Les Miserables (1998) Billie August

Production Budget: unable to fine accurate numbers

Gross: $14 million

Les Miserables is the story of Jean Valjean, a man who spent 20 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread.  He tries to change his life and be a good person but is relentlessly pursued by an Inspector Javert.  Javert is someone who is hopelessly convinced people can’t change and Jean is and will always be a criminal.

I actually fell in love with Les Mis in my teens. It wasn’t through the musical or any film adaptation, but with an old time radio adaptation by Orson Welles. That is a true testament to Welles’ power not just as an actor, but as someone who understood storytelling. This guy took a story which spanned over a 1000 pages and with voice actors only made an adaptation that was emotionally moving to me. I guess the point is when you see a two hour adaptation of an epic book, you tend to notice more the flaws with the storytelling.

Take for example the very beginning. We are supposed to follow Jean Valjean (in this movie played by Liam Neeson) through his epic fall and eventual redemption through the bishop. He steals a loaf of bread out of hunger and spends the next 20 years in prison. Prison breaks Jean both physically and mentally. When he is released he is nothing but an animal who doesn’t have many compunctions about stealing from the one person who showed him kindness on the outside. But the Bishop shows unbelievable mercy on this wretched beast and gives Jean a new outlook on life. The part where the Bishop explains how he has bought Jean’s soul should be a gut wrenching moment, as well as the very reason for Jean’s behavior the rest of the story. In the movie though, we immediately cut to Jean going to the Bishop’s house and the first line he says is  “I am a convict. My name is Jean Valjean.  I spent 19 years at hard labor.  On my passport I am identified as a thief.” Five minutes later we get him stealing the silver. It is almost unbelievable that a good chunk of the novel is just tossed away with a throwaway line of exposition.

In the second half we get a few more slip ups. (Caution spoilers) Marius is not the leader of the student movement, nor is the romance as hammy as its played up in the movie. Also Cosette is the embodiment of innocence, not a typical modern teen. She shouldn’t be giving hissy fits to Valjean, and Valjean should never EVER hit Cosette. Speaking of inconsistent Valjean actions, they change things up where Javert commits suicide in front of him. That makes no sense because Valjean has saved him several times before and would just save him again. Let’s not forget a surefire sign of Hollywood asshattery: the main character who is supposed to die lives. That’s right, Jean Valjean lives at the end of the movie.

Now I have been negative this entire review but I did like this movie. This is primarily due to the strong acting by Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush as Javert. Rush almost steals the show with his downright powerful performance. Uma Thurman actually does alright as Fantine, but the weak point is Claire Danes as Cosette. Part of this is explained by the poor writing for her, but Danes also does a bad job bringing her to life. The movie does try to stay true to the source material and the director does an alright job framing the action. This movie has gotten a following since its release and I can see why. This is an entertaining movie. The acting is superb, the running time is relatively brief, and despite my gripes isn’t that horrible of an adaptation of the source. I would recommend it to people interested in Les Mis. There are adaptations which are better including a 1934 version by Raymond Bernard but this is probably the most accessible to modern audiences. This is a good movie, but it could have been truly wonderful.