We jump to 1832, with Paris in a rebellious mood and the child, Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), all grown up.

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The illegitimate daughter, Cosette would be an orphan.

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Unwittingly, Thernardier serves a purpose for good: The stolen ring on his finger when he attempts to crash the wedding of Marius and Cosette leads them to find Valjean before the dramatic moment of death.

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As her path crosses with Valjean, he promises to look after her daughter, but in her delirium Fantine imagines her child Cosette is playing beside her - a moment which brings on another flood of tears.

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Johansson, currently starring in a Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, said the audition for Les Miserables "brought back so many memories" from when she tried out for the role of Cosette as a child.

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The Jardin du Luxembourg is no hidden gem, but the elegant park does loom large in the novel's main romantic narrative it's where Marius and Cosette meet, fall in love and rendezvous near the Rue de l'Ouest, now known as Rue d'Assas, in the park's southwest corner.

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