Les Miserables (BBC) - Episodes Five & Six

    The latter part of Les Miserables is wrapped up in the final confrontations of love, loss, forgiveness and mercy. Love and war are intertwined with revolution and rebellion. Javert and Valjean must come to the crossroads as to the meaning of their own lives. Cosette and Marius experience love in varying ways. The Thenardiers are villains and heroes in their own right. Paris is under fire, with hope of a new day, but for that day to come, it must be plunged into utter darkness. And who is to say that the new day is going to be better than before?

Episode Five

    After Valjean survives the Thenardiers assault, the whole family are thrown into prison. However, a dog never stays down for long. Eponine and Azelma are set free and Thenardier, himself, manages to escape by faking his death. Javert, now the Paris chief of police and still determined to find Valjean, is less then thrilled at this embarrassment and demands that Thenardier be found. Yet, he has a vast network of lowlife spies and thieves and can be hard to track down once he's gone. Now, he's intent on one thing and one thing only. Revenge of Valjean.

     Meanwhile, young Marius is intent on finding the beautiful Cosette. With Eponine's help, he and Cosette are able to meet secretly while her father is away on business. Having never been in love before, Cosette is overwhelmed to the point of sickness and truly believes that her Marius is the best and most good of men. Marius wastes no time in wanting to marry his beloved, but must need to obtain his inheritance to do so and must therefore return to his grandfather. When the old man insults his grandson and his plans, Marius walks out again, this time more unsure than ever as to what to do.

   Poor Eponine is rejected and alone, as she watches the man she loves fall for the girl that she once treated so badly as a child. Yet, that doesn't deter her from abandoning Marius entirely. She foils her father's plans on attacking Valjean's home, which is a sign for both Valjean and Cosette to leave. Yet, Cosette hasn't informed her father of Marius and has no intention to do so. She writes a letter to Marius of their new address, which Eponine comes across and withholds from Marius. 

     Due to Eponine's deception, Marius tries to find solace with the ABC Club, but all they (or really Enjolres) want to talk about is revolution. It's not just university boys talking though. The poor and working class are fed up with the king and his abominable treatment and plan to revolt. Still unsure as to where he stands, Marius is reluctant to join and his sorrow for Cosette's sudden departure is still weighing heavily on him. 

    When the day of revolution comes (known as the June Rebellion), the people of Paris gather in the streets for the funeral of General Lamarque, a well respected war hero and member of French Parliament. The people descend upon the king's men in a mad frenzy drawing out the soldiers to all corners of Paris. Soon barricades are built and people are ready to fight. Within all the madness, Javert believes that Jean Valjean to be at the center of this rebellion and goes undercover to find him. Unfortunately for him, he is ratted out by Gavroche Thenardier. With chief of police under arrest, Enjolres and his small band of revolutionaries continue to fight.

     Within all the madness, Marius finally shows up to the barricade wanting to so something, anything for his life to be of value. He proves to be as heroic and brave as his own father, when he puts his life on the line to protect his friends. Yet, Eponine has followed him there and when a shot is aimed at Marius, she jumps in front of him and saves him. Before she dies, she gives him Cosette's letter out of regret for her deception. Although saddened by Eponine's sacrifice, Marius is thrilled to find that Cosette never left him and wastes no time in sending Gavroche with a letter to her new address. 

     However, it's not Cosette he meets at the door.

Episode Six

     When Valjean receives a mystery letter from Marius Pontmercy to Cosette, he's immediately alarmed. Yet, instead of consulting Cosette, he goes down to the barricades with the intent of killing the man who threatens his only happiness. When Valjean reaches the fighting, he's overwhelmed by the intense passion and courage of the men and women. There he witnesses Marius' intense bravery and puts aside anger for a little while and aids the rebellion.

    As fighting intensifies, Valjean comes face to face with Javert whose life now lies in the balance. Valjean volunteers to watch over the police inspector and kill him if he so desires. Javert believes that this is truly the end for him, knowing full well that Valjean has every reason to kill him. Yet, once again Valjean's goodness takes him by surprise and he sets his enemy free. Confused and even angry, Javert leaves and goes back to the station. If Valjean thought there would be a heart change in the man, he was wrong. 

     The rebellion begins to wear down and Marius, Enjolres and their small band of revolutionaries all realize that they must either surrender or die fighting. After Gavroche is killed trying to find bullets, Marius races over to rescue him, once again proving his valor to Valjean. The soldiers break into their barricade and kill every man and woman putting an end to the rebellion. 

     Only two survivors manage to escape. When Marius is badly wounded, Valjean carries him through the sewers which is safer than the streets. Miles and miles of filth, waste, rats and pure vileness is the only the salvation for both men, but Valjean is also wounded and Marius is completely unconscious. Exhausted, scared, bleeding and unsure if he's going to survive, Valjean begins to have flashbacks of his life. Of his 19 years in prison, Javert's endless pursuit, his redemption by the priest, Fantine's downfall by his own hands and his promise to her, finding and raising Cosette and then finally this young man who has struck him so deeply. 

    Valjean has a beautiful revelation from God and realizes that his whole life has had purpose and if that purpose was for Cosette and her happiness, even if it means losing her than so be it. He gathers his last ounce of strength and manages to carry Marius out, even if he must rely on Thenardier to get through the gate. His joy of escaping the sewers is short lived when Javert finds him in the streets. After being allowed to return Marius to his grandfather, Valjean asks to go back to his home to say goodbye Cosette, Javert allows it. When Valjean returns, Javert is gone. 

    Javert's escape from the barricades and Valjean's mercy struck him in a way that he never imagined. Never has he witnessed such compassion, goodness or grace. So overcome by these unexpected virtues, Javert can no longer live with himself. He turns in his resignation and adds a list of prison reform for the bettering of the law and the people. He then throws himself into the river, ending his miserable life forever. 

     Finally at home, Marius heals and is welcomed back into his grandfather's good graces and he allows his grandson to marry Cosette. However, Marius doesn't remember the man he owes his life to. Shortly before the wedding, Valjean relates his life story to Marius, begging him not to tell Cosette any of this. Although angry at first, Marius reluctantly agrees. Valjean promises that after the marriage he will leave forever and allow Cosette to have her happiness.

     When Marius and Cosette return from their six week honeymoon, they're greeted by none other than Thenardier. Through his own arrogance and stupidity, Thenardier reveals that it was Valjean who saved Marius' life at the end of the rebellion. After Marius pays off Thenardier to leave him and his family alone, he and Cosette go in search of Valjean. After several days they find him at the home of the priest who rescued him so many years ago.

     Sick and dying, Valjean spends his last few moments with his beloved daughter and his extraordinary son-in-law, grateful for all that God did in his life. He soon dies with his family by his side. While there is sorrow in the lives of Marius and Cosette, there is still suffering in the streets of Paris. The miserable still live on, unwanted and unloved.

     Utterly beautiful and heartbreaking! A wonderful cast of well known and up and coming talent across the board. Dominic West was extraordinary as Valjean! His ruggedly handsome looks and intense physicality bring to life the madness of a prisoner and mercy of a saint. David Oyelowo as Javert brought a cold intensity to the role. Never losing his cool on the surface, but underneath there is a battle between good and evil boiling inside. Exactly as Javert needs to be. Lily Collins as Fantine! Stunning from beginning to end. She really gave the role of Fantine justice, diving completely into her downfall to the cutting of her hair and selling her teeth. 

    Although I've never read the book, I know enough of the story to find the accuracy of the characters. Victor Hugo's novels were all political commentaries of the harshness of mankind who refused to see the world outside their own doors. Like Dickens, he brought to light the suffering of the poor and destitute. Of the horrific treatment of unwed mothers, children abandoned to fend for themselves and even criticized the Church for its hypocrisy. 

     Les Miserables is not a happy story and up to a point, it's not even a hopeful story. Yet it is a human story. The human story is always going to be filled with sorrow and sadness. Some have it worse than others, but no one is above suffering. You can be as law abiding as Javert and suffer, you can be as wealthy as Marius and suffer. What makes Les Mierables timeless, though, is it's wide array of characters. Their various story arcs that are brought together by the use of revolution against...suffering of the common man. 

  

Here are my general thoughts as a fan.

• The fact that they went full force with Fantine's story was brilliant. People were put off by the accuracy of her downfall when she sold her two front teeth, but it added so much to life and death situation she was in.

•    I'm glad the roles of the ABC Club students was somewhat downplayed. Fans of story (especially girls) seem to be obsessed with the 'Barricade Boys' and while they play an important part in the story, I don't believe them to be that integral. 

•      There were complaints of the 10-15 second scene in episode five of Eponine doing a little striptease for Marius. For some reason people were outraged by this, saying that portraying Eponine as sexy is contradictory to the character. However, my sister--who has read the book-- found this new look at her character to be more accurate to the original character. In the book, Eponine is a manipulative tramp who does whatever she can to get money and food. If Fantine can sell off everything she has to save her daughter, Eponine's little striptease is fairly harmless. Eponine is not the docile little victim that everyone wants her to be. If you're going to get warped up about a 10 second scene about a girl that's one step away from a prostitute, then really you should be watching something else.