Les Misérables tells the story of Valjean, a proud and decent man imprisoned for stealing bread to save his sister’s family from starvation. Once released, he is brutally pursued by police officer Javert for breaking the terms of his speech, but he takes a leap in Hardyesque’s career toward respectability, becoming mayor and factory owner. His path crosses that of his poor employee Fantine, whose adult daughter, Cosette, falls fatally in love with the revolutionary Marius, just as Paris erupts into violence, and Valjean must make his final reckoning with Javert.
Conquer your audience with weapons of your own: not so much passion as passionate sincerity, not so much power as overwhelming force. Every line, every note, every scene is sung with strong conviction and uninterrupted, continuous intensity. The physical strength of this film is impressive: it is inspiring and made with enormous effort, just like Valjean when he raises the flagpole at the beginning of the film. You can almost see the muscles in the film flexing and the veins sticking out like ropes on his forehead. By the end of the movie, you have really experienced something.
The most heartfelt scene occurs in the opening act of his film, as Valjean is in awe and moved by the Christian charity of the bishop who welcomes him and forgives him for trying to steal silverware, giving him a gift and protecting him. of the arrest (“I have saved your soul for God”). Valjean sings a monologue directly to the camera (“Why did I allow this man to touch my soul and teach me love?”), Eyes blazing with new knowledge. There is no doubt about it, this scene captures the attention of all the spectators.
Other times are less successful. Fantine’s rousing performance of Dreamed a Dream, in extreme close-up, has been much admired, but to me her performance and appearance are a bit over the top. It is assumed that his poor character pitifully sold his teeth to a street dentist.
The star is Jean Valjean. But Javert delivers the most outspoken human acting I’ve ever seen from him. His singing is so sweetly unaware of himself that there is something disconcertingly attractive about Javert, even when he is a cruel, uncompromising law enforcement officer and a down-to-earth spy. I will never love Les Miserables the way its fans do, and I’m not sure about the movie, with its strange hidden messages. But as the big screen shows, this is unique.