This small page is dedicated to the four-part French mini series, Le
Rouge et Le Noir (The Red and The Black), based on the novel by
Stendhal. It tells the tale of the rise and fall of young Julien
Sorel. The two colors of the title represent the things Julien
idealizes (the red stands for the military) and despises (the black
for the clergy).
| For me the main attraction
of the series was the love story between Julien Sorel (played by
Kim
Rossi Stuart) and Louise de Rênal (played by
Carole
Bouquet). | |
 |
Julien was a carpenter's son who became a tutor for the young
Stanislas, the son of Madam and Monsieur de Rênal. It didn't take long,
however, for the handsome young tutor and the virtuous lady of the
house to fall in love. They did their best to hide the affair but
obviously didn't quite manage it, and thus a juicy scandal was ready.
Cunningly Madam de Rênal managed to convince her husband that the whole
thing was made up by his enemies who were trying to get to him through
her. So, in an effort to kill the scandal Monsieur de Rênal agreed to
send Julien away and to pay for his education in a seminary. Despite
the difficulties during their separation the lovers' feelings toward
each other remained constant. Sadly, that seemed to change when Julien
got a position as Marquis de la Mole's secretary.
 | |
The Marquis (played by
Claude Rich) had a young daughter, Mathilde (played by
Judith
Godrèche), with whom Julien became involved. When Mathilde became
pregnant she and Julien intended to marry despite the objections of
her family. |
Finally the Marquis seemed to give in, and Julien was whisked off to
join the military while the wedding was being arranged. In reality,
however, the Marquis was working on getting ammunition against Julien,
and he found it in Madam de Rênal. She wrote a horrible letter
describing Julien as a Don Juan-esque opportunist whose main goal in
life was to climb the social ladder by seducing innocent, unsuspecting
women.
When Mathilde showed the letter to Julien he was enraged, and wasted
no time in getting back to Verrières. There he found Madam de Rênal
attending a mass and he shot at her, twice.
Julien was arrested, and it wasn't until he learned that Louise was
still alive that admitted to himself why he had tried to
kill her. It hadn't been for revenge or for his love for Mathilde - it
had been for his love for Louise who, as he now realized, had always
been his one true love. Her letter, and the thought that in it she had
told what she really felt for him, had driven him over the edge and so
he had tried to kill her.
Despite both Mathilde and Lpuise's best efforts Julien was
sentenced to death. While he waited for his execution Louise
bribed the guards so she'd be able to visit him. They cleared
everything that had happened and so the two lovers were reunited. But,
Julien was determined not to appeal for his sentence because he felt
that he did deserve to die for what he had tried to do. Louise,
however, managed to change his mind, after he had made her promise
that no matter what happened she would not do anything to harm herself
in anyway.
Julien's plea for mercy was denied, and two months after his trial he
was executed. Louise kept her promise to Julien, but three
days after his execution, she died as well.
I found the series thoroughly enjoyable and I confess that I liked it
better than the novel mainly because the series treats the characters
far gentler than the novel, in which they are mercilessly ridiculed.
I thought Ms. Bouquet did a beautiful job as Madam de Rênal. Her
portrayal of the innocent, gentle wife who finds passion and love for
the first time in her life was both very touching and very believable.
I really liked the character of Louise. She was very real and three
dimensional with her strengths and her shortcomings. At first glance
she may have seemed weak and easily led, but when it was all said and
done I think she was probably the strongest one of them all.
Despite the seeming vacillation of his feelings and affections I found
Julien to be a very likable character. (And I'm certain it's not just
because of his good looks :)) The youthful enthusiasm, the spouts of
melancholy and angst and the innocence which Mr. Rossi Stuart portrayed
so well made me forgive and forget the many flaws of our hero as easily
as Madam de Rênal did.
Even though I admit that I didn't particularly like the character of
Mathilde, Ms. Godrèche did a wonderful job in bringing her alive for
us. I thought she was very believable as the childish, spoiled and
headstrong daughter of the Marquis. Luckily, she also managed to show
the character's passionate and warm, more serious side, so I guess it's
no wonder that Julien found Mathilde so attractive.
Monsieur and Madam de Rênal
with Julien Sorel
|
Louise de Rênal
and Julien |
Julien Sorel |
Louise and Julien |
Mathilde de la Mole |
Carole Bouquet |
Kim Rossi Stuart |
This has been but a quick depiction of this wonderful series, and I am
fully aware that I haven't done it justice. Here, I have concentrated
on the love story, but for those of you who aren't as hopeless
romantics as I am, I assure you that there is much more to the series
than just romance.
If you've been lucky enough to see Le Rouge et Le Noir I hope you
enjoyed it as much as I did. And for those of you who haven't seen
the series yet.... Well, I'm sure you all know by now what I'd
recommend :)
Some links of interest:
To my home page
Mail your comments, suggestions etc. to:
Solace
This page was created June 12, 1998
This page was last updated August 24, 2002
