15 Average Oscar Bait Films Elevated By Amazing Performances

Les Miserables, a showy adaptation of the beloved musical of the same name, was a noble effort, but it really doesn't work very well overall. It's far too long, it's not as powerful as it should be and the music was surprisingly weak. It wasn't even that well-liked by critics at the time of its release, with only 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is low for a Best Picture nominee. It's definitely one of the worst Best Picture nominees of this decade, but thanks to how great the cast is it will still work for some.

Hugh Jackman is masterful in the lead role, Anne Hathaway gives a powerful, career-best performance despite only having 15 minutes of screen-time and, in general, the entire cast is great and sings beautifully... except for Russell Crowe, that is. Still, he's overshadowed by the rest of the performers.

The music and screenplay lacked much emotional power, but luckily the cast mostly shine through these flaws and ensured that Les Miserables isn't as bad as it could easily have been. Hey, at least it's better than the next musical film, a certain feline monstrosity, that director Tom Hooper did.