History Film / LesMiserables2012

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Jean Valjean does this twice. First when he is saved by the bishop he robbed, and later when he finds out that he ruined Fantine's life [[ButForMeItWasTuesday without even noticing]].

** [[spoiler:Courfeyrac sobs after Gavroche dies]].

** Creator/HughJackman's rendition of "Valjean's Soliloquy".

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler:Not only does Javert jump into the river, he lands on a ledge with such a loud ''CRACK!'', there's zero chance he survived]].

* EvilRedhead: Monsieur Thénardier.

* DramaticIrony: Valjean refuses Javert's sword as a sign off his resignation for falsely accusing him off being a convict. Javert ends up almost killing Valjean with that sword during "The Confrontation".

* DarkerAndEdgier: While the musical is widely acknowledge for being unusually grim and pessimistic by the genre's standards, the movie goes even further by averting BloodlessCarnage, adopting the DungAges approach for the depicting the historical era, and generally eschewing the highly stylized sets of the musical in favour of gritty naturalism.

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Oddly, the characters involved in the LoveTriangle: Marius (redhead), Cosette (blond) and Eponine (brunette).

* BlondBrunetteRedhead: Oddly, the characters involved in the LoveTriangle: Marius (redhead), Cosette (blond) and Eponine (brunette).

** Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter is this yet again, along with Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thenardiers. In the novel, Mme. Thenardier is a [[FatBastard massive]], [[BrawnHilda muscular woman]] with [[LadyLooksLikeADude highly masculine features]], and is frequently compared to an ogress. M. Thenardier is described as a [[LeanAndMean sickly-looking "runt"]] who is not at all good looking. Performances of the musical tend to cast actors whose physical appearance along with make-up more or less fit those descriptions. However, Bonham-Carter in the role is made-up to look blowsy looking but otherwise has no change in her appearance, and Cohen, while showing a bit of Thenardier's creepy vibe, is probably the best looking and most stylishly dressed incarnation of the character.

** A minor case with Grantaire, who appears not to have gotten dead drunk and slept through most of the uprising. Even [[spoiler: Thénardier]] has a ''very'' brief moment when [[spoiler: he willingly points Valjean towards the sewer's exit]]. Of course, [[spoiler: he eventually reverts back to his scoundrelly self in his next scene]].

** Tom Hooper's added backstory has Army Officer fall into this. [[spoiler: Hooper had Tveit (Enjolras) and Fraser (the Army Officer/Loudhailer) act as if they both grew up together. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it zoom on the Army Officer's face has him looking relatively distressed as he takes his shot at Enjolras and Grantaire. He doesn't look exactly happy after Gavroche's death, either]].

** Tom Hooper had Creator/AaronTveit (Enjolras) and Hadley Fraser (the Army Officer) act as if [[spoiler:the Army Officer/Loudhailer and Enjolras grew up together as childhood friends. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it zoom on the Army Officer's face shows him more distressed than determined when he takes his shot at Enjolras and Grantaire. It may also explain why the Army Officer is more sorrowful sounding than authoritative when he addresses Enjolras, as most versions of the character would be]].

** When the Bishop hands the candlesticks to Valjean, after he had discovered Valjean had stolen all of his silverware; it's a blink and you'll miss it moment, but [[spoiler: at the beginning of "Who Am I?", they can be seen on his table]].

* ObjectTrackingShot: After Valjean tears up his parole record and tosses it away, the camera follows a piece that floats up to the sky then swiftly falls as the film does the first TimeSkip to "At The End of the Day". May be a possible shout-out to an older adaptation that used a similar shot.

* ObjectTrackingShot: After Valjean tears up his parole record and tosses it away, the camera follows a piece that floats up to the sky then swiftly falls as the film does the first [[TimeSkip time jump]] to "At The End of the Day". May be a possible shout-out to an older adaptation that used a similar shot.

** "Don't they know they're making love to one already dead?" sings Fantine at the end of "Lovely Ladies", and for "I Dreamed A Dream," she spends the next few minutes in a box resembling a coffin, complete with pillows[[note]]Anne Hathaway even said in interview with Jon Stewart that, among the many, many takes of "I Dreamed A Dream" that were shot, one of them was entirely inside a coffin[[/note]].

** Colm Wilkinson, who played the original Jean Valjean in the stage version appears as the Bishop of Digne. When he gives Creator/HughJackman's Valjean the silver candlesticks in the movie, he is PassingTheTorch of Jean Valjean. Plus a number of actors that make up the barricade boys also played Marius or Enjolras in the stage versions.

