Les Miserables
2012
**½
Director: Tom Hooper
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
Victor Hugo's 1862 novel was previously brought to screen by Bille August in his decent 1998 film. Tom Hooper's version is adapted from the 1980 stage musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. Inspired by the charity shown to him, Jean Valjean, a prisoner on parole, begins a new life under a concealed identity. Javert, a prison guard turned chief of police, is not convinced that a criminal can reform, and spends years trying to capture the fugitive. The acting and singing performances are by and large solid, and the 19th-century France is beautifully recreated on screen, although with disappointingly few location shots. The Oscar winning Anne Hathaway plays the tragic Fantine whose daughter is a key figure in the story. Hathaway's rendition of I Dreamed a Dream is the musical and emotional high point of the film. Sadly there is still about two hours and dozens of forgettable tunes until this insanely long sung-through musical is over.
