is a 2012 epic period musical film directed by Tom Hooper from a screenplay by William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer. It is based on the stage musical of the same name by Schönberg, Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, which in turn is based on the 1862 novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen, with Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit and Daniel Huttlestone in supporting roles. Set in France during the early nineteenth century, the film tells the story of Jean Valjean who, while being hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The story reaches resolution against the background of the June Rebellion of 1832.

Following the release of the stage musical, a film adaptation was mired in development hell for over ten years, as the rights were passed on to several major studios, and various directors and actors considered. In 2011, the stage musical's producer Cameron Mackintosh sold the film rights to Eric Fellner, who financed the film with Tim Bevan and Debra Hayward through their production company Working Title Films. In June 2011, production of the film officially began, with Hooper hired as director. The main characters were cast later that year. Principal photography began in March 2012 and ended in June. Filming took place on locations in Greenwich, London, Chatham, Winchester, Bath, and Portsmouth, England; in Gourdon, France; and on soundstages in Pinewood Studios.

premiered at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on 5 December 2012, and was released by Universal Pictures on 25 December in the United States and on 11 January 2013 in the United Kingdom. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising the direction, production values, musical numbers, and the performances of the cast, with Jackman, Hathaway, Redmayne, Seyfried, Tveit, and Barks being the most often singled out for praise. However, Crowe's singing and performance as Javert was criticised. It grossed $442.8million worldwide against a production budget of $61million during its original theatrical run. The film was nominated for eight categories at the 85th Academy Awards, winning in three, and received numerous other accolades. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named Les Misérables one of the top-ten films of 2012. Since its release, it has been considered to be one of the best musical films of the 21st century.

A new digitally remixed and remastered version of the film was released theatrically in Dolby Cinema on 14 February 2024 in the United Kingdom and on 23 February 2024 in the United States to commemorate the stage musical's 40th anniversary in 2025.

Plot

In 1815, French prisoner Jean Valjean is released from the Bagne of Toulon after a nineteen-year sentence for stealing bread and attempting to escape the sentence. His paroled status prevents him from finding work or accommodation, but he is sheltered by the kindly Bishop of Digne. Valjean attempts to steal his silverware and is captured, but the bishop claims he gave him the silver and tells him to use it to begin an honest life. Moved, Valjean breaks his parole and assumes a new identity, intending to redeem others.

Eight years later, Valjean is a respected factory owner and mayor of Montreuil, Pas-de-Calais. He is startled when Javert, formerly a Toulon prison guard, arrives as his new chief of police. Witnessing Valjean rescue a worker trapped under a cart makes Javert suspect the former's true identity. Meanwhile, one of Valjean's workers, Fantine, is fired by the foreman when she is revealed to have an illegitimate daughter, Cosette, residing with the greedy Thénardiers, to whom Fantine sends her earnings.

Out on the streets and increasingly ill, Fantine sells her hair, teeth and eventually her body to support Cosette. Javert arrests her after she physically attacks a sexually abusive client, but Valjean recognises her and takes her to the hospital, much to Javert's suspicion and anger. Learning that a man has been wrongly identified as him, Valjean reveals his identity to the court before returning to the dying Fantine, promising to care for Cosette. Javert arrives to arrest him but he escapes to the Thénardiers' inn. Valjean pays Fantine's debts, then flees from Javert with Cosette.

Nine years later, Valjean has become a philanthropist to the poor in Paris. General Lamarque, the only government official sympathetic to the poor, dies, and the revolutionist group Friends of the ABC plot against the monarchy. Marius Pontmercy, a member of the Friends, falls in love with Cosette at first sight and asks his best friend Éponine, the Thénardiers' daughter, to find her. He and Cosette meet and confess their love; Éponine, herself in love with Marius, is heartbroken.

Thénardier attempts to rob Valjean's house, but Éponine stops him. Fearing Javert is near, Valjean plans to flee to England with Cosette. Cosette, wanting to stay near Marius, is hesitant about the idea, but when Valjean ignores her pleas, she leaves Marius a letter, which Éponine hides from him. During Lamarque's funeral procession, the revolt begins and barricades are built across Paris. Javert poses as an ally to spy on the rebels, but the street urchin Gavroche exposes him as a policeman. During the first skirmish against the soldiers, Éponine takes a bullet for Marius and dies in his arms, giving him Cosette's letter and confessing her love, leaving Marius devastated and heartbroken over the death of his best friend. Marius's answer to Cosette is intercepted by Valjean, who joins the revolt to protect him. Valjean offers to execute the imprisoned Javert, but releases him instead, pretending he shot him.

