Les Misérables

School can ruin quite a bit. I was forced to read Les Misérables in high school (in French) and I never really recovered from that. I don't care at all for the story and its characters, so the prospect of a 4+ hour film was a little disheartening. But hey, it's considered a true classic, and French classics have surprised me in the past. Not this one though.

The story here is a pretty straightforward adaptation of the book. We follow Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who has trouble getting his life back together after an extended period in jail. When he commits another small crime, he gets Javert on his tail, a tough police inspector who isn't willing to back down for anything.

It's not that the film is a complete bust, it's just that it's a rather plain, narrative classic that keeps on going and going. After 90 minutes or so I was done with it, but that's not even halfway through. And so the excessive runtime turns it into a veritable slog. For true Les Misérables fans only.