1815. Who served 19 years in prison Jean Valjean (Jackman) is an early release with all the consequences in the face of the warden Javert (Russell Crowe) - hard-nosed advocate of the law under the motto "A thief should sit in jail! ".
To commit a criminal record, and at the same time violate the conditions of parole and Valjean decides after a bishop showed him the true Christian charity while trying to steal his own home silver. After 8 years ex-convict - is mayor of a small French town and the owner of the factory where he works Fantine (Anne Hathaway), containing the illegitimate daughter and causes acute hostility from his companions in the shop for refusing intimacy manager.
After learning about the child, managing throws Fantine on the street in front of actually Valjean. He is at the moment not before - in the city as a police officer Javert arrives and begins to suspect the mayor in an old acquaintance. Fantine, of course, falls into the port slums, where when you try to get rid of rough customer is between Javert and Valzhanom. Last part shows a young woman who once did not help, and almost at the same time save some unfortunate who lived all this time under his name and ready to be punished due Valzhanu for violating parole. Fantine dies, and Valzhanu nothing to do but to escape from Javert to track down and take care of her daughter Cosette, which is mercilessly exploited by unscrupulous owners extremely taverns (Helen Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen). It takes another 9 years, and the whole company is already in pre-revolutionary Paris: Valjean and Cosette with a young (Amanda Seyfried), and Javert, and a family of innkeepers ...
And that's only half the story unsupportable, but very popular with directors of the novel, which is a musical version of his rather modest French pop opera has grown to the luxurious Broadway musical, and now moved to the big screen, forcing sing a dozen Hollywood stars. Tom Hooper ("Oscar" for "The King's Speech") succeeded in "Les Miserables" a lot: competently deal with the votes, not to lose the local drama even when shooting panoramic worthy "The Hobbit", and make a fantastic finale to meet in less than 3 hours. And, most importantly, he got neglected actor ambition and bring the protagonist of the film is not eternal wanderer Valjean, Javert is not full of contradictions, and certainly not in the face a couple of snotty innocent lamb Cosette and Marius the rich revolutionary (Eddie Redmayne), and music. It is music that is subject of the picture, elegantly masking the most boring pieces of the novel, the characters filling volume and suddenly even in the final forcing the viewer to believe in the rightness of the struggle for "liberty, equality and fraternity".
As for the game, then by actors images quite meet initially put Hugo. Perhaps only Jackman because of their external data a little more aristocratic than the poor should Valzhanu (whether Americans bolder, could, for example, be in the final count, who joined the revolution), but Redmayne equally corny that on a date with Cosette, which is barricades.
However, his view of love silly calf fully redeem the remaining revolutionaries. As it often happens in musicals, the characters of the second plan, appearing only in a few scenes and performing 1-2 numbers fall not on the album cover, but in the hearts of the audience. Little Gavroche brave, lively and passionate Eponine, hopelessly in love with Marius and Enjolras handsome man in love with a single revolution, spread over the second part of the picture of miraculous spark of life, which turned out to be stingy protagonists.
"Les Miserables" nominated for "Oscar" as much as 8 nominations, including "Best Film of the Year." Best or not - it's the American Film Academy, but that after watching want to find the music and the words "La Marseillaise" and sing it in the bathroom, introducing himself with a flag on the barricades of Paris - it's a fact.