Les Miserables
Translating a stage production—especially an epic musical—to the silver screen can be difficult. I’ve never seen a stage production of Les Miserables (except for the concert that was broadcast on PBS many years ago) but it seems to me that Tom Hooper’s film translation of the Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg musical is a decent one, even if there are some glaring flaws along the way. Adapted from Victor Hugo’s eponymous novel, Les Miserables is equal parts love story and political statement, though it’s ultimately about redemption. We meet our protagonist, Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), in 1815 France (after the French Revolution), just as he is being released on parole after serving 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. As we follow him through 1832, he is given a second chance by a sympathetic bishop (Colm Wilkinson, who originated the role of Valjean on stage in the London and Broadway productions); promises the dying Fantine (Anne Hathaway) he’ll look af...