Les Miserables script
Les Miserables Script - Broadway musical
BLACK SCREENSUPERIMPOSE CAPTION:
The year is 1815.
The French revolution is a distant
memory. Napoleon has been defeated.
France is ruled by a King again.
A1 EXT. TOULON PORT - DAY A1
RISE UP out of the iron-grey surface of the ocean, seething
in the wind, towards the shore. Winter rain slices the air.
Ahead, the port of Toulon, home of the French navy. A forest
of tall masted warships.
The great ships heave at anchor, the wind whipping their
rigging.
Through the sea spray we see the great ribs of warships
under construction, and warships being refitted.
SUPERIMPOSE CAPTION:
Toulon
Home port of the French navy
1 EXT. TOULON DOCK - DAY 1
Storm-lashed sea and driving rain. A great wave rises up
and hammers down. As it recedes we see the figures of men
heaving on great ropes, the sea water streaming down over
their faces. The harsh storm light catches glints of metal:
these men are CONVICTS, chained by manacles, heads shaved,
wearing red shirts with prison numbers crudely stitched
onto them.
Now we see that the ropes run up to a ship that is being
hauled ashore - a storm-damaged man-of-war, its masts
broken, rising and falling on the surge.
As yet another great wave rolls over the convicts, we
follow the straining ropes down into the base of the
slipway, and find the convict JEAN VALJEAN, up to his waist
in water, chained by two sets of manacles, as the rain and
spray and wind scream round him. A great brute of a man, he
seems to feel nothing.
2.
The convicts sing in time with the rhythmic pulls on the
rope -
CONVICTS
Ha - Ha -
CONVICT 3
Ha - Ha -
Look down, look down
Don't look them in the eye
CONVICTS
Look down, look down
You're here until you die.
CONVICT 4
No God above
And Hell alone below
CONVICTS
Look down, look down
There's twenty years to go.
The camera RISES UP to find JAVERT, the officer in charge
of the convict workforce, looking on, his face rain-lashed
and expressionless. He stands above the men on the top of
the dock, as lines of convicts labour beneath him on the
steep steps of the dock wall.
Behind Javert, through the storm rain we glimpse a forest of
half-built ships, their ribbed frames like great skeletons in
the mist.
FOREGROUND convicts are at work on another ship that is
almost completed, labouring in the crashing spray.
CONVICT 2
I've done no wrong
Sweet Jesus, hear my prayer!
CONVICTS
Look down, look down
Sweet Jesus doesn't care.
CONVICT 5
I know she'll wait
I know that she'll be true -
CONVICTS
Look down, look down
They've all forgotten you.
CONVICT 1
When I get free
You won't see me
Here for dust!
3.
CONVICTS
Look down, look down
Don't look'em in the eye.
CONVICT 3
How long, O Lord
Before you let me die?
CONVICTS
Look down, look down
You'll always be a slave.
Look down, look down
You're standing in your grave.
With a last great heave the lines of convicts haul the
damaged ship onto the slipway.
CRACK! The stern flagpole of the ship snaps in a vicious gust
of wind and crashes down into the shallow water near Valjean.
Javert sees and points his stick at Valjean in silent
command. Valjean stares back for a beat, defying him. Then he
drops down into the seething water and re-emerges with the
great mast in his hands, held over his head. His head breaks
water with his bitter gaze still on Javert, as he throws the
mast ashore in a deliberate display of strength.
Javert nods to the guards, and they begin to form the
chained men into lines to return to their prison. The storm
is passing now, blown by the driving wind.
Javert approaches Jean Valjean.
JAVERT
Now Prisoner 24601.
Your time is up
And your parole's begun.
You know what that means?
VALJEAN
Yes. It means I'm free.
JAVERT
No! It means you get
Your yellow ticket-of-leave.
He hands Valjean a folded yellow paper.
JAVERT
This badge of shame
You'll show it everywhere.
It warns you're a dangerous man.
VALJEAN
I stole a loaf of bread
My sister's child was close to
death
And we were starving.
4.
JAVERT
You will starve again
Unless you learn the meaning of
the law.
VALJEAN
I know the meaning of those
nineteen years
A slave of the law!
JAVERT
Five years for what you did,
The rest because you tried to
run.
Yes, 24601!
VALJEAN
My name is Jean Valjean!
JAVERT
And I'm Javert!
Do not forget my name.
Do not forget me -
24601!
He strides away to command the lines of convicts as they're
marched away. Valjean walks away, hardly able to take in
that he is free at last.
The convicts sing as he goes.
CONVICTS
Look down, look down
You'll always be a slave.
Look down, look down
You're standing in your grave.
