Valjean: What have I done, sweet Jesus, what have I done?
Become a thief in the night, a dog on the run
And have I fallen so far and is the hour so late?
That nothing remains but the cry of my hate?....
If there was another way to go, I missed it 20 long years ago
My life was a war that could never be won
They gave me a number and murdered Valjean
When they chained me and left me for dead........
Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is a convict who has served nineteen years of his life in prison for stealing a loaf of bread for a starving child. After his release, he has been ruthlessly hunted by Javert (Russell Crowe) for breaking his parole.
After an act of kindness from a stranger, he looks for redemption and lets go of his hatred for the world. Eighteen years later, we see him as an owner of a factory where Fantine (Anne Hathaway) works. After Fantine is thrown out from her job due to concerns raised by other jealous women, she realizes her life is not the dream that she dreamed. Left alone to fend for herself and a child to feed, she turns to the oldest profession in the world. One night when she is attacked by a customer, she tries to defend herself while Javert seems to take her customer's side. When Valjean tries to defend Fantine, he realizes he has seen her before. Fantine asks him not to mock her situation by making it any worse than it is. She reminds him of how she was wrongly let go from her job by his foreman while Valjean stood there watching and not doing the right thing. Promising her that her child, Cossette (Isabelle Allen/Amanda Seyfreid), would be taken care of, he sees it done.
We are again taken a few years forward where we see the French rebellion in full force. As fate would have it, Valjean and Javert cross paths again. When Valjean finally gets a chance for revenge, he lets go of Javert while saying to him, "You were only doing your duty". Javert is not really the bad guy, but just someone without a heart and who follows the law to make sure every criminal is punished, regardless of the severity of the crime. Having doubts about his intentions all along, he finally has to decide whether it's Valjean or Javert....
Director Tom Hooper (of The King's Speech fame) has a strong cast on his side and they all deliver. We even get to see little cameos from Sasha Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter who play the role of the crooked couple in charge of Cossette. Overall a decent watch, but a tad too long....
Rating: 7/10
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