1. Introduction
The global perception of Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables" is of a novel adopted into the world's longest musical - it has been adapted for cinema, radio, television, and the stage on occasions numbering in the thousands. It has seldom been appreciated, however, for its original form. Tom Hooper's film adaptation hopes to do justice to the novel itself and give proper recognition to the finer details of the story. His attempts to recreate the Paris of the early nineteenth century and to capture the essence of the novel's perpetual theme of revolution are notable in the film. Hooper effectively translates the novel itself to a much larger medium, thereby allowing it to become more easily accessible to a broader audience than the novel itself, or even the musical. In short, Hooper's film is notable in that it is a genuine free-flowing adaptation that never once loses its "fidelity" or its immediate reference to the original source material. This is a grave rarity in the realm of film adaptations, and it is this fine attention to detail that is the humble origins of all impact of this film on the actual source material. The rest of this essay will attempt to define and examine a number of areas in which the film may have had any impact on the original source material, from the array of character portrayals to the novel's themes and general zeitgeist. Although this essay is in no way an advocacy of the film over the original novel, and in certain places may be perceived as actively chiding the film, it is without a doubt that the film has done much to change people's perception of the world of Les Misérables and, particularly for first-time viewers of the story, may be the sole reference point to the original novel.
2. Historical Background
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo was written in 1862 during certain times, literally and metaphorically. It is a historical novel of political strife, social injustice, and moral reform, with a romantic subplot between numerous characters. The story is set in early 19th-century France, roughly spanning the time period of Napoleon's reign through the July Revolution. This was a chaotic time, a time of great political and social change. Napoleon had brought an end to the Revolution and had crowned himself Emperor in 1804. He was a very popular figure, and France was under his rule, for better or worse, even after his defeat in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo and his subsequent abdication. France was then restored to the status of a monarchy with the now-exiled Bourbon kings, until the July Revolution of 1830, which saw the crowning of Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans. Hugo's relative was a staunch Bonapartist who served in the Napoleonic army and received a title of nobility under his rule. Throughout his life, Victor Hugo had a great interest in politics. He sympathized with the cause of the poor and the underprivileged and supported Republican ideals, although he was not a revolutionary himself. During the reign of Napoleon III, he was forced to flee France because of a failed coup he had supported and that he feared for his life. He found refuge in Brussels, from which he continued to write political pamphlets against the regime. He was finally allowed to return to France after Napoleon III's fall from power in 1870. Hugo was elected to the National Assembly in 1871, and this period marked the end of his career as a novelist and the beginning of his career as a statesman. His experiences and his resulting attitudes would heavily characterize both Marius and Valjean. The impact of the movie 'Les Misérables' by Tom Hooper on the world must be something more than the usual Hollywood fanfare, of which to some extent it is. Now for the third and final deviation. (At last! People may say) This blog was not started strictly with the aim of reviewing theatrical plays/musicals; there is also a strong political element to it. In particular, the authors have a keen interest in history, warfare, and political analysis. This comes across in the many varied posts that we do, some humorous, some serious, some pure history or analyses of historical texts or events themselves. All of these are worthwhile to us and therefore can be worthwhile to our readers, for knowledge is paramount in leadership. Now with this blog, we don't expect to gain much in the way of mass leadership, but if the intellectual and political tone is maintained, then it is still worthwhile in continuing it. With this in mind, there will be many varied posts upon the latest movie news and releases with political/historical analysis included, of which 'Truth, Justice, and the American Way' is a good example. The new Les Misérables movie offers a good bridge between these varied posts, and so we have decided with this post to temporarily diverge purely for a movie review and attempt to launch a three-segment political analysis of sociopolitical topics of the movie. This specific Hollywood fanfare is one that is worth engaging in to better understand the values of the film and how they play into the actual history then and now.
3. Cinematic Techniques Used
Firstly, it is important to explore why Tom Hooper has chosen to use this cinematic style as opposed to many other methods of delivering this epic story. The most obvious answer to this is the power of the close-up format. Hooper chose to use frequent and prolonged extreme close-ups of the actors, often while they were singing. This presented Les Misérables in a realistic and intimate way that is commonly seen in documentary films. Hooper is trying to convey to the audience the true emotions behind the songs and also the lyrics. This can be very effective, in particular Anne Hathaway's emotional performance in Fantine's "I Dreamed a Dream" was strong evidence for this as close-ups were used, creating raw emotion. In addition to this, the camerawork in this film was also exquisite. The over-the-shoulder shot was used frequently and it proved successful in building the intensity and suspense in various scenes between different characters. This is particularly true for Javert's many confrontations with Jean Valjean. Although Hooper used mostly conventional shots, he also wasn't afraid to use original and unusual camera shots. An example of this is when the camera is fixed to the rope pulling the ship that the protagonist characters are on from Toulon to Montreuil-sur-Mer. It gives an unusual forward tracking shot and creates an "on-board" experience. A combination of all these techniques creates a good visual setting onto which the actors can project a strong emotive performance to the audience.
4. Cultural Significance
Following the enormous success of both the novel and the stage musical, the release of the film version of 'Les Misérables' took a beloved and enduringly popular story and brought it to the attention of an even wider audience. The novel, written by Victor Hugo and published in 1862, also entitled 'Les Misérables', is considered one of the greatest books of the 19th century. The success of the film resulted in a revival of interest in the stage musical, and thus the story has become an important part of Western culture and has made a significant impact upon it. By increasing people's awareness and knowledge of the story of 'Les Misérables' and the life of Victor Hugo, 'Les Misérables' has shaped people's views on French history. The film is bringing this story to a new generation who may not have originally been interested. This could then encourage these people to further explore the story, either through reading the novel as some people may be inspired to read it after watching the film, or going to see a stage performance or even for educational purposes. FetchType has already seen a growth in the number of schools wanting to participate in educational workshops based around the stage musical. A more educated society on the story of 'Les Misérables' can be nothing but beneficial to ensuring that the existence of this piece of history is not forgotten. The all-star cast of Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried, as well as the director Tom Hooper, have brought the film to the attention of the general public. All of the cast have said in interviews that it was an amazing experience making the film and have conveyed much enthusiasm when discussing it. The attention which celebrities draw can often affect the views of the general public. Celebrity endorsement steers folk to believe that the story of 'Les Misérables' is worth knowing. As a whole, the film has brought about interest in a range of different social classes. 'Les Misérables' involves the depiction of many different characters from all levels of society, ranging from revolutionists to the very poor and children to the very rich. Each class has a different story to tell. By showing different scenes of the film to different groups, it is possible to facilitate an understanding of the different classes which affect society as a whole. This can also serve educational purposes and increase people's knowledge of history. With a more diverse knowledge, people can hope to understand the way in which our society has been shaped.