2 EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOULON - DAWN 2
Valjean makes his way up a rising track, a worn knapsack on
his back. He comes to a stop at the top of the hill, and
there before him, lit by the rising sun, spreads a wide
vista of fields and towns and villages, stretching into the
distance, with the snow capped Alps beyond. Behind and
below him lies Toulon at the sea's edge. As we hear the
musical theme ('Freedom is Mine'), we see for the first
time the darkness in his face give way to a new hope.
VALJEAN
Freedom at last -
How strange the taste!
Never forget the years - the waste,
Nor forgive them for what they've
done.
They are the guilty - Everyone!
The day begins
(more)
5.
VALJEAN (cont'd)
And now lets see
What this new world
Will do for me!
3 SCENE OMITTED 3
4 EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY 4
Valjean strides down the long rising road, pulling his thin
coat close round him against the cold winter wind.
He passes a long line of labourers working. He approaches
the OVERSEER.
VALJEAN
Monsieur can I help? A day's work?
The overseer notices shaved hair showing under his cap.
OVERSEER
Take your hat off.
Valjean takes his hat off, revealing his shaved and scarred
head.
OVERSEER
Passport.
The overseer scans the yellow paper, and hands it back.
OVERSEER
No work here.
5 SCENE OMITTED 5
6 EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD - END OF DAY 6
Valjean slogs on up the rising track into the mountains.
Snow on the ground here, and darkness falling.
He looks up and sees ahead a village built on a rock cliff,
its lights twinkling, the snowy mountains rising behind.
The tower of its handsome church rises up like a promise of
refuge. This is Digne.
6A EXT. DIGNE - DUSK 6A
Valjean enters Digne. As he drinks from the fountain, he sees
a guard standing outside the Mairie.
6.
6B INT. MAIRIE, DIGNE - DUSK 6B
Valjean stands waiting. The officer fastidiously writes down
the name of Valjean in his huge ledger and the name of the
town in his passport. The officer signs and stamps the
passport.
OFFICER
Valjean.
The officer hands back the passport. Valjean leaves.
6C EXT. DIGNE - DUSK 6C
Valjean walks down the high street, spies the warm glow of an
inn and enters.
7 INT. COUNTRY INN, DIGNE - DUSK 7
Valjean sits in the corner, his hat low over his head. He
eyes hungrily a group of cart drivers tucking into a roast
meal by a roaring fire place. The innkeeper serves him a
beer. As he reaches for it his coat sleeve rides up to
reveal his wrist, calloused and scarred by manacles. The
innkeeper eyes him warily. He discusses Valjean with two
other men, then asks for his paper. Sees the phrase
"Extremely Dangerous".
VALJEAN'S POV - From the yellow paper in the innkeeper's
hands up to the innkeeper's face. A blank stare, a shrug of
refusal.
INNKEEPER
My inn is full.
7A EXT. DIGNE - NIGHT 7A
Valjean moves off wearily through the village. As he passes
down the narrow street, faces peer at him from doorways,
but the doors close when he goes by. A shadowy figure
follows him. Word has spread that he's a `dangerous man'.
Passing the uncurtained window of a cottage, he comes to a
stop. Through the window he sees a scene that breaks his
heart: a father at a table by lamplight, his young wife
before him, his children on either side. Nothing special,
and yet everything he's never had.
8 EXT. PRISON, DIGNE - NIGHT 8
He stops at the local jail. An iron chain attached to a bell
hangs from the prison door. He rings. A grate slides open.
7.
VALJEAN
Jailer. Would you let me stay here
for tonight?
JAILER
This is a prison, not an inn. Get
yourself arrested. Then we will
open up for you.
The grate slides shut. As Jean Valjean walks away, some
children who have been following begin throwing stones at
him. He threatens them with his stick and they scatter.
8A EXT. DIGNE - NIGHT 8A
He sees over a garden wall a low doorway in a stone turret.
Valjean stoops through the doorway and lies down on some
straw. He hears a ferocious growl and sees the head of an
enormous mastiff. It is a dog kennel.
8B EXT. DIGNE - NIGHT 8B
Snow falling as Valjean makes his way down the road, hungry,
weary, moving slowly, his trousers ripped and bloody from
where the dog has bitten him.
At the end of a road, the snow-covered church; beside it, a
dark churchyard.
9 EXT. CHURCH YARD, DIGNE - NIGHT 9
Snow-covered gravestones in moonlight. Exhausted, Valjean
collapses to the ground and huddles himself into the
shelter of a doorway.
A lantern glows in the dark. The lantern approaches,
throwing shadows. Its little circle of light comes to rest
on the crumpled figure of Valjean.
He stirs and opens his eyes.
