponine to find Cosette for him, and she agrees despite being hurt by his indifference to her. Later, at a café with a group of revolutionaries, Marius confesses to his friend, Enjolras, that he has fallen in love. The young men learn that General LaMarque, a military official who was popular with the masses, has died, and Enjolras suggests that the death marks a good time to incite an uprising. At home, Cosette ponders her newfound feelings for Marius, whom she also noticed in the street. She laments the lonely life she’s lead with Jean, and his secrecy about the past. Meanwhile, Eponine leads Marius to the home of Cosette, whom he speaks with briefly before she is called back inside by Jean. Finding Eponine in the alley nearby, Thenardier realizes that they are outside the home of Jean and Cosette. Intending to capture Jean and return him to Javert, Thenardier heads toward their home but Eponine screams to warn them. Jean manages to escape yet again with Cosette, who leaves behind a letter for Marius that Eponine finds and keeps to herself. The next day, at General LaMarque’s funeral procession, revolutionaries line the streets, stealing flags from military officials and climbing atop LaMarque’s hearse. When Enjolras and Marius draw their guns, the police fire and a gunfight ensues. The revolutionaries create a makeshift barricade in the street, and Javert pretends he wants to join them, promising to find out when the French military plan to attack. When Javert returns with the news that French forces will strike after sunrise, a young boy named Gavroche refutes his claims and exposes Javert’s true identity as a police inspector. The revolutionaries tie Javert up as the French army attacks. In the midst of the fighting, Eponine is shot, but before she dies, she gives Marius the letter from Cosette. After reading it, Marius writes a response to Cosette and asks Gavroche to deliver it. Jean intercepts Marius’s letter, and, realizing that Marius and Cosette are in love, he goes to protect Marius from getting killed. Disguised as a French military official, Jean joins the revolutionaries, who distrust him at first but take him in after Jean shoots some French soldiers. Spotting Javert, Jean tells the revolutionaries that he would like to deal with the traitor himself and leads the man away. Although Javert thinks Jean is going to kill him, Jean frees him; in turn, the inspector vows that he will capture Jean someday. The next day, as the boys run out of ammunition, Gavroche walks over the barricade to get more, but the young boy is ruthlessly shot by French soldiers. The army fires cannons at the barricade, and Marius is shot. Although most of the revolutionaries are killed, Jean manages to save Marius by dragging him into the sewer, where he encounters Thenardier, who is stealing valuables from corpses. Thenardier steals a ring from Marius before Jean is able to drag him away. Emerging from the sewer, Jean encounters Javert and says that he must get Marius to the hospital. Although Javert threatens to shoot Jean, he drops his gun in the sewer when Jean defies his orders. Instead of pursuing the escaped convict any further, Javert jumps from a tall bridge to his death. Marius recovers in the hospital, unaware that Jean saved him, and returns to the café where he once met with his comrades. Cosette greets Marius there, and, later, they join Gillenormand at his home. Although Marius invites Jean to live in the large house, along with he and Cosette, Jean confesses to breaking his parole and lying about his identity, and says he must leave, warning that Cosette must not know the truth about him. Soon after, Cosette and Marius are married, and the Thenardiers attend the wedding in disguise. As Marius orders them out, Thenardier tells him that he had seen Jean in the sewer with the corpse of a boy he killed, showing the ring he stole from the boy as evidence. Marius recognizes the ring as his own and realizes that Jean was his savior. Learning that Jean is at a convent, Marius takes Cosette there, and they find Jean in poor health. Marius thanks Jean for saving him, as Jean sees visions of Fantine, who promises that he will be with God in the afterlife. Jean gives Cosette a letter that confesses his past, then dies as Cosette sobs in Marius’s arms.
