Tom Hooper Movies

Academy-award winning director Tom Hooper's adaptation of the beloved musical Les Miserables makes no major changes to the original's plot. The story follows former prisoner Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), who, after being released from the watchful eye of police officer Javert (Russell Crowe), is unable to find work because of his status as an ex-convict. He eventually steals from a local church, but when apprehended, the priest claims that Valjean was given the valuables. This triggers a change in Valjean, and he constructs a new identity for himself as a pillar of society and a local businessman. Years later, he adopts a young girl named Cosette, whose mother Fantine (Anne Hathaway), a former employee of his, became a prostitute and died a horrible death in the gutters after being fired. As the years progress and the French Revolution begins to foment, a grown Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) falls for a passionate revolutionary named Marius (Eddie Redmayne), while Javert begins to close in again on Valjean's secret past. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The creators of such docudramas as The Queen and Frost/Nixon re-team for this period sports chronicle set in 1974. In England, the Leeds United players retain a status as the preeminent champions of their football league. Unfortunately, the manager to whom the team owes much of its success, visionary Don Revie (Colm Meaney), promptly leaves the unit to take over the England team. His replacement, the slick and confident Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), is publicly known as a vociferous critic of the team's approach to games. Clough has some experience and success to back him up -- in flashbacks, the film details how he and his business partner Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall) coached Derby County from the bottom of the Second Division to the League Championships, though they had much less success working with the Brighton team later on. For various reasons, Taylor refuses to accompany Clough to his new post in Leeds, so Clough must go it alone. Clough wastes no time aggressively attempting to modify the playing style of the team -- he dictates that they play more attractively, and less violently. This clashes with the intentions of the team members, however. When the players hit the field, they find it extraordinarily difficult to adapt to the mandates of their new coach, which sets the stage for a series of losses and puts Clough's reputation on the line. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Academy-award-winning actor Jim Broadbent portrays controversial British campaigner Lord Longford in this biopic that details the former government minister and then-House of Lords leader's notorious encounter with infamous Moors Murderer Myra Hindley (Samantha Morton). A lifelong Christian who approaches every person he meets with the goodness and innocence of a child, Frank Packenham (aka Lord Longford) receives a letter from convicted child killer Myra Hindley requesting that he drop by her prison cell for a visit. Despite the vehement disapproval of his wife, Longford casually accepts the invitation and forms an unexpected bond with the woman due in large to their mutual Catholic upbringing. When his established notions about Hindley are challenged during a subsequent visit with her demonically manipulative partner-in-crime Ian Brady (Andy Serkis), the humble social campaigner finds his faith put to the ultimate test as public outcry mounts as a direct result of his meeting with the despised couple. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A dedicated human rights lawyer and a political activist who suffered at the hands of South African police officer with no regard for human life finds that the only thing more dangerous than standing up for your beliefs is the discovery of the truth in director Tom Hooper's adaptation of Gillian Slovo's captivating novel. Tortured at the hands of police officer Dirk Hendricks (Jamie Bartlett) for his efforts in seeking equality under the brutal apartheid regime, social activist Alex Mpondo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is shocked upon learning that Officer Hendricks is now seeking amnesty for his violent deeds. When human rights lawyer Sarah Barcant (Hilary Swank) returns to her South African home to represent Alex, she quickly discovers that the deeper she delves into the past, the more she has to fear in the present. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Produced for British television, Daniel Deronda was adapted from George Eliot's final novel, written in 1874 (and first filmed in 1921). As was her habit, Eliot laid bare the hypocrisy and venality of Victorian-era "class culture," at the same time admitting that a certain amount of conformity was necessary if one hoped to survive in a world where nonconformity was not only looked down upon but actively suppressed. Essentially, both the novel and the TV presentation are comprised of two separate stories, linked together by the titular Daniel Deronda (Hugh Dancy), a young man of Jewish heritage. In the main narrative, Daniel is attracted to the spoiled, headstrong Gwendolen Harleth (Romola Garai), who is reluctantly poised to enter into a marriage of convenience with the wealthy, snobbish, and intensely anti-Semitic Henleigh Grancourt (Hugh Bonneville). This romantic intrigue is played against the curious relationship between Daniel and the Zionist visionary Mordecai (Daniel Evans), who tirelessly proselytizes in favor of a permanent homeland for the Jewish people. Things come to a head when Daniel finds himself falling in love with Mordecai's sister Mirah (Jodhi May). Originally telecast in three parts on the BBC beginning December 7, 2002, Daniel Deronda was re-edited as a two-parter for the PBS anthology Masterpiece Theatre, where it first aired on March 30, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi