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Come with Me, 24601!

A few thoughts on the new Andrew Davies PBS version of "Les Miserables":

 *In the Davies adaptation, Valjean's early story seems to be a mirror image of Fantine's story. (We lose this in the musical, which unwisely abandons the narration of Fantine's past, except to have her murmur, in her "American Idol" ballad, "He slept a summer by my side....") As Fantine falls under the spell of a demon, Valjean falls under a different spell--a spell belonging to a powerful wizard, the Bishop of D---. As Fantine makes her way through a story of lies, secrets, half-truths, curses, and reverses, so, too, does Valjean. But the similarities end there.

*Unlike Fantine's Boy Toy, the Bishop is a force for good. The Bishop's scenes--maybe the most iconic scenes in the novel--unfold through a series of startling twists (big surprise). Valjean lies: He presents himself as a paying guest, then steals silver. In turn, and our jaws drop, the Bishop lies: "My friend, you left so early. Would you leave the best behind?" Instead of going after his stolen silverware, the Bishop simply piles candlesticks on top of the other loot--and thus changes Valjean's life. (So there's a story, and then a story under the story--the baffling narrative we present to the police, and the actual truth, which we keep to ourselves. It's like Chekhov's "The Lady with the Dog": "He felt he lived two lives, and the one visible to others, the professional and social life, was all deceit....")

*Davies improves on the musical by showing how truly awful Valjean is, at the beginning. You sense that Valjean is dangerous and unstable. He could do something horrific and violent at any moment. This theme helps you to understand Javert's behavior. (In the musical, where we cheer for Valjean almost right away, and where Javert doesn't even get to sing about being blinded by uncomfortable, forbidden, homosexual lust, Javert just seems like a baffling cartoon character.)

And that's all for now. Catch up with me by streaming Episode One on the PBS website! And tune in Sunday night for Episode Two!
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