'The Count of Monte-Cristo', the best adaptation of Alexandre Dumas?

The Count of Monte-Cristo (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo - Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière - 2024) is the eponymous adaptation of one of the greatest books of all time by the French novelist Alexandre Dumas, who is also recognized for another widely recognized work, The Three Musketeers.

The plot is well-known and one of the greatest revenge stories in fiction: the young Edmond Dantès is about to be promoted to captain, which will allow him to marry the love of his life, a gorgeous high-society woman named Mercedes Herrera. His sudden success, however, makes his adversaries and even friends envious. He is imprisoned without trial in the Château d'If prison after being betrayed by them and accused of participating in a scheme to support the exiled Napoleon.

There he meets Abbé Faria, who becomes his mentor and educates him in all areas of knowledge. Finally, he informs him of a mythical treasure hidden on the island of Montecristo. Years later, Dantès escapes the prison, finds the treasure, and devises an amazing plan to exact the most heinous revenge on his powerful foes.

An mighty tale full of drama and passion, beautifully narrated, and with outstanding characters. The film, as usual, attempts to explain all that while omitting numerous sections and subplots. It is impossible to create a perfect adaptation because each reader has a different mental image of the novel, the characters, the setting... this happens every time, especially in a work of such density and complexity with over 1,000 pages, but Delaporte and La Patellière do quite well with such an exercise. It was a massive challenge to adapt and direct this high-budget film, which cost over 43 million dollars.

Thus, we may be looking at the best movie or series based on a Dumas novel, possibly sharing the top spot with George Sidney's The Three Musketeers (1948), starring the magnificent Gene Kelly, who transforms his usual mastery of dance, the best in history, into sword choreography, and the wonderful Lana Turner.

Returning to the French film, Pierre Niney clearly emerges as the film's main protagonist. Well characterized, he offers a performance that is dark enough to remind us of the intricacy of the novel's character. The young Anamaria Vartolomei also stands out as Haydée, an actress who charmed audiences at the age of 21 in the intriguing L'événement (Happening - Audrey Diwan - 2021).

The filmmakers' work behind the camera is solid, with a clean and elegant staging, yet there are some excesses in aerial shots and extraneous perspectives that don't exactly suit with the story. A stunning cinematography with subtle tonal nuances is added, which complements the plot's tragic moments.

Despite the 178 minutes of footage, there aren't rhythmic issues, which is to be appreciated. Many movies that last more than two hours these days get tiring, yet this one can entertain while remaining lighthearted for nearly three hours. The music, in my opinion, is the worst aspect of the film, with an excessive and repetitive soundtrack that becomes exhausting and is occasionally employed in an invasive manner over the narration.

In conclusion, The Count of Monte-Cristo is a more than entertaining high-budget period adventure film (for a European production) and a more than adequate adaptation of one of the peaks of universal literature. French cinema continues to shine; excellent job.