''Les Misérables'' is a 2012 film version of the [[Theatre/LesMiserables stage musical of the same name]], which in turn was an adaptation of Victor Hugo's epic [[Literature/LesMiserables novel of the same name]]. Despite being an adaptation of the musical, it also incorporates elements from the novel that were left out of the musical. It was produced by Cameron Mackintosh, directed by Tom Hooper, and starred Creator/HughJackman as Jean Valjean, Creator/RussellCrowe as Inspector Javert, Creator/AnneHathaway as Fantine, Creator/AmandaSeyfried as Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Samantha Barks as Eponine, Creator/AaronTveit as Enjolras, Creator/SachaBaronCohen as Monsieur Thenardier, and Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter as Madame Thenardier. Notable for Hooper's decision to have the vocals recorded live on set, as opposed to having the actors lip-synch to pre-recorded tracks, to create more natural performances.

* AdaptationDistillation: Inevitable, given the source material, as well as the length of the stage adaptation. Tom Hooper stated that the original cut of the movie clocked at 4:15 and he and the editing department were tasked with cutting it down to the max amount of time acceptable for a movie (2:30). It's a bit of an {{Understatement}} to say that people are less than pleased that there isn't an extended version of the film.

* MissingTrailerScene: Some scenes in the trailers, such as shots of Javert and his men running with search lanterns in hand, and Cosette, [[spoiler:who is in her wedding dress]], riding in the carriage and looking very happy, don't actually appear in the movie itself.

* IronicEcho: Valjean says of Cosette in ''Suddenly'' "Yesterday I was alone/Now you are beside me". As he dies later, he says "Now you are here again beside me".

''Les Misérables'' is a 2012 film version of the [[Theatre/LesMiserables stage musical of the same name]], which in turn was an adaptation of Victor Hugo's epic [[Literature/LesMiserables novel of the same name]]. Despite being an adaptation of the musical, it also incorporates elements from the novel that were left out of the musical. It was produced by Cameron Mackintosh, directed by Tom Hooper, and starred Creator/HughJackman as Jean Valjean, Creator/RussellCrowe as Inspector Javert, Creator/AnneHathaway as Fantine, Creator/AmandaSeyfried as Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Samantha Barks as Eponine, Creator/AaronTveit as Enjolras, Creator/SachaBaronCohen as Monsieur Thenardier, and Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter as Madame Thenardier. Notable for Hooper's decision to have the vocals recorded live on set, as opposed to having the actors lip-synch to prerecorded tracks, to create more natural performances.

** Javert mentions he was born in jail. In the novel [[spoiler:it's revealed that his mother was a fortune teller who lived in jail while her husband was serving his time, and that the boy spent several years being raised in what was basically a hellhole. Explains a lot of his adult personality.]]
** Tom Hooper had Creator/AaronTveit (Enjolras) and Hadley Fraser (the Army Officer) act as if [[spoiler:the Army Officer/Loudhailer and Enjolras grew up together as childhood friends. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it zoom on the Army Officer's face shows him more distressed than determined when he takes his shot at Enjolras and Grantaire. It may also explain why the Army Officer is more sorrowful sounding than authoritative when he addresses Enjolras, as most versions of the character would be.]]

* BigBrotherMentor: Courfeyrac towards Gavroche. [[spoiler:When he sees Gavroche trying to collect ammo, he desperately tries to climb over the barricade to bring him back and is devastated when the army kills him.]]

* CallBack: As Valjean sits alone in the convent in the final scene, he sings that he 'dreamed a dream' Cosette stood by, and that he is all alone 'at the end of the day' - a callback to two of Fantine's songs. Not long after, [[spoiler:Fantine appears to guide him to the afterlife.]]

** It's worth noting that though he isn't named in the film, Combeferre (blond in the blue vest and red tie played by Killian Donnelly) is the most active of the revolutionaries in film and manages to represent the average man in every sense of the word in his actions on the day the barricades rose: [[spoiler:He's enraged at the death of an innocent woman and drags out the man responsible before shooting him; he is angry with Marius when he threatens to blow the barricade to ward off the soldiers; he tries to call Gavroche back to the other side of the barricade and holds back Courfeyrac when the latter attempts to save Gavroche; and still tries to find refuge for his friends and shield them even when the situation is hopeless.]]

