3. Comic Relief
One issue to have with the film is that it does veer towards overt self-seriousness a lot of the time, though given that it's a tale of death, being on the run, poverty and war, perhaps it's apt that it's not all a big laugh. Still, the relationship woes of some of the characters - specifically the love triangle at the center - does feel a little exhausting by the time it plays out, so the use of Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thénardiers is very welcome indeed. The pair are a married couple who run an inn, in which they keep Cosette and essentially use her as a slave until Valjean shows up to buy her freedom. Their shadiness, their silliness, and their chemistry together makes for some riotously fun scenes that take away from the dreariness of others, and somewhat balance the film out emotionally. As we take a trip through their inn, it's filthy and full of lewd, lascivious characters, allowing Hooper to unleash some unexpectedly adult sex jokes, and also some gore, as Carter, in a move reminiscent of her Sweeney Todd role, starts mincing up body parts and dead animals to make food. It's from this that we can be sure that this is a film that doesn't take itself
all seriously.