Les Miserables Review
by Craig Roush (kinnopio AT execpc DOT com)May 7th, 1998
LES MISÉRABLES
Release Date: May 1, 1998
Starring: Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, Claire Danes, Hans Matheson, Reine Brynolfsson, Peter Vaughan, Mimi Newman Directed by: Bille August
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment MPAA Rating: PG-13 (violence, some sexual content)
URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/miserables.htm
At the very beginning of 1998's LES MISÉRABLES, the eighteenth remake of the classic Victor Hugo novel, the convict Jean Valjean (Liam Neeson) says to a kindly bishop (Peter Vaughan), "Thank you for the meal and a bed to sleep in. In the morning I will be a new man." And indeed he is, as this very ambitious, mostly pleasing, and surprisingly serious drama tells the story of his life. Undoubtedly not as good as previous versions, but a quality movie nonetheless, this remake is another gem that will most likely be passed over in public opinion.
Valjean is our hero, and he is played by Neeson in outstanding fashion. The benevolence displayed is very much akin to Oskar Schindler (in the 1993 classic SCHINDLER'S LIST), a role which won him an Academy Award nomination. Opposing him is the persistent Inspector Javert, done by Geoffrey Rush in a quite contemptable but perfectly compatible manner. The few scenes when Javert and Valjean come within inches of each other are tense and exciting because of the two actors' mastery of the roles. Also of credibility and quality is Uma Thurman as Fantine, whose baseline role accentuates the kind-heartedness of Valjean. Her daughter Cosette (Claire Danes), on the other hand, plays exactly the opposite and becomes the one character to unintentionally illicits negativity from our hero. The cast is very solid and plays testiment to Hugo's novel.
The movie follows Valjean from his first days as a parolee after nineteen years of hard labor. Breaking parole, however, he escapes policemen and turns up nine years later in the town of Vigo as the mayor. His life, quite the opposite now, is perfect until the cunning Inspector Javert is assigned as the chief inspector of the town. Javert suspects the mayor to be the convict Valjean, but he cannot place anything solid on the man and is forced to follow him from a distance. It is then that Valjean makes a promise to Fantine, a woman who used to work at his factory and is now dying of pneumonia, to bring her bastard daughter back to Vigo so that the two may reunite before death. Unfortunately, Javert tracks Valjean and forces him to take the daughter to Paris, where the final hunt begins between Javert and Valjean.
In a time of the year when recent fare has been loaded down with senselessness and unintelligence, a remarkable redone drama like LES MISÉRABLES is a very watchable film. Its 140-minute running time makes it quite long and windy, although every scene begins with a superb narrative hook to make the picture mostly entertaining throughout. At the midway point, when the film reaches its highest tempo, the viewers are very into the movie, and unfortunately it takes a big cut in pacing and starts over with another plot that doesn't conclude the original until the very end. While the first half is the story of Valjean, the second half is the story of Cosette and Javert, and the transition is not very pleasing. Nevertheless, a very entertaining and watchable film, recommendable on all counts.
FINAL AWARD FOR "LES MISÉRABLES": 3.0 stars - a good movie.
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Craig Roush
[email protected]
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Kinnopio's Movie Reviews
http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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