VALJEAN'S POV - The glow of the lantern in the darkness.
Beyond it, the half-seen features of a kind old man. The
BISHOP.
BISHOP
Come in, sir, for you are weary
And the night is cold out here.
Though our lives are very humble
What we have we have to share.
Bewildered, fearful, suspicious, Valjean gets up and goes
with the Bishop into the house by the church.
8.
10 INT. BISHOP'S HOUSE - NIGHT 10
A simple table on which is laid out bread and wine, with
silver cutlery. Two silver candlesticks light the room,
illuminating walls painted with religious scenes. The Bishop
ushers the bewildered Valjean into the room. The bishop's
sister Madame Baptistine stands. Valjean hesitates.
BISHOP
There is wine here to revive you.
There is bread to make you
strong.
There's a bed to rest till
morning -
Rest from pain, and rest from
wrong.
BISHOP
Sit, my brother.
The Bishop gestures to the housekeeper Madame Magloire.
BISHOP
Madame, set one more place.
(to Valjean)
Please sit.
The Bishop gently takes his arm and draws him into a chair.
Valjean sits, and the Housekeeper lays food before him.
Famished, Valjean eats like an animal. The Bishop says a
short grace.
BISHOP
May the Lord bless the food we eat
today. Bless our dear sister and
our honoured guest.
(To Valjean)
Please, eat. Where are you
travelling to my brother?
VALJEAN
Pontarlier.
BISHOP
Is that where your family is?
VALJEAN
No. The destination is compulsory.
That is where the Law sends me. I
have no home.
BISHOP
Then let this be your home, for
as long as you need it.
9.
11 INT. BEDROOM, BISHOP'S HOUSE - NIGHT 11
The Bishop leads Valjean to a bedroom where the walls are
also painted with religious imagery. Across the passage,
Valjean sees the open door to the Bishop's own bedroom.
There the Housekeeper is putting the table silver away in a
cupboard.
He turns to see a bed made up with clean white linen
waiting for him. He hasn't slept in such a bed ever in his
life. But the Bishop is smiling, offering it to him.
BISHOP
Sleep well. Tomorrow morning
before you leave you will have a
cup of milk from our cows, nice
and hot.
The Bishop turns away to go to sleep.
VALJEAN
You let me sleep here next to you?
How do you know I'm not a murderer?
Valjean laughs a strange laugh.
BISHOP
God will take care of that.
LATER THAT NIGHT -
Valjean lies on the bed, fully dressed, deeply asleep.
Outside a dog barks.
Valjean's eyes snap open. The first thing he sees by the
light of the moon is an image of God the Father gazing down
on him from the painted ceiling. In panic, fearing
judgement, he sits bolt upright. Then he looks round, and
remembers. He gets out of bed, and opens the door.
There, across the narrow passage, the door stands open to
the Bishop's bedroom. In the moonlight, he sees the Bishop
lying asleep. Above his bed, the cupboard where the silver
is kept.
Valjean moves silently into the Bishop's room, holding a
metal miner's spike which he pulls from his bag. The floor
boards creak. He looks down at the old man, holding his
breath, but the bishop is peacefully and innocently asleep.
He reaches up to the cupboard. It is unlocked. The cupboard
door opens with a sharp cracking sound. The Bishop,
disturbed in his sleep, moves a little. At once Valjean is
over him, like a wild animal, spike raised to strike should
he wake. The Bishop sleeps on. The moon comes out and
lights up his beautific, smiling face. Valjean is thrown.
He turns back and opens the cupboard door fully: there is
the silver.
10.
Carefully he picks it out, fearful of every clink. One last
look at the sleeping old man, and he makes a run for the
door.
12 EXT. CHURCHYARD - NIGHT 12
Valjean rushes out of the back door of the house. He
crosses the graveyard, scrambles over a back wall, and he's
gone.
13 INT. BISHOP'S HOUSE - DAY 13
The Bishop is coming in from morning Mass in his vestments
when the door bursts open and two policemen drag Valjean
before him. Valjean hangs his head, unable to meet the
Bishop's eyes.
CONSTABLE
Monsignor, we caught the thief
red-handed! He has the nerve to
say you gave him all this!
He upends Valjean's kitbag, and the silver tumbles out.
The Bishop looks from the silver to Valjean.
BISHOP
That is right.
Amazed, Valjean looks up.
BISHOP
But my friend, you left so early,
You forgot I gave these also.
Would you leave the best behind?
The old Bishop is holding out the two silver candlesticks.
BISHOP
(to policemen)
Messieurs, release him.
For this man has spoken true.
I commend you for your duty
Now God's blessing go with you.
Silenced by the Bishop's gentle tones, the policemen turn
and leave.
