Mr. Crowe is uncomfortable with the libretto's recitatives though in that department he's far from the only one who suffers occasional lapses into silliness and sometimes there's a sense that he's relieved to get a patch of strenuous singing behind him.

WSJ: Les Mis??rables | Hugh Jackman | Anne Hathaway | Russell Crowe | A 'Les Mis??rables' Whose Intimacy Is Front-Row Center | By Joe Morgenstern