** The younger actors fall into this too. Éponine in the book is scrawny, dirty, and not attractive at all, but in the film she is portrayed by the lovely Samantha Barks. Same goes for several of the barricade boys, who are invariably attractive onscreen.

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Don't act like you didn't feel at least a bit sorry for Javert.]]

** Tom Hooper's added backstory has Army Officer fall into this. [[spoiler: Hooper had Tveit (Enjolras) and Fraser (the Army Officer/Loudhailer) act as if they both grew up together. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it zoom on the Army Officer's face has him looking relatively distressed as he takes his shot at Enjolras and Grantaire. He doesn't look exactly happy after Gavroche's death, either.]]

* BackstoryHorror: [[spoiler:When Éponine dies]], the camera deliberately pans to show Gavroche, tears running down his face. This has extra resonance for those who have read the book, which explains that [[spoiler:Éponine is his sister.]]
** [[spoiler: There's been confirmation that there was, in fact, a scene filmed in which Gavroche reveals this information to Courfeyrac. Note, too, that during the scene in which Javert walks through observing the damage from the battle that Eponine and Gavroche's bodies are laid out next to each other.]]

* BarefootPoverty: Cosette as a child, and Éponine as an adult.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: At least if you're a person of romantic interest, the trope is played with: Fantine gets to be properly tarnished during her fall from grace, but Éponine is remarkably clean and well-nourished for someone living the life she has, and Little Cosette remains quite rosy-cheeked.

* BlondBrunetteRedhead: Oddly, the characters involved in the LoveTriangle: Marius (redhead), Cosette (blond) and Éponine (brunette).

--->'''1815.''' TWENTY SIX YEARS AFTER THE START OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. A KING IS ONCE AGAIN ON THE THRONE OF FRANCE.

* TheRival: InspectorJavert to Valjean. Averted by Éponine and Cosette, who never actually meet as adults.

** In "A Little Fall of Rain", Éponine and Marius lean on a French flag, with the words "La Mort" clearly visible. [[spoiler:And what does it mean? Death. Makes one wonder what's going to happen to her and the barricade boys]].

** The hymn sung on the barricade has chords and a melody that suspiciously sound at times like the "Chant des Partisans", the hymn of the French Resistance during UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo.

** Helena Bonham-Carter is this yet again, along with Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thenardiers. In the novel, Mme. Thenardier is a [[FatBastard massive]], [[BrawnHilda muscular woman]] with [[LadyLooksLikeADude highly masculine features]], and is frequently compared to an ogress. M. Thenardier is described as a [[LeanAndMean sickly-looking "runt"]] who is not at all good looking. Performances of the musical tend to cast actors whose physical appearance along with make-up more or less fit those descriptions. However, Carter in the role is made-up to look blowsy looking but otherwise has no change in her appearance, and Cohen, while showing a bit of Thenardier's creepy vibe, is probably the best looking and most stylishly dressed incarnation of the character.
** In the book and to a lesser extent in adaptations, Valjean looks like an old man by time he rescues Cosette (and in the book has stark white hair after being LockedIntoStrangeness). In the film, he's Hugh Jackman.

** Tom Hooper had Aaron Tveit (Enjolras) and Hadley Fraser (the Army Officer) act as if [[spoiler:the Army Officer/Loudhailer and Enjolras grew up together as childhood friends. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it zoom on the Army Officer's face shows him more distressed than determined when he takes his shot at Enjolras and Grantaire. It may also explain why the Army Officer is more sorrowful sounding than authoritative when he addresses Enjolras, as most versions of the character would be.]]

* BrickJoke: The unnamed Father Christmas guy in "Master of the House"
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Of a rare MyGodWhatHaveIDone variety, as Jean Valjen discover himself to be the person who caused Fantine's misfortune without even noticing.

* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:Fantine and Gavroche.]]

* DutchAngle: Used often to the Thenardiers in order to make them seem more unpleasant. It's also used at the beginning of Marius's meeting with Valjean, to reflect his excitement about [[spoiler:being married to his daughter.]]

* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:When Enjolras is cornered he stares down the soldiers and raises the flag defiantly. Even Grantaire stands tall beside him.]]
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler:Not only does Javert jump into the river, he lands on a ledge with such a loud ''CRACK!'' there's zero chance he survived.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Stars" is staged with Javert standing on top of a building looking up at the stars and down on the city; the staging is echoed, in some places shot-for-shot, for [[spoiler:"Javert's Suicide", making the latter a visual DarkReprise. Furthermore, both times he teeters on the edge, walking the fine line between safety and doom. In several shots, there is a not at all subtle eagle sculpture behind him, giving him an angelic wing on one side, and the night's sky representing darkness and doom on the other.]]

* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Fantine, after hearing that Valjean will take care of her daughter.]]

* HollywoodOld: Valjean, Javert, and the adult Thénardiers don't change much during the years that Cosette grows from Isabelle Allen into Amanda Seyfried (and likewise, Eponine ages from Natalya Angel Wallace into Samantha Barks), except that some of their hair greys up a little bit.

** Eddie Redmayne's "Empty Chairs At Empty Tables".

** [[spoiler:Gavroche, during his song, "Little People".]]

** [[spoiler:When Eponine dies, Marius cries, Gavroche is silently weeping, and a single tear falls off Enjolras's eyelashes.]]

** [[spoiler:Courfeyrac sobs after Gavroche dies.]]

** In a way, "Valjean's soliloquy" and [[spoiler: "Javert's Suicide". Valjean and Javert sing the same lines at the end of each song, but one ends with Valjean starting over clean and one ends in Javert's suicide.]]
** When the Bishop hands the candlesticks to Valjean, after he had discovered Valjean had stolen all of his silverware; it's a blink and you'll miss it moment, but [[spoiler: at the beginning of "Who Am I?", they can be seen on his table.]]
** [[spoiler: When Valjean leaves Cosette and Marius to retire to the monastery to die, the candlesticks are right beside him once again.]]

** As Cosette sweeps and sings "Castle on a Cloud", if you freeze at the right moment, there's a momentary live-action reproduction of the famous [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lesmiz.jpg engraving of Cosette sweeping]] that became the musical's emblem.

* TheQueensLatin: The cast is primarily composed of American and Australian actors. Not only do most of them speak The Queen's French, but [[AccentAdaptation many of the lower-class characters speak Cockney French.]]

** Frances Ruffelle, who originated Éponine, has a cameo as one of the whores in "Lovely Ladies". Apparently, her character was dubbed "Most Fabulous Whore".

** In "A Little Fall of Rain", Éponine and Marius lean on a French flag, with the words "La Mort" clearly visible. [[spoiler:And what does it mean? Death. Makes one wonder what's going to happen to her and the barricade boys.]]
** Colm Wilkinson, who played the original Jean Valjean in the stage version appears as the Bishop of Digne. When he gives Hugh Jackman's Valjean the silver candlesticks in the movie he is passing on the baton of Jean Valjean. Plus a number of actors that make up the barricade boys also played Marius or Enjolras in the stage versions.
** "Don't they know they're making love to one already dead?" sings Fantine at the end of "Lovely Ladies", and for "I Dreamed A Dream," she spends the next few minutes in a box resembling a coffin, complete with pillows. [[note]]Anne Hathaway even said in interview with Jon Stewart that, among the many, many takes of "I Dreamed A Dream" that were shot, one of them was entirely inside a coffin.[[/note]]

** When Marius asks Éponine to tail Cosette for him, they spar lines set to the melody of "I Was Made For Loving You" by Kiss.
** The hymn sung on the barricade has chords and a melody that suspiciously sound at times like the "Chant des Partisans", the hymn of the French Resistance during WWII.

* SuppressedMammaries / {{Sarashi}}: Éponine wraps herself up to look like a boy in "One Day More".
* TakeAThirdOption: Javert's solution of whether ToBeLawfulOrGood -- morally, he can't continue to harass a man who saved his life, but legally he can't let a convict go free -- is [[spoiler:to kill himself.]]

''Les Misérables'' is a 2012 film version of the [[Theatre/LesMiserables stage musical of the same name]], which in turn was an adaptation of Victor Hugo's epic [[Literature/LesMiserables book of the same name]]. Despite being an adaptation of the musical, it also incorporates elements from the novel that were left out of the musical. It was produced by Cameron Mackintosh, directed by Tom Hooper, and starred Creator/HughJackman as Jean Valjean, Creator/RussellCrowe as Inspector Javert, Creator/AnneHathaway as Fantine, Creator/AmandaSeyfried as Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Samantha Barks as Eponine, Creator/AaronTveit as Enjolras, Creator/SachaBaronCohen as Monsieur Thenardier, and Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter as Madame Thenardier. Notable for Hooper's decision to have the vocals recorded live on set, as opposed to having the actors lip-synch to prerecorded tracks, to create more natural performances.