Valjean, utterly bewildered, takes the silver candlesticks.
BISHOP
But remember this, my brother -
See in this some higher plan.
You must use this precious silver
To become an honest man.
By the witness of the martyrs,
(more)
11.
BISHOP (cont'd)
By the passion and the blood,
God has raised you out of
darkness -
I have bought your soul for God.
14 INT. CHURCH, DIGNE - DAY 14
Valjean kneels in the church.
He takes out his yellow passport and stares at it.
He turns towards the altar, and the crucifix above it.
VALJEAN
What have I done?
Sweet Jesus, what have I done?
Become a thief in the night
Become a dog on the run!
And have I fallen so far
And is the hour so late
That nothing remains but the cry
of my hate?
The cries in the dark that nobody
hears
Here where I stand at the turning
of the years.
If there's another way to go
I missed it twenty long years
ago.
My life was a war that could
never be won.
They gave me a number and
murdered Valjean
When they chained me and left me
for dead
Just for stealing a mouthful of
bread!
Yet why did I allow this man
To touch my soul and teach me
love?
He treated me like any other
He gave me his trust
He called me brother.
My life he claims for God
above...
Can such things be?
For I had come to hate the world -
This world that always hated me!
Take an eye for an eye!
Turn your heart into stone!
This is all I have lived for!
This is all I have known!
One word from him and I'd be back
Beneath the lash, upon the rack.
Instead he offers me my freedom!
(more)
12.
VALJEAN (cont'd)
I feel my shame inside me like a
knife.
He told me that I have a soul...
How does he know?
What spirit comes to move my
life?
Is there another way to go?
Slowly, he examines the yellow passport and raises it high,
as if to the altar.
VALJEAN
I am reaching, but I fall
And the night is closing in...
As I stare into the void -
To the whirlpool of my sin.
Valjean stands and turns, walking fast to the door of the
church.
VALJEAN
I'll escape now from that world -
From the world of Jean Valjean.
Jean Valjean is nothing now!
15 EXT. CHURCH, DIGNE - DAY 15
Valjean comes out of the church into the graveyard and
reaches a bell set on the edge of a promontory. Below lies
the steep drop down the mountainside to the dark valley
below.
VALJEAN
Another story must begin!
He rips the yellow paper into pieces and throws the pieces
out over the valley. The scraps flutter in the wind.
FOLLOW the scraps of yellow paper as they dance in the wind
then fall away into the void below. One scrap of paper
dances upwards in the sunlight. We follow this and
accelerate upwards leaving Valjean and the town of Digne
far below, towards the sun gloriously breaking through the
heavens with the alps beyond. The camera then starts to
tumble back down through mist and cloud below - through
time and space - down to discover -
16 EXT. ROAD TO MONTREUIL - DAY 16
The camera hurtling towards three horses riding down a long
muddy road on a flat plain towards the walled town of
Montreuil-sur-Mer. Montreuil sits on an estuary leading out
to the sea. We see ships sitting in low tide on the mud of
the estuary along the dockside of the town, and red brick
factory buildings.
13.
SUPERIMPOSE CAPTION:
Eight years later
Montreuil-sur-Mer, 1823.
The camera closes in to ground level to reveal the
horseriders:
Javert, flanked by two policemen.
16A EXT. GATES TO MONTREUIL - DAY 16A
As the riders enter the walled town we see the poor clustered
around the gates - destitute and sick people clammering to
get in.
BEGGARS' CHORUS
At the end of the day you're
another day older
And that's all you can say for
the life of the poor.
It's a struggle! It's a war!
And there's nothing that anyone's
giving.
One more day standing about -
What is it for?
One day less to be living.
Javert sees the destitution of the people. Expressionless
as ever.
BEGGARS' CHORUS
At the end of the day you're
another day colder
And the shirt on your back
doesn't keep out the chill.
And the righteous hurry past
They don't hear the little ones
crying
And the plague is coming on fast
Ready to kill -
One day nearer to dying!
TRACK PAST a plague victim, wrapped in a shroud, being thrown
onto a cart.
The police enter the harbour.
17 EXT. HARBOUR - MONTREUIL - DAY 17
The beggars are pushed back as the gates open and close for
the police.
14.
BEGGARS' CHORUS
At the end of the day there's
another day dawning
And the sun in the morning is
waiting to rise
Like the waves crash on the sand
Like a storm that'll break any
second
There's a hunger in the land
There's a reckoning still to be
reckoned
And there's gonna be hell to pay
At the end of the day!
Javert looks round at the factory buildings, the boats in
the harbour, the poor clamouring behind him, and rides on.
