Les Misérables (2018/2019) - BBC One

Les Misérables (2018/2019) - BBC One

Directed by Tom Shankland.

Based on the novel by Victor Hugo and adapted by Andrew Davies. 

Starring Dominic West, David Oyelowo, Lily Collins, Olivia Colman, Adeel Akhtar, Ellie Bamber and Josh O’Connor.

Let me start this post with a hello! I’m back. Apologies for the absence, I was busy with university interviews.

Secondly, (even through I feel like everyone should know the story of Les Misérables), this post contains spoilers! 

I was very excited for this series, I had always felt a little conflicted about the musical film. I had enjoyed it but the story was far too depressing for 12 year old me to handle.

However, the cast of this show is what tempted me into watching this series - mainly Josh O’Connor.

This show packed so much into 6 episodes it was kind of hard to warp my head around.

So I’ve decided to break this review down episode by episode.

Episode One

At first I struggled to take the series seriously, I kept waiting for someone to burst into song. It was very weird to watch a story that you know, but in a format that you are not used to watching it in.

That being said, I still enjoyed this episode. The cinematography, along with the costume and location create a wonderful visually appealing high quality story.

Small side note: I think one thing I definitely learnt from watching this series, along with starting this blog is that I definitely have an eye for cinematography. Most of my notes just say “visually stunning”

Something I really enjoyed from this episode is that we get to see more of Fantine’s backstory, which I really enjoyed because you as the audience get to go on this journey with her.

My one issue with this episode is the pace is a bit too slow for my liking. I understand that they have to set all the stories up, but I just feel like they are dragging it on a little bit.

Episode Two

Episode two really picked up the pace, so I was hooked pretty much straight away. However, I keep singing the songs in my head.

Lily Collins so a wonderful actress who plays Fantine beautifully. She plays this character so differently to how Anne Hathaway played it, but it works for this adaptation because it’s a more detailed version of the story.

Episode Three

At this point I was really enjoying how detailed this series was, it almost seemed like a different story to the one shown in the film.

I know you are meant to hate Olivia Coleman's character but she was just making me laugh. Her performance was one of the best things about this episode.

However, at this point I really needed them to go forward in time with the plot to when Cosette is an adult. I think this was the inner socialist in me just wanting to see the revolution.

Episode Four

WE’VE FINALLY GONE FORWARD IN TIME WITH THE PLOT! At this point, David Oyelowo’s performance as Javert so far had been magnificent and in my opinion much better than Russell Crowe’s. He gave Javert so much more emotion, he takes you on a journey with Javert. You get to witness this characters flaws and understand his growing hatred for Jean Valjean and how he consistently escapes and avoids capture.  

Also, added bonus to the episode, we finally get to see Josh O'Connor as Marius!!!

This is the episode where I really began to notice all the clever little details that connected all the characters together. Like Marius living in the same room that Jean Valjean and Cosette lived in all those years ago and his new neighbours are now Thenardier and his family who “took care” of Cosette as a child - let’s be real for a second, that family were nothing but abusive to Cosette.  

These little details made up for the fact that once again the pace seemed to slow down a bit which made me lose focus in the middle of the episode.

This is also the episode that I realised that Jean Valjean is not a great parental figure and his paranoia will surely be the death of him.  

Episode Five

At this point I was desperate for the revolution because I was slowly beginning to lose my interest in the plot.

However, the story then took a wonderful turn because Cosette and Marius finally begin to fall in love. Ellie Bamber and Josh O’Connor are so much better as Cosette and Marius. There is so much more chemistry and it created a much more believable performance.

I had never seen Ellie Bamber in anything before, her performance was very refreshing. Josh O’Connor was wonderful as usual and it was nice to see him in something that wasn't the Durrells.  

Then it got even better because the revolution finally begun and, then it suddenly got super sad because everyone started dying…

In the space of five minutes I went from being extremely mad at Éponine for not giving Marius the letter from Cosette to sobbing at her death because she saved him from getting shot.

Also, by this episode I had realised that Javert’s policing skills have really gone down the drain. He has a whole revolution happening and he’s concerned about one criminal - someone doesn’t have their priorities in order.

It was safe to say at this point I was completely re-invested in the plot.

Episode Six

This was by far the most intense episode of the whole season. So intense that when all of Marius comrades died, I cried and I couldn’t even remember their names!  

At this point the only thing getting me through this episode is the fact I know that Marius and Cosette still end up together!

David Oyelowo performance as Javert when he commits suicide made me ugly cry, which is ridiculous because I don’t like his character but, that shows what an excellent performer Oyelowo is. He bought this character to life in such a brilliant way, because you hate him because he won’t leave Jean Valjean alone, but in that moment when Javert just gives up all hope and jumps off the bridge you still feel Javert's pain.

And then you think you get this nice wonderful happy ending, Marius is alive, him and Cosette get married, Jean Valjean is free!

And then the miserable cherry on top of it all is…

Jean Valjean freaking DIES!

I mean, I knew it was coming but it still made me sob! Dominic West gave such a wonderful performance as Jean Valjean, he portrayed a much darker persona of Jean Valjean, highlighting the extreme lengths this character was willing to go to protect himself and later protect Cosette.

Overall , I enjoyed this series way more than I thought I did. The Level of performance by these actors are award worthy, the location and costume is stunning and the cinematography was cinema worthy.

Feel free to leave a comment below your thoughts on the show. You can also contact me via twitter (@niamhcrawley_), instagram (@crawley.filmandtv), facebook or, you can email me at crawley.filmandtv2000@gmail.com.