1. Sideburns.
Never in the history of musical theatre [well, excepting the phantom’s
mask and Quasimodo’s hunchback], has a character sported such a definitive
feature: you can style them, dye them, leave them be… or even attach small
bows to them, should inspiration strike.
2. Jean Valjean
is ultimately predictable: he will always sacrifice his own well-being
and happiness for the sake of another. Whenever his character is torn between
two conflicting decisions, the audience [consciously or not] automatically
knows what the outcome will be. Therefore, suspense originates solely from
such supporting characters as Eponine, and of course, Javert, who do not
always act in accordance with a predefined archetype.
3. Owing to
Valjean’s exaggerated sense of responsibility and self-crimination, his
role is essentially one ‘above humanity.’ While Javert is identifiable
as a valid [though admittedly extreme] human being, Valjean can only be
seen as a metaphor: namely, Christ, and is therefore admired by the audience
but not entirely identified with.
4. Javert
is the only Les Miserables character to undergo a violent psychological/emotional
transformation during the course of the play. Admittedly, Valjean does
cross from criminal to upright citizen, but that change is so implicit
to the story [and so easily accepted by both character and audience], that
his past serves more as a prologue than an actual identifier.
5. Similarly,
Valjean’s past actions are only fully understood by Javert. The audience
is given but a picayune glimpse of a minor crime committed years ago: however,
the details concerning his arrest, trial, and subsequent behavior in prison
are etched into the impeccable memory of Javert. Jean the ‘criminal’ is
all Javert knows, and Jean the ‘saint’: all the audience knows. It is interesting
to speculate how the story would differ if told from Javert’s perspective,
and particularly to consider whether we too would see Valjean as a criminal,
until the heroic/tragic events at the barricade.
6. Stage time.
Valjean remains on-stage for nearly the entire production, belting out
his woes to a relatively captive audience… Correspondingly, we are given
ample time to understand and admire his character: whoever the actor, the
audience's response is approximately the same. This is not to disparage
Valjean. But unless excessively horrendous or unfathomably talented, the
actor has little effect on how he is portrayed, and the audience will always
understand his story implicitly from cover to cover by lyrics/actions alone.
Javert, on the other hand, must take advantage of every moment on stage,
since his time with the audience is rather limited. A poor actor will deliver
an unsympathetic and brutal rendition, whom the audience is happy to see
leap into the raging Seine… a talented performer, however, is capable of
portraying a detailed character despite script limitations: Javert’s ultimate
surrender to confusion and self-doubt evokes [as it should] grief as well
as applause.
7. Superior
name. Yes, even in this seemingly arbitrary category, Javert easily surpasses
Valjean. Though it would appear [at first glance] to be an entirely subjective
qualification, consider for a moment that Valjean adopts no less than THREE
names throughout the course of Hugo’s novel, in his effort to elude the
tenacious Inspector. On the other hand, Javert is the only Les-Mis character
to be known by his last name alone; whilst Gavroch, Marius, (etc) are commonly
referred to by first name, their surnames are known and revealed in due
course. In this regard, Javert joins an elite group spearheaded by such
pop-idols as Sting and [dare it be said] Madonna [who would look considerably
less spiffy in sideburns].
8. Best exit.
Being Victor Hugo, most of the important characters perish [often messily]
during the course of Les Miserables. Gavroch, Enjolras, Eponine, and CO
are shot down in the height of battle, few [on stage] contributing anything
particularly unique, though Eponine does boast a parting song . Fantine
dies relatively quietly, after receiving a sort of absolution from Valjean—not
altogether unmoving, but sufficiently peaceful that it evokes no great
visceral response. When at long last it is Valjean’s turn to bite-the-bullet,
it is done with an overblown sentimentality, inviting all his dead compatriots
back on stage for one momentous [& celestial] exit. This closing number
also has [IMO] the worst line of the entire production; “to love another
person is to see the face of god.” Perhaps it sounded better in French,
but in English the line is frustratingly awkward, and always leaves me
feeling ‘let down.’ As in, after such a moving and expressive presentation,
I expected some greater conclusion than… that. Especially when it isn't
supported anywhere else in the play or novel. That being said! Javert’s
exit is uniquely tailored to the character and story in a fashion which
significantly illuminates a heretofore clandestine aspect of his disposition,
while expanding and radically altering the plot as a whole. His death marks
the end of a long climax, and while I traditionally scream at movies that
exclude Valjean’s death [& mistreatment by Marius… that ungrateful
scumbag], once Javert leaves, the rest is merely ‘tying up loose ends.’
9. Javert
has never been portrayed by Colm Wilkson. [sorry to all Wilkson fans out
there... he's strange and squeaky. AND he butchered the Phantom (Erik)
on Hey Mr Producer! A fact for which
he has not been forgiven.]
10. Superior
parallel song. Following in suite with the vast majority of popular Broadway
musicals, the Les Miserables libretto features various songs which are
sung to the same tune, but by different characters [thereby establishing
musical connections between seemingly unrelated events]. In the case of
Javert, a portion of his Suicide parallels “What Have I Done?,” as sung
by Jean-Valjean after leaving the Bishop & stealing one last coin from
a passing chimney sweep. As we can see in a side-by-side comparison, Javert’s
lyrics are decidedly superior.