Les Miserables (2012)

LES MISERABLES  (2012)  ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Tom Hooper
    Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway,
    Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks,
    Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter
The screen version of the hit musical based on Victor Hugo's epic novel, starring Hugh Jackman as the heroic, beleaguered Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as his implacable nemesis, Inspector Javert. It's long and sometimes lacks subtlety and its bigness isn't always an asset, but its best moments pack a punch, and its vision of what crushing poverty in 19th-century France might've looked like is not pretty at all. Distinguished by the fact that all the singing was done by the actors on set, and most of the script is sung. The cast handles the challenge well enough, some with more skill than others, the emotional show-stopper being Anne Hathaway's aching rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream". Good luck trying to stay dry-eyed through that.