Les Misérables

Updated June 26, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

This latest reincarnation of Victor Hugo's epic tale of revolution and redemption falls flat. A merciless police officer Javert (Rush) makes it his mission to pursue ex-convict Jean Valjean (Neeson) for 10 years. August's start-and-stop action makes mincemeat of Hugo's winding subplots, so that characters lack the weight of passing time. As a result, his film's stars seem to fade into the background. Thurman, as the prosititute Fantine, and Danes, as her heartsick daughter Cosette, are both unremarkable. Only Rush shines, getting at the heart of Javert's villainy in a way that makes Neeson's lack of big-hearted heroism all the more unfortunate.