My wife and I liked the movie a lot. It was well done, acting, pace, story, and settings. Liam Neeson does a fine job as does Goeffrey Rush. You won't be disappointed.

Les Miserables (1998)

Opening May 1, "Les Miserables" beats the handfuls of summer films. It sprawls across the screen, inviting the viewer into the expansive French countryside. Even larger are the themes, which are portrayed without condescension or easy directness.

Liam Neeson dominates the screen. His Jean Valjean is a lout who clobbers a good-hearted bishop, a man who forgives Jean without hesitation, who ransoms (what a good word!) Jean's soul from evil and darkness. For the rest of the film Jean returns this gift of redemption to other characters. His relentless kindness never clogs up the plot with sentimentality; Neeson allows us to accept Jean's selflessness without question. Dynamically changed from the brute who became animal-like after 19 years of imprisonment, he hardly seems like a dynamic character. Indeed his decency during the two eras into which the film leaps seems static, a miraculous given.

Uma Thurman never looked so bad. As Fantine, eyes bugged and gums bloodied, she commands our sympathy completely. Of course Victor Hugo created a cliché with Fantine's character, but Thurman delivers an understated resignation that permits us to imagine the depth of her sadness. Inspector Javert's purposeful destruction of Fantine is his most despicable act. Geoffrey Rush, who took the Academy Award for Best Actor for "Shine," brings a wonderful, transparent methodology to his acting. His Javert carries out the law whenever he is onscreen, passionately but quietly. Rush's lankiness, by the way, is perfect for the sternness demanded by the role.

Claire Danes gives us a believable Cosette. Reacting with understandable puzzlement and determination, she alternates between the loyal daughter of Jean and the cunning lover of Marius. Danes is wide-eyed and pleasant to look upon, but when her chin quivers with emotion -- as it does in "Romeo + Juliet" and "Little Women" -- we are reminded of Stallone's sneer or Clooney's downcast glances; it becomes a trademark tic.

It is admirable that director Bille August has cut Hugo's 1200 page novel down to a film of just two hours fifteen minutes. This remake of "Les Miserables" is stronger than the recent "Man in the Iron Mask"; the narrative builds a watchable momentum, scene by scene appalling or satisfying our sense of humanity. But there is too much that is quiet. I was not expecting an epic with "Braveheart"-style battle scenes; the ones shot in the old streets of the Czech Republic are fine. But a greater amount of old-fashioned character development would let us know Marius better; would tell us more about Javert's obsession with the law; would, in the form of flashbacks, let us see Jean in prison or Fantine with her daughter, before their separation. The story stands just on the strength of Hugo's thick plot. But at least fifteen more minutes before the eyes would give the work the pleasant heft of the novel carried under the arm.

Questions useful in Film Literature units:

1 List examples of redemption, and tell its overall importance in the film.
2 Give examples of the following themes: hope, forgiveness, mercy, secrecy.
3 What statement does the film make about identity?
4 According to the lessons conveyed in the film, when is it permissible, even necessary, to use violence? Deception?
5 Contrast Liam Neeson's performance with his performances in other films.
6 Describe Valjean's character as seen through the eyes of other characters.
7 Which character does Valjean help, and how does his generosity come back to him?
8 Analyze the setting. Does it succeed in helping to make the story realistic?
9 When and how does Cosette endanger Valjean?
10 Are all of the main characters fully developed? Explain.
11 Why is Javert relentless and merciless? Enumerate his contacts with Valjean that show these qualities.
12 What nuances does Geoffrey Rush bring to Javert?
13 Why does Javert kill himself? How is the method of his death symbolic?
14 How is the film naturalistic in tone? Which characters are portrayed with the sordid realism characteristic of naturalism?
15 List the ways in which Valjean is Christ-like.
16 What is the place of movie adaptations in the film world? Who is their audience? Who is excluded from this audience?

\"Les Miserables\" is a wonderful adaptation of the classic from victor Huge when he wrote the book in 1835, but this version is not the musical,perhaps it will be made into a musical latter. Now back to the movie, I enjoy the film a lot. A very smart and brilliant cast has helped this film a lot. So it\'s not a musical. See it Anyway.