Oscar Movie Poster Series #4: Les Miserables

Les Miserables, the classic French-revolution-set musical, featuring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, makes up part four in my movie poster series:

Les Miserables is an interesting one: how does one market a film that is set on a play that, unless you've lived under a rock, you will of course know about? The simple answer, perhaps is to bring to life the iconic art that will no doubt be emblazoned upon a West End theatre near you. You know, this one, of one of the plays ensemble characters, Cossette:

Although this may seem like one of Universal's most uninspired marketing moves, it's actually really clever. The iconic imagery connects us with nostalgic memories of the musical, paying homage to its predecessor without coming accross as though it wants to distance itself too much. Similar to Django, Les Mis is in the fortunate position where it can rely on star power, as seen in the top of the poster. However, the poster is reliant on the face of this young girl; her large eyes hint at naivety and innocence, whilst her windswept and hair and smudged face perhaps connote a corruption of innocence. The tagline is suitably epic, drawing on the film's themes with a hyperbolic full stop at the end of each word. Moreover, the word 'phenomenon' creates a sense of anticipation- it seems to be human nature to want to be a part of the phenomenon, creating buzz around the film. Whilst the poster omits Academy-award-winning director Tom Hooper's involvement with the film, this is perhaps a show of confidence, that the play and its inbuilt fanbase will want to see the film anyway, regardless of whom directed it.