I am amazed by so many complaints about the supposed "liberal" political correctness of the casting. Nobody seems to mind the cockney accent, but a l ot of people got irritated by black actors. As in "Romeo and juliet", it's all just a different formalistic interpretation. Where it gets unpleasant for me, is how ethnicities are associated with characters.
The heroic, strong, knight-like caucasian main hero played by Dominic West. The innocent, beautiful blonde girl in need of protection, played by Ellie Bamber. The black policeman antihero played by David Oyelowo. The scoundrel Thénardier played by Adeel Akthar with Pakistani and Kenyan descent. The freckled, red-haired teen-prostitute played by Erin Kellyman.
Maybe it's just coincidence, but the scale of it is at least insensitive. It looks like a racist film makes a mockery of BBC casting guidelines.
Review of Les Misérables