By dawn, the soldiers storm the barricade and kill everyone except Marius and Valjean, who escape into the sewers. Javert waits for him to exit, but seeing that Marius is close to death, he lets them go. Morally disturbed by the mercy of his nemesis and his own in return, Javert kills himself by throwing himself in the Seine. Marius recovers, traumatized by the death of his friends, especially Éponine.

Marius and Cosette are reunited, but Valjean, concerned his past would threaten their happiness, makes plans to leave. He reveals his past to Marius, who promises to remain silent. At Marius and Cosette's wedding, the Thénardiers crash the reception to blackmail him; but instead, realizing that Valjean saved him from the barricade, Marius forces Thénardier to reveal where he is. Cosette and Marius find Valjean, who gives them letters of confession before dying peacefully. His spirit is guided by visions of Fantine and the Bishop to join Éponine, Gavroche, and the Friends of the ABC in the afterlife.

Cast

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, a Frenchman released from Toulon prison after 19 years of imprisonment for stealing bread and attempting to escape the prison. Around June 2011, Jackman met with producer Cameron Mackintosh to audition in New York. To prepare for the role, Jackman lost and later regained to mirror his character's success. He avoided drinking coffee, warmed up at least 15 minutes every day, kept Ricola lozenges, drank as much as seven litres of water per day, sat in steam three times a day, took cold baths and used a wet washcloth over his face while flying, citing the musical's original co-director Trevor Nunn for his training. He worked extensively with vocal coach Joan Lader, and managed to extend his vocal range, which he originally categorised a high baritone, up to tenor. Russell Crowe as Javert, a police inspector dedicating his life to imprisoning Valjean once again. Before being cast as Javert, Crowe was initially dissatisfied with the character. On his way to Europe for a friend's wedding, Crowe came to London and met with producer Cameron Mackintosh. On meeting with Tom Hooper, he told the director about his concerns about playing Javert, and after meeting with him, Crowe was "determined to be involved in the project and play Javert. I think it had something to do with Tom's passion for what he was about to undertake, and he clearly understood the problems and he clearly understood the challenge." On visiting Victor Hugo's home in Paris, Crowe said, "[The house's curator] told me about [19th century detective Eugene Francois] Vidocq, a man who had been both a prisoner and a policeman, the man credited with inventing undercover police work when he established the Brigade de Surete." Anne Hathaway as Fantine, the mother of Cosette and a struggling factory worker, who resorts to prostitution after losing her job and being forced to sell her hair and teeth. When Hathaway was cast, she stated, "There was resistance because I was between their ideal ages for the parts—maybe not mature enough for Fantine but past the point where I could believably play Cosette." Hathaway chose to have her real hair cut off on camera for the scenes where Fantine becomes a prostitute. Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, the illegitimate daughter of Fantine, who is kept by the Thénardiers until Valjean buys her from them. On developing Cosette, Seyfried said, "In the little time that I had to explain Cosette and give the audience a reason [to see her as] a symbol of love and strength and light in this tragedy, I needed to be able to convey things you may not have connected with in the show." A vocal coach was enlisted to help her with the songs. Isabelle Allen plays Cosette as a child. On working with her fellow actors, Allen said, "They gave us lots of tips and mostly [made] sure we were all OK. They were really nice." Eddie Redmayne as Marius Pontmercy, a student revolutionary who is friends with the Thenardiers' daughter, Éponine, but falls in love with Cosette. He found director Hooper's vision "incredibly helpful". On collaborating with Hooper, Redmayne said, "He was incredibly collaborative. Certainly during the rehearsal process, we sat with Tom and the Victor Hugo book adding things." It was Redmayne who suggested to Hooper that his character's song, "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", should begin a cappella in order to better express Marius' guilt and pain. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thénardiers, a pair of swindling innkeepers. Hooper previously collaborated with Bonham Carter in The King's Speech, in which she portrayed Queen Elizabeth, King George VI's wife. Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter previously co-starred in the film adaptation of the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Baron Cohen's decision to accept the role of Thénardier forced him to abandon a previous commitment to Django Unchained. Samantha Barks as Éponine, the Thénardiers' daughter. Having previously played the role at the 25th Anniversary concert and in the West End production, Barks said "there was similarities in playing the role—they're the same character—but Éponine in the novel and Éponine in the musical are two kind of different girls, so to me it was the thrill of merging those two together, to get something that still had that heart and soul that we all connect to in the musical, but also the awkward, self-loathing teenager that we see in the novel, trying to merge those two together." She found Jackman "fascinating to learn from, and I feel like that's the way it should be done". Natalya Wallace plays a young Éponine.