Ladj Ly

(On Cable TV, August 2020) Centuries after Victor Hugo wrote (and partially set) Les misérables in the Paris suburb of Montfermeil, there is still plenty of misery to go around the area. Dominated by low-income immigrant families, it feels like a powder keg about to explode from the very first moments of this contemporary take on Les misérables. As the story focuses on a new policeman aghast at the casual abuse of power from his colleagues, and then the young men often targeted by police action, we viewers start dreading the inevitable violence that is sure to follow. It starts with what could be a comical incident in another context: proprietors of a travelling circus complaining that a baby lion has been stolen by local youth. The cops take on the case, but by this time we’ve been familiarized with how things really run in the area, what with overlapping circles of authority from police, the city, an informal “mayor,” criminals and youth gangs. As a young man plays around with his new drone, the theft of the lion club keeps escalating – and when the apprehension of the young thief goes badly and leaves the teen unconscious with a slashed face, the cops realize that everything they’ve done has been recorded. There is a nice pause in the action at the beginning of the third act that can lull us into thinking that everything is going to be all right, but that’s not when Les misérables is going: by the time the film concludes with a crescendo of urban violence, we know why and how everyone is involved, and the valid grievances of everyone. I don’t particularly like the ending, which seems indecisive rather than provocative – but the ramping up to that point is very well handled. The capable technical execution of writer-director Ladj Ly gives considerable credibility (and menace) to the scenes of urban unrest, and the last few minutes are a complete nightmare of being stuck in the middle of a small riot. Alexis Manenti gets the flashy role as the impulsive, abusive policeman, even though Damien Bonnard is the nominal protagonist and audience stand-in. The story is messy (like the neighbourhood) and not quite satisfyingly resolved, but the result is gripping and surprisingly even-handed in its depiction of all actors involved. It’s a strong representation of contemporary France that does not reflect all that well on how they got there – it’s not by accident if the 2005 Paris riots are explicitly mentioned.