modern audiences are more likely to be familiar with les misirables from the pop - broadway musical rather than victor hugo 's original tome .
adapted several times for the cinema , this latest effort
does a superb job of translating the characters , story , and heart of the novel to the screen .
liam neeson stars as jean valjean .
as a young man , valjean stole some bread to satisfy his hunger . . .
and he was sentenced to 19 years of hard labor for his crimes .
prison hardened him , and on his release he seems doomed to a life of crime and squalor .
however , an unexpected act of compassion changes his outlook on life , and he vows to become a better man .
however , he runs up against one man who does n't believe in reform .
inspector javert ( geoffrey rush ) is an obsessive law abider .
he has no tolerance for anyone who breaks the rules , even with benign intentions .
he once served as a guard at the labor camp where valjean served , and after valjean breaks his parole , javert devotes himself to bringing him to justice .
two women also get caught up in the struggle .
fantine ( uma thurman ) is an unwed mother suffocating in an unforgiving society .
her daughter , cosette ( mimi newman , and later , claire danes ) , is her life , yet she can not afford to raise her .
instead , cosette is sent to live with a cruel foster family which extorts money from fantine , and forces cosette into a life little better than a slave .
director bille august manages to create a faithful adaptation of victor hugo 's novel , which , though omitting some of the political undertones , remains true to the overall story and tone of the book .
hopefully you wo n't , as some clueless members of the audience did , wonder where all the songs went .
the movie manages to be completely engrossing without the andrew lloyd webber flourishes .
the experience is bolstered by strong performances throughout , though neeson and rush deservedly take center stage with their core roles .
neeson
in particular deserves kudos for his portrayal of a man trying to do good , but continually haunted by his past .
the supporting cast is also extraordinary .
the only actor who dims in comparison is hans matheson , playing the revolutionary , marius .
the film slightly loses its luster during his brief love affair , but it is transitory , and truly only distracting when contrasted with the rest of the film .
the novel les misirables is , by any account , an epic , both in its scope and in its length .
while it would be nearly impossible to cram everything from its pages into a two hour movie ,
this latest attempt does an admirable job at the translation .
it , too , is an epic . . .
and one worth seeing .
does a superb job manages to be completely engrossing in particular deserves kudos bolstered by strong performances manages to create a faithful adaptation does an admirable job the supporting cast is also extraordinary