The Count of Monte Cristo (2024, dirs. Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière)
Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 178 mins
UK Distributor: Entertainment Film Distribitors
UK Release Date: 30 August 2024
WHO’S IN THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO?
Pierre Niney, Bastien Bouillon, Anaïs Demoustier, Anamaria Vartolomei, Laurent Lafitte, Pierfrancesco Favino, Patrick Mille, Vassili Schneider, Julien de Saint Jean, Marie Narbonne, Bernard Blancan, Amaya Ducellier
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière (directors, writers), Dimitri Rassam (producer), Jérôme Rebotier (composer), Nicolas Bolduc (cinematographer), Célia Lafitedupont (editor)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A wrongly imprisoned sailor (Niney) acquires a fortune that allows him to enact his revenge…
WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO?
Beyond its lavish production, intricate storytelling and charismatic performances, perhaps the most fascinating thing about this new take on the classic Alexandre Dumas tale of The Count of Monte Cristo is that it is, in its own way, a superhero movie. By that, I don’t mean that the film sees the titular count dressing up in spandex to fight crime and tease an upcoming team-up with The Three Musketeers (another Dumas property, recently adapted into a cinematic two-parter by this film’s writer-director duo Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière). Instead, this ambitious French-language version depicts its central figure as a powerful, agile and dashing mask-wearing nobleman with money to spare, revenge to claim and devilish foes to defeat. Seriously, one quick rewrite would make this a Batman movie.
It’s an interesting take on such a classic piece of literature, one that you could argue might have ironically inspired such heroes as Batman, but the film of course offers a whole lot more than just pseudo-superheroics, such as a riveting and often impressively crafted depiction of the timeless story.
Said story centres around Edmond Dantès (Pierre Niney), a modest sailor in post-Napoleon France who is rewarded a position as Captain after his heroics at sea, which gives him enough goodwill to finally wed the love of his life, Mercédès (Anaïs Demoustier). However, the petty jealousy of former Captain Danglars (Patrick Mille), corrupt prosecutor Villefort (Lafitte), and even his closest friend Fernand de Morcef (Bastien Bouillon) leads them to frame Edmond for treason, sending the innocent man to prison from where he eventually escapes and chances upon a hidden fortune. Some time later, Edmond re-emerges into French society as the wealthy and mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, who along with younger associates Andréa (Julien de Saint Jean) and Haydée (Anamaria Vartolomei) sets into motion a meticulously formed plan to get revenge on the men who destroyed his life, and his chance of happiness with Mercédès, who is now married to one of his targets.
Unlike the filmmakers’ two-part Three Musketeers adaptation, this version of The Count of Monte Cristo remains entirely singular, condensing pretty much everything from the original novel (albeit with some narrative alterations) into a single three-hour movie that often zooms by. The pacing is fast enough to where you almost need a moment or two to absorb each new bit of information, which can sometimes leave you a bit lost as to who certain characters are, what parts of the protagonist’s plot are being enacted, and why some people are even doing any of it. However, it is such a handsomely made film that it’s hard to feel completely uneasy during the slightly contrived storytelling, with some stunning cinematography complimenting the weighty performances of its cast, led by a charismatic Pierre Niney, as well as some impressive high-end production design wherein you can truly see the budget on the screen.
As directors and writers, Delaporte and de La Patellière adapt Dumas’ novel with a fresh energy that livens the intricate story more than most other screen versions. That being said, even with the extended runtime it’s odd how it still feels like the filmmakers regularly skip over certain important details, such as Edmond’s friendship with a fellow prisoner (Pierfrancesco Favino) who provides him with some essential life and etiquette lessons, which is regularly interrupted by lengthy time jumps to much later events in their partnership. Other instances, such as particular disguises and associations with other revenge-seeking individuals, sometimes inspire more questions about their practicality in this universe than provide solid answers, usually due to a limited focus on them. It’s almost like you’re watching a fan edit of a Count of Monte Cristo miniseries that somebody stitched together into a single feature film, and while the movie itself is a lot better than that description suggests, it nonetheless highlights its noticeable issues with trying to condense such a 1200-page book into a much more contained amount of screen time.
Going back to the theory of this Count of Monte Cristo being a covert superhero movie, it’s interesting how Delaporte and de La Patellière frame their adaptation not too dissimilarly to, say, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Like that film, it depicts the hero’s troubled origins, his ruthless training to become the vigil figure of the title, his acquiring of certain tools and allies to aid him on his quest, and even a cool moment where the hero announces his name to the audience. There are also some thoughtful explorations of how far the main hero is willing to go in order to fulfil his mission, and how he may slowly lose his humanity as his lust for vengeance consumes him, in between a few fun moments of swashbuckling action and nifty set design at what might as well be the hero’s equivalent of Wayne Manor. At this point, it’s surprising that the Count of Monte Cristo doesn’t just don a cape and stand on a tall building looking over the city he’s sworn to protect.
Superhero movie or not, The Count of Monte Cristo is an entertaining historical epic that you’ll be mostly glad to have spent a very long time with.
SO, TO SUM UP…
The Count of Monte Cristo is a handsomely crafted new adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas story that crams a lot into its fast-paced three-hour runtime, yet at times it still feels a bit too rushed for its own good.
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I always thought Batman was a very caricatured character. I expected the Count to be like Julius Caesar. That he would liquidate his adversaries like Caesar took revenge on the pirates who kidnapped them or destroy his opponents in the Roman Civil War or the war in Egypt. But without forgetting to have beautiful lovers like Caesar had, like Cleopatra.
That’s why I prefer to watch the 1988 Soviet adaptation.