18 SCENE OMITTED 18
19 EXT. FACTORY YARD, MONTREUIL - DAY 19
Heavy carts wait to be loaded with wooden crates of goods.
Workmen carry the crates out of the factory as the FOREMAN
strides in through the doors, gesturing to a cart driver,
FAUCHELEVENT, who's taking a quick rest on a crate.
19A INT. FACTORY, MONTREUIL - MEN'S SECTION - DAY 19A
The foreman passes men packing boxes on tables and loading
boxes onto crates. He passes through a door under a first
floor office.
20-22 INT. FACTORY, MONTREUIL - WOMEN'S SECTION - DAY 20-22
The long work space is full of tables at which
conservatively dressed women are working, making jewelry
out of shellac, a black resin which looks like jet. An
impressive sight: obviously a very successful business. A
wooden staircase climbs one wall to a glass-windowed
business office. The figure of a man within.
FOREMAN
(flirtatiously, to women)
At the end of the day you get
nothing for nothing!
Sitting flat on your bum doesn't
buy any bread!
FACTORY WOMAN 4
There are children back at home -
FACTORY WOMAN 2
And the children have got to be
fed.
15.
FACTORY WOMAN 7
And you're lucky to be in a job -
The Foreman has stopped beside FANTINE, a pretty young woman.
As he leans over to whisper in her ear Fantine, surprised,
pricks her finger with her needle.
FOREMAN
(quietly, to Fantine)
And in a bed!
FACTORY WOMAN 8
(to Fantine, as a warning)
And we're counting our blessings!
The Foreman continues his rounds, encouraging the women to
speed up their work.
FOREMAN
At the end of the day just be glad
to be working
For a master who cares for the
lives of the poor.
FACTORY WOMAN 7
He's a riddle..
FACTORY WOMAN 4
He's no fool..
FACTORY WOMAN 6
He's the answer to anyone's prayer
FACTORY WOMAN 8
And he paid for the brand new
school
FACTORY WOMAN 4
It's no wonder they made him the
mayor!
FACTORY WOMEN
Bless the man who leads the way!
At the end of the day!
They get on with their tasks, all glancing up at the boss in
the office above.
The Foreman returns to Fantine, trying to help her.
MAIN FACTORY WOMAN
Have you seen how the foreman is
fuming today
With his terrible breath and his
wandering hands?
16.
FACTORY WOMAN 3
It's because little Fantine won't
give him his way.
FACTORY WOMAN 5
Take a look at his trousers,
you'll see where he stands!
FACTORY WOMAN 2
And the boss, he never knows
That the foreman is always on
heat.
MAIN FACTORY WOMAN
If Fantine doesn't look out,
Watch how she goes,
She'll be out on the street!
The Foreman rings a bell, announcing the end of the work day.
The women start to take off their overalls and pack up their
tools for the day.
FACTORY WOMEN/FOREMAN
At the end of the day its another
day over
With enough in your pocket to last
for a week
Pay the landlord, pay the shop
Keep on working as long as you're
able
Keep on working till you drop
Or it's back to the crumbs off the
table
Well, you've got to pay your way
At the end of the day!
The women queue up to be paid by the Foreman at the door.
Fantine has taken out a letter. The main factory woman
snatches the letter away from Fantine.
MAIN FACTORY WOMAN
And what have we here, little
innocent sister?
The letter is passed surreptitiously down the line of women
workers.
MAIN FACTORY WOMAN
Come on, Fantine, let's have all
the news.
(reading)
`Dear Fantine, you must send us
more money,
Your child needs a doctor,
There's no time to lose.'
17.
FANTINE
Give that letter to me
It is none of your business.
With a husband at home
And a bit on the side!
Is there anyone here
Who can swear before God
She has nothing to fear?
She has nothing to hide?
The main factory woman starts to take Fantine's letter over
to the Foreman.
Fantine tries to get the letter back. The women scuffle.
The owner enters the factory floor. We see him only from
behind: a well-dressed prosperous man.
VALJEAN
What is this fighting all about?
Will someone tear these two
apart?
This is a factory, not a circus.
As he sings, the CAMERA MOVES ROUND to discover him. Clean-
shaven, well-fed, transformed: it's Valjean.
VALJEAN
Now come on, ladies, settle down.
I run a business of repute.
Suddenly Valjean sees Javert appear on the first floor
balcony of his office. His world drops away.
VALJEAN
(to the foreman)
Deal with this, Foreman.
Be as patient as you can.
He walks back to the stairs up to his office.
On the factory floor -
FOREMAN
Now someone say how this began!
The factory women all turn on Fantine.
FANTINE/FACTORY WOMAN 5
At the end of the day she's the
one who began it!
