I haven’t seen the stage version or read the book before seeing the film. I’m not a great fan of musicals and this film hasn’t made me a convert. I felt the music just got in the way of a great story. Almost all the lines are sung and only two or three songs were really memorable: I Dreamed a Dream and the rousing chorus Do you hear the people sing? The second half looked as if it was a film of a stage set, and this lessened the impact of the barricade scenes in particular. I thought the movie was at least a half hour too long. I did like the story and maybe I’ll read the book sometime, but only three stars for the film.
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