Anne Hathaway as Fantine in Les Misérables

Best Supporting Actress at the 85th Annual Oscars (2012)

Notable Quote:

“Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.”

Synopsis:

In 1800s France, parole dodger Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) balances his competing priorities of evading capture by bad cop Javert (Russell Crowe, lol) and caring for Colette, orphan daughter of the late Fantine (Anne Hathaway). And also avoiding being killed in an anti-royalty uprising that is apparently NOT the French Revolution? This is not a history newsletter, y’all.

The character:

Even if you’ve never seen Les Mis, you might still be familiar with Fantine, the ultimate symbol of womanly purity and self-sacrifice. My taste tends towards villains and weirdos, so I find Fantine to be incredibly annoying – she’s so mopey, and her energy is tiring. It’s not even her fault: she’s just trying to make a damn living in these streets but the movie is obsessed with the fact that she’s a mom, and ~gasp~ has to do sex work, the worst possible thing for a woman!!! The film would rather deal with her as a symbol than as an actual human.

To be fair to Fantine, she really does get treated like total shit. She’s fired because the other women hate her … because she has a baby? And also because they say she’s a slut? But also because the foreman wants to sleep with her and she won’t? So then she gets a full America’s Next Top Model makeover when she sells her hair for some paltry sum (seriously, watch her sobbing as they shave her head and tell me you didn’t see that on ANTM), and then does the same with her freaking teeth! (Good thing Tyra never thought of that, cuz you know she would’ve tried). And then she almost gets raped by a cop, and you know what, I’m tired, Victor Hugo must have been a sick fuck to pile it on like this. The point is, she dies (although she definitely only had a light cough, like, okay girl).

The performance:

First of all, Les Miserables has some notable miscasts (more on that later), but Anne Hathaway is the perfect choice for Fantine. Even on an aesthetic level, her big eyes, pale skin, and innocent image make her casting feel inevitable. Notably, Hathaway is only on screen for a brief time, but unlike some other short performances we’ve seen in this column, she’s really put through the paces. So much of it is literally close-ups on her weeping face, and that has to be taxing for an actor.

It’s also a major point in her favor that she can actually sing – you wouldn’t think that would distinguish her so much in a MUSICAL, but remember, we’re watching Les Mis. It’s her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream”, Les Miserable’s signature song, that scored her the Oscar, and it’s fully deserved: my sense is that longtime fans of the musical were divided on Hathaway, but I loved that she brought so much emotion, and melodrama. It’s absolutely the part of the film that I felt most engaged with. All that, and she shaved her head for the movie, c’mon, you’ve gotta hand over that statuette.

The movie:

I’m not a musicals person, but even I succumbed to the onslaught of melodrama and bombast that is Les Mis. It’s not a good movie, but it’s generally fun, although the last thirty minutes genuinely feel interminable. Enjoying the movie, though, means accepting that its two and a half hours of complete nonsense, filled with multiple actors who absolutely cannot sing (I know Russell Crowe gets all the flack, but Eddie Redmayne is also a disaster). The camerawork is nauseating, a lot of the music absolutely sucks, and yet, I understand the appeal.

Was the Oscar deserved?

Yes, Anne Hathaway earned this one.