MAIN FACTORY WOMAN
There's a kid that she's hiding
in some little town.
FACTORY WOMAN 5
There's a man she has to pay
18.
MAIN FACTORY WOMAN
You can guess how she picks up
the extra -
You can bet she's earning her
keep
Sleeping around!
And the boss wouldn't like it.
FANTINE
Yes, it's true there's a child
And the child is my daughter
And her father abandoned us,
Leaving us flat.
Now she lives with an innkeeper
man and his wife
And I pay for the child.
What's the matter with that?
Fantine continues to defend herself to the Foreman, as the
women sing -
FACTORY WOMEN
At the end of the day she'll be
nothing but trouble
And there's trouble for all when
there's trouble for one!
While we're earning our daily
bread
She's the one with her hands in
the butter -
You must send the slut away
Or we're all going to end in the
gutter
And it's us who'll have to pay
At the end of the day!
The Foreman pulls Fantine away.
FOREMAN
I might have known the bitch
could bite!
I might have known the cat had
claws!
I might have guessed your little
secret!
Ah yes, the virtuous Fantine
Who keeps herself so pure and
clean -
You'd be the cause, I had no
doubt
Of any trouble hereabout.
You play a virgin in the light
But need no urging in the night!
MAIN FACTORY WOMAN
She's been laughing at you
While she's having her men!
19.
FACTORY WOMEN
She'll be nothing but trouble
again and again!
FACTORY WOMAN 5
You must sack her today!
FACTORY WOMEN
Sack the girl today!
FOREMAN
Right, my girl! On your way!
Below, Fantine turns and calls to Valjean in his office
above with a pitiful cry.
FANTINE
M'sieur Mayor, help me! I have a
child!
Valjean hears the cry, but he has other concerns. He turns
round to face Javert.
Javert stares at him.
On the factory floor below, the Foreman hustles Fantine
out, as she struggles against him.
23 INT. FACTORY OFFICE - DAY 23
Javert bows.
JAVERT
I introduce myself,
Inspector of Police.
I've come to take the watch
I'm here to keep the peace.
Please know me as Javert.
I'm here at your command
With honour due to each.
With justice in our hands
No man's beyond our reach.
Let all beware.
VALJEAN
Welcome, sir
Come guard our laws
I'm sure we're here
In common cause.
Javert turns to look through the high window onto the men's
factory floor below. The last men are leaving for the day.
JAVERT
You've done the city proud,
You've raised their banner high.
(more)
20.
JAVERT (cont'd)
You manufacture gems
That anyone can buy
Your people thrive.
Valjean shows some demonstration samples of their work.
VALJEAN
The dignity of toil
To stay alive.
Javert is puzzled. He's sure he recognises Valjean, but
from where?
JAVERT
It seems to me
We may have met.
Valjean throws him a sharp glance.
VALJEAN
Your face is not a face
I would forget.
A CRASH from outside in the yard - shouts -
24 EXT. TRACK LEADING TO FACTORY, MONTREUIL - DAY 24
Valjean and Javert hurry out across the factory yard and
down the muddy track beyond to discover -
A heavily laden cart has toppled onto the cart driver -
Fauchelevent, the worker seen before taking a rest on a
crate.
The cart driver and the Foreman are trying to lift the cart
off the crushed man, but it's too heavy, and the ground is
too soft. Fauchelevent screams as the cart slowly sinks in
the mud.
Valjean, Javert and Javert's assistant all hurry to help,
but they can't get a proper purchase in the spongy ground.
All the time the cart is sinking further, pushing
Fauchelevent deeper into the mud that will soon bury him.
Then Valjean sees a way. At one end the wheels of the cart
have stopped sinking - the ground is harder here. He throws
himself under the cart at this higher end, and braces
himself to lift it from beneath.
VALJEAN
Get back! It may fall!
FOREMAN
No, Monsieur le Mayor!
CROWD
It'll kill you as well!
21.
Javert stands back and looks on. As he looks, we see a
memory stirring in him.
JAVERT'S POV - Valjean's posture beneath the cart is
exactly the same as the convict beneath the fallen mast.
The same crouching power. The same almost-suicidal
determination.
Valjean sees Javert looking at him, and knows exactly what
he's thinking. For a moment he hesitates. Then he hears
Fauchelevent's choking scream as the mud gags his mouth.
Valjean strains every muscle, and slowly one end of the
cart begins to rise. As soon as it clears the crushed and
gasping man, the others pull him clear.
Valjean lets the cart down again, and climbs out. As he
brushes himself down he finds Javert staring at him.
JAVERT
Can this be true?
I don't believe what I see!
A man your age
To be as strong as you are!
A memory stirs...
