Les Misérables (2020)

By: Mike Ward on Friday, January 17

R Running Time: 102 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • For those wondering whether or not we need another big screen version of Les misérables, I would like to introduce you all to writer/director Ladj Ly.

  • Expanded from Ly’s 2018 short film of the same name, Victor Hugo’s classic novel serves more as inspiration than source material, as this iteration of the story digs into tensions within an increasingly divided Paris.

  • Suspenseful, intense, and featuring some terrific performances from first-time actors, Ly brings a documentarian’s eye to his Oscar-nominated, feature film debut.

NO

  • We are not dreaming a dream, singing about one day more or looking at empty chairs and empty tables - this is not a musical, it is in French, with subtitles, and brings Victor Hugo’s story into a completely different context.

  • For some, it can feel like almost “too much movie” for its efficient 102-minute run time. The movie can be dense at times on dialogue and with moving cameras and a roving eye, if not paying attention - you could get left behind.

  • Makes some major tonal shifts along the way, which may frustrate viewers trying to determine if this is a socially-aware comedy, or a topical dramatic thriller.


OUR REVIEW

Sure, I made the jokes. Les misérables? Again? Why? Did Russell Crowe want to atone for his sketchy vocals in Tom Hooper’s Oscar-winning musical?

Then came news this was not a musical and offered a different take on the story. Then the Jury Prize out of Cannes happened in May 2019. Quiet chatter throughout the year kept the film on the radar. France chose the film as its representing film for the Best International Feature Film Academy Award (and now, it’s a nominee…).

When I sat down to watch this iteration of Les misérables, the debut feature from documentarian Ladj Ly, actually serving as an adaptation from his 2018 short film, I realized he draws very little specifically from the Victor Hugo source material. I was largely impressed with how the Mali-born, Paris-residing director made this story feel urgent and important, timely, and topical.

Ly’s film, set in Montfermeil, the same city prevalent throughout Hugo’s novel, opens with a celebration of France winning the World Cup in 2018. A party has broken out in the streets and an entire city seems to be joyful, in unison and together as one. Once the cheers and celebrations dissipate, the realities of Montfermeil are brought to light through the prism of a group of teenagers and a team of police officers, traveling in almost concentric circles around each other.

We spend a day with three police officers, working out of the Anti-Crime League. Chris (Alexis Manenti) is known as “The Pink Pig” and largely sees himself above-the-law. Partner Gwada (Djibril Zonga) may be a more sensible officer, but is not above pushing the limits of what is permissible or looking the other way when Chris steps far beyond them. Joining them is a new transfer, Stéphane (Damien Bonnard), who quickly begins to realize he may not understand what he has got himself into, working with these new partners.

Ly focuses on the camaraderie and bond the officers have with one another, but then also never shies away from showing the mistrust and bad blood that exists between the police and city residents. Ly’s vision, brought to the screen in a gritty, whirling, and sweeping style by cinematographer Julien Poupard, seeks to analyze a city swelling with increased agitation and frustration.

Those tensions are underscored through the various teenage characters we see along the way. One young boy, Issa (Issa Perica), who has inexplicably stolen a baby lion cub from a local circus, ends up in an altercation with the police. When actions taken by Gwada are captured by a drone, problems escalate. But what spurs the escalation seems to be bigger than merely one incident. Ly shows us various groups, gangs, and factions all swimming around in something akin to a Parisian cultural Petri dish.

Drugs and prostitution are prevalent. Crime is apparent. A wide range of young people, many non-white and representing various faiths, beliefs, and loyalties are simply trying to survive. Ly quietly turns up the tension, sometimes in shocking and visceral ways, and at other times, through dialogue, visuals, and a rawness of first-time, non-professional actors.

Framed through a quasi-documentary lens, Les misérables is a work not easily dismissed. There is a look and feel to this movie that is fresh and vivid. Ly’s screenplay, co-written with Manenti and Giordano Gedelini, simply feels investigatory in key scenes and moments.

At times, his approach threatens to overwhelm scenes that may ask for more quiet, calm drama. While Ly has a strong sense of his story, the movie still starts to unravel in the final act, leaving audiences with a rather polarizing ending, which as many seem to love as others find disappointing.

Even without a Jean Valjean, Fantine, or Javert. Hugo’s novel from nearly 160 years ago is again made relevant as Ly and his team extract themes and concepts from then into the now.

What defines a community for ourselves and others? How do we change perceptions? When someone constantly feels under attack, when does anger and emotion take over and the individual simply feels they have no choice but to fight back?

CAST & CREW

Starring: Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djibril Zonga, Issa Perica, Al-Hassan Ly, Steve Tientcheu, Almamy Kanoute, Nizar Ben Fatma, Jeanne Balibar.

Director: Ladj Ly
Written by: Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Manenti
Based on the short film, “Les misérables”, written by Ladj Ly
Release Date: January 10, 2020
Amazon Studios