modern audiences are more likely to be familiar with les misirables from the pop-broadway musical rather than victor hugo's original tome . 
adapted several times for the cinema , this latest effort does a superb job of translating the characters , story , and heart of the novel to the screen . 
liam neeson stars as jean valjean . 
as a young man , valjean stole some bread to satisfy his hunger . . . and he was sentenced to 19 years of hard labor for his crimes . 
prison hardened him , and on his release he seems doomed to a life of crime and squalor . 
however , an unexpected act of compassion changes his outlook on life , and he vows to become a better man . 
however , he runs up against one man who doesn't believe in reform . 
inspector javert ( geoffrey rush ) is an obsessive law abider . 
he has no tolerance for anyone who breaks the rules , even with benign intentions . 
he once served as a guard at the labor camp where valjean served , and after valjean breaks his parole , javert devotes himself to bringing him to justice . 
two women also get caught up in the struggle . 
fantine ( uma thurman ) is an unwed mother suffocating in an unforgiving society . 
her daughter , cosette ( mimi newman , and later , claire danes ) , is her life , yet she cannot afford to raise her . 
instead , cosette is sent to live with a cruel foster family which extorts money from fantine , and forces cosette into a life little better than a slave . 
director bille august manages to create a faithful adaptation of victor hugo's novel , which , though omitting some of the political undertones , remains true to the overall story and tone of the book . 
hopefully you won't , as some clueless members of the audience did , wonder where all the songs went . 
the movie manages to be completely engrossing without the andrew lloyd webber flourishes . 
the experience is bolstered by strong performances throughout , though neeson and rush deservedly take center stage with their core roles . 
neeson in particular deserves kudos for his portrayal of a man trying to do good , but continually haunted by his past . 
the supporting cast is also extraordinary . 
the only actor who dims in comparison is hans matheson , playing the revolutionary , marius . 
the film slightly loses its luster during his brief love affair , but it is transitory , and truly only distracting when contrasted with the rest of the film . 
the novel les misirables is , by any account , an epic , both in its scope and in its length . 
while it would be nearly impossible to cram everything from its pages into a two hour movie , this latest attempt does an admirable job at the translation . 
it , too , is an epic . . . and one worth seeing .