Tom Hooper’s movie adaptation of Boubil and Schönberg’s musical ‘Les Misérables’ is emotional, grand and ambitious.  The movie, set in 19th century France, follows the life of the convict Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), who, after being released from prison and breaking his parole, vows to redeem himself and become an honest man.

Feeling responsible for the death of Fantine, one of his dismissed factory workers, Valjean brings up Cosette, Fantine’s illegitimate daughter, and is pursued by the policeman Javert.  Cosette falls in love with Marius Pontmercy, who is part of a group of students preparing to revolt against the conservative Orleanist regime, led by the passionate and charismatic Enjolras.

Like the musical, nearly all of the dialogue is sung, but the movie adaptation also makes references to Victor Hugo’s original novel.

Tom Hooper’s decision of singing live on set — instead of lip-synching and recording after — makes the movie more genuinely emotional and touching; the voices are not as strong as the musical versions, where the voices must fill an entire theater, but the decent singing is made more powerful by the subtlety of the acting.

Amanda Seyfried’s Cosette sounded pure and innocent, but warbling at times.  Eddie Redmayne was a fantastic Marius, managing to juggle both the lovesick boy and the revolutionary. Hugh Jackman gave a heroic performance as Jean Valjean.

While Russell Crowe’s Javert was one of the weaker links in the ensemble, he wasn’t terrible.  Anne Hathaway’s performance as Fantine is particularly heart-wrenching, especially “I Dreamed A Dream.”  Aaron Tveit is a ruthless, zealous, and wonderful Enjolras.

The movie is more intimate than the musical, with the camera often focusing entirely on one person for an entire scene for one take.  This can feel claustrophobic at times, considering the expanse and grandeur of the plot.

Some lyrics and songs were cut or switched around in order to fit everything in, and the movie feels a little rushed, but considering that the book was nearly 1,500 pages, it seems unavoidable — the movie is 157 minutes long anyway.

Though the movie is not flawless and its differences from the musical may alienate some original fans, Tom Hooper’s adaptation of “Les Misérables” shows the fragility of people and their strength of hope through adversity, like the musical and the novel that came before it, and delivers the message powerfully.