The last Hugo novel to light up the big screen was Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame, and I was struck by the similarities between the two. Both stories employ the square towers of Paris as a setting for a tale of good versus evil clouded by a woman of dubious virtue. And while the Disney tale suffered much criticism for pretty-ing up the tale, there is a gritty hyper-reality to Les Miserables that feels almost as abnormal.

The central character is Jean Valjean, a man who has spent almost 2 decades in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. Doomed to bear the mark of convict for ever, Valjean seems destined to a life of misery. Instead, with an unexpected helping hand, he breaks his downward spiral, and rises to fame and fortune as the tenderhearted mayor of a prosperous town. But rosy tales are rarely good fodder for movie plots, so we know things will soon take a turn for the worse for Valjean.

Sure enough, soon trouble comes to town in the guise of the newly appointed Inspector Jaubert, who, coincidentally, happens to be a particularly brutal guard from Valjean's prison past. It's not long before one recognizes the other and the trouble begins.

What unfolds is an interesting morality tale. Valjean's troubles and redemption in the face of disaster make him devoted to the salvation of his fellow man, so he devotes his money and his energy to helping those less fortunate than himself. In the opposite corner, of course, is Jauvert, who is bound so tightly to the letter of the law he cannot comprehend compassion in any form. So these polar opposites are destined to fight it out throughout the two and a half hour film.

The roles are brought to life most effectively by Liam Neeson as Valjean and Geoffrey Rush as Jauvert.

There are two women in the movie, but their roles are important only as they relate to the pivotal men. Uma Thurman works for Valjean, but when it is discovered that she has an illegitimate child, she is fired, and voila, she is rapidly tansformed into the stereotypical prostitute with the heart of gold and defenseless child lurking in the wings. Yeah well, it's no shock that Uma will bite the bullet, so that Valjean can becomes Papa Jean to a young lass who grows into a bombshell played by Clare Danes. I wonder who ever told this wench she could act. She is hopelessly inadequate in this role, and especially in comparison to the strong performances from Neeson and Rush, poor Danes looks like last month's tulips.

Still, the movie really belongs to the two men, and they are well worth seeing. I think Les Miserables is quite well done, but hampered by the incredible popularity of the musical. Personally, I knew exactly what was going to happen at every moment, and even though the on-screen characters manage not to burst into song, I was less restrained, and sang all the songs--most of them in my head. How can you resist "do you hear the people sing, singing the songs of angry men..." or "there is a castle on a cloud" Nonetheless, this is a great story, and it's brought to life well in the movie. Les Miserables is well worthe seeing, but especially if you haven't seen the musical.