You make me think of a man
From years ago
A man who broke his parole..
He disappeared.
He shakes his head, realising how absurd his suspicions
are.
JAVERT
Forgive me, sir.
I would not dare -
VALJEAN
Say what you must.
Don't leave it there.
Valjean holds Javert's gaze, challenging him to say more.
Javert is not yet confident enough to continue.
Valjean goes to help Fauchelevent.
VALJEAN
Let me help you up.
Fauchelevent groans as he rises.
FAUCHELEVENT
Monsieur le Mayor, you come from
God!
You are a saint!
VALJEAN
No more cart driving for you!
22.
Javert stares. He can't rid himself of his suspicion.
JAVERT
Monsieur le Mayor.
He draws himself up and gives a bow. As he walks away, he
discusses something with his assistant.
25 EXT. HARBOUR, MONTREUIL - NIGHT 25
Fantine makes her way to the harbour wall. Beggars shelter in
the tunnels under the red brick buildings.
26 EXT. RED LIGHT DISTRICT, MONTREUIL - NIGHT 26
Fantine makes her way down wet slimy steps. This leads to an
alleyway that runs down to the harbour and three ships lying
on the mud at low tide. At the far end, the largest is the
rotting hulk of a vast old warship. A single whore sits in a
doorway.
FANTINE
Excuse me, is this where the
Pawnbrokers is?
WHORE 1
(pointing)
It's just there.
FANTINE
Thank you.
Drunken sailors spill out into the alleyway below. The
first sailor is trying to find the whorehouse.
SAILOR 1
I smell women!
Smell'em in the air!
Think I'll drop my anchor
In that harbour over there!
They spot Fantine, mistaking her for a whore. Fantine presses
on down the steps, trying to ignore the sailors.
SAILOR 2
Lovely ladies!
Love `em till your broke!
Seven months at sea can make you
Hungry for a poke!
The sailors then see whores start to appear from the shadows
of warehouse doorways.
SAILOR 3
Even stokers need a little stoke!
23.
A man with no legs, reacting to the sailors, cranks up an
organ-grinder and from doorways and overhead windows
harbour whores appear and tout for business.
A man selling dentures stands by his cart and we hear
fragments of his sales pitch.
WHORES TOOTH MAN
Lovely ladies Lovely dentures
Waiting for a bite! Guaranteed to bite
Waiting for the customers They clean up real easy
Who only come at night. You can take them out at
Lovely ladies night
Ready for the call, Sell your teeth here make a
Standing up or lying down pretty sum
Or any way at all - Best Tooth Man in the harbour
Bargain prices up against the Guaranteed no painful gums
wall! Bargain prices up against the
wall!
During the above chorus, Fantine sells a locket containing a
cutting of Cosette's hair to the pawnbroker.
PAWNBROKER
Hello sweetheart, I'll give you
four francs.
FANTINE
It's worth at least ten.
The pawnbroker goes back in his shop and Fantine watches the
whores.
FANTINE
Alright, five.
The pawnbroker takes the locket in exchange for the money.
An old woman leers at Fantine from the shadows, beckoning.
She approaches Fantine, reaching out to stroke her hair.
HAIR CRONE
What pretty hair!
What pretty locks you've got
there!
What luck you got.
It's worth a centime, my dear!
I'll take the lot!
FANTINE
Don't touch me! Leave me alone!
HAIR CRONE
Let's make a price.
I'll give you all of ten francs.
Just think of that!
24.
FANTINE
It pays a debt...
HAIR CRONE
Just think of that.
FANTINE
What can I do? It pays a debt.
Ten francs may save my poor
Cosette.
The hair crone leads Fantine down to her shop at the base of
the stairs.
Fantine is sat on a low stool. She bows her head before the
hair crone, who at once whips out a razor blade and cuts
off her hair at the roots.
26A EXT. RED LIGHT DISTRICT MONTREUIL - END OF DAY 26A
Fantine walks down the steps with short hair, mocked by the
voices of the whores on either side.
A PIMP and the HEAD WHORE watch her progress as the organ-
grinder grinds out the music.
Whores sing from the warehouse doorways, from on top of the
spars of the ships, writhing around figureheads and from the
rotting ship.
The few men in the street choose their whores and disappear
by the end of the chorus.
WHORES TOOTH MAN
Lovely ladies Lovely dentures guaranteed to
Waiting in the dark. bite
Ready for a thick one They clean up real easy
Or a quick one in the park. You can take them out at
night
HEAD WHORE Lovely teeth dear shining
Long time, short time like the stars
Anytime my dear! I'll whip em out quite
Cost a little extra quickly
If you want to take all year And I won't leave any scars.
