Les Misérables

Les Misérables opens in Paris, with the ecstatic sight of a crowd at a football game. Very quickly, we are submerged into urban Paris and placed in a car with three police officers - Stéphane Ruiz (Damien Bonnard) on his first day, the volatile Chris (Alexis Manenti) and more subdued Gwada (Djibril Zonga) - on a day that becomes increasingly tense after the theft of a lion cub pits different groups of Parisians against one another. Things begin to get out of hand when an arrest attempt becomes unexpectedly dangerous…

Though the film shares little more than its title, some themes and a location with the classic novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables is a film bound to create an equally important conversation. Adopting a social realist style in its cinematography (by Julien Poupard) and intensely sharp editing (by Richard Deusy and Flora Volpelière), the film sticks almost entirely within the constraints of a single day, with tensions bubbling at each location our three main characters visit, whether that tension comes from disagreements based on race, religion, crime or otherwise.

Having already caused quite an impact after winning the Cannes film festival’s prestigious Jury Prize and being France’s choice for submission to the Oscars (above the intensely acclaimed Portrait of a Lady On Fire by Céline Sciamma), the film’s relevancy can’t be overstated with its focus on corruption within the police, political division, racism and the simmering anger that comes with classism. Ladj Ly directs his film carefully, ensuring that the opinions of each character are voiced to the point that we feel we can understand their actions, even if we disagree with their reasons for doing them.

Whilst it may not live up to the same level of power as its inspirations (notably La Haine and Training Day), Les Misérables is certainly a film worth viewing for the debates it brings up and how it goes about bringing them up cinematically. It’s a brilliant conversation starter, and one that has managed to capture a moment in modern history that we may never see again. Its moral play is fascinating, the tension is beautifully handled and whilst the pacing may falter a few times throughout, trying to force other ideas into the narrative, Les Misérables is a hard-hitting modern thriller - one that deserves to be watched.

Les Misérables will be released by Altitude on digital and DVD on the 30th of November 2020.