WHORES
Quick and cheap is underneath
the pier
Fantine reaches the hair crone.
FANTINE
Please, you wouldn't have any work
for me would you? Please, I sold
you my hair. I could do anything.
The hair crone points at the head whore and the tooth man.
25.
HAIR CRONE
Go and see them.
Fantine looks towards the tooth man and the head whore.
TOOTH MAN HEAD WHORE
Come over here, Come here my dear.
I'll pay well for your youth.
I pay ten francs for a tooth.
Fantine heads to the tooth man.
TOOTH MAN
You have, my dear,
The clear advantage of youth.
HEAD WHORE
(whispers)
Just the back ones.
TOOTH MAN
The pain won't last,
You'll still be able to bite.
She grabs Fantine's cheeks and forces open her mouth to
inspect her teeth.
TOOTH MAN
I do it fast,
I know my business all right.
It's worth a go.
The pimp pushes her down.
FANTINE
You'll pay me first
What I am due.
TOOTH MAN
You'll get twice
If I take two!
She opens her mouth, and the pincers go in, as everyone
gathers round to watch. Fantine screams as the first tooth
is removed.
26B EXT. RED LIGHT DISTRICT MONTREUIL - NIGHT 26B
The pimp is passing among the whores, checking that they're
all fit for business.
WHORES
God, we're weary,
Sick enough to drop!
LOVELY LADY 1
Belly burns like fire,
Will the bleeding ever stop!
26.
PIMP
Cheer up, deary!
Show a happy face!
Plenty more like you here
If you can't keep up the pace.
LOVELY LADY 1
Only joking!
Deary knows her place!
The pimp gestures at Fantine, now slumped in a doorway, her
cropped head in her hands.
A shy captain watches Fantine. The pimp notices.
PIMP
Gimme the dirt -
Who's that bit over there?
WHORE 1
A bit of skirt,
She's the one sold her hair.
HEAD WHORE
She's got a kid,
Sends her all that she can.
PIMP
I might've known
There is always some man.
He moves in on Fantine.
PIMP
Lovely lady, come along and join
us!
Lovely lady!
Fantine looks up, a trickle of blood in one corner of her
mouth. The whores cluster round her, hands reaching out to
draw her in to their world. On the rotting warship, more
whores appear out of the gaps of the hull to sing the
chorus.
WHORE 1
Come on, dearie, why all the
fuss?
WHORES
... why all the fuss.
WHORE 2
You're no grander than the rest
of us.
WHORES
... than the rest of us.
27.
WHORE 3
Life has dropped you at the
bottom of the heap.
WHORES
...at the bottom of the heap.
Whore 3 bites her fingertip and applies her blood to rouge
Fantine's cheeks.
HEAD WHORE
Join your sisters -
WHORE 1
Make money in your sleep!
WHORES
... make money in your sleep.
WHORE 2
That's right, dearie,
Show him what you've got!
WHORES
... show him what you've got.
WHORE 3
That's right, dearie,
Let him have the lot!
WHORES
...let him have the lot.
The whores perform for the benefit of Fantine on the orders
of the head whore, as the head whore leads her towards the
hulk.
WHORES
Old men, young men, take'em as
they come!
Harbour rats and alley cats
And every kind of scum!
Poor men, rich men, leaders of
the land -
See them with their trousers off,
They're never quite as grand!
All it takes is money in your
hand!
The pimp leads the captain down the middle of the whores to
Fantine who wears a filthy white dress. The pimp joins the
captain and Fantine's hands as the head whore officiates -
like a twisted wedding ceremony.
WHORES
Lovely ladies
Going for a song,
(more)
28.
WHORES (cont'd)
Got a lot of callers
But they never stay for long...
Fantine puts on a show of courage as she leads the captain
into the ship's hulk, which is a brothel.
FANTINE
Come on, Captain, you can wear your
shoes.
Don't it make a change to have a
girl who can't refuse?
27 INT. ROTTING SHIP'S HULK, MONTREUIL - NIGHT 27
Fantine, pale and frail, her bodice loosened, leads the
captain down to the damp dregs of the ship.
We see the rotting straw mattress within as they enter,
then Fantine lays down.
FANTINE
Easy money lying on a bed.
Just as well they never see
The hate that's in your head!
Don't they know they're making love
To one already dead?
28 INT. ROTTING SHIP'S HULK, MONTREUIL - NIGHT 28
CLOSE ON a man's hand leaving money. We hear him exit. MOVE
TO FIND Fantine lying alone on the mattress.
She pulls herself into a sitting position against the head
of the mattress. She draws her legs up and wraps her arms
round her knees, huddling
Last Update:August, 06th 2024