The Count of Monte-Cristo (2024)
Directed by: Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte
Premise: An adaptation of the novel by Alexandre Dumas. In post-Napoleon France, a sailor (Pierre Niney) is framed for treason and imprisoned. Years later he returns with a new identity and a plot to take revenge.
What Works: The 2024 version The Count of Monte-Cristo is handsomely produced. The sets and costumes are very well designed. It’s a period piece but the world of The Count of Monte-Cristo looks organic and lived in. The story takes place over decades and the production designers account for the passage of time with subtle details. This film is beautifully shot. The locations have a picturesque quality but there is also an appropriate drabness to some of the sequences that suits the tone. The picture is paced well. The Count of Monte-Cristo runs nearly three hours but the length is justified by the material. The story is sprawling with the search for revenge lasting several decades and the filmmakers take their time when necessary to lay out the characters and relationships. But it’s never boring and The Count of Monte-Cristo keeps up its momentum. Unlike some other versions of The Count of Monte-Cristo, the 2024 film is not an adventure story. This is more of a study in character with an emphasis on the moral cost of revenge. Understood that way, the film succeeds with the title character weighing the price of his vengeance and its impact on the people he loves.
What Doesn’t: This version of The Count of Monte-Cristo is often emotionally muted. This is the story of a character consumed by his quest for vengeance but the film lacks the appropriate emotional impact. This is partly due to the casting of Pierre Niney in the title role. Niney is a competent actor but he does not project the Count’s menace and inner turmoil. The supporting characters are generally flat and lack personality. Haydée and Andréa (Anamaria Vartolomei and Julien De Saint Jean) are the Count’s partners in revenge but they don’t have much of an identity of their own and the nature of their relationship with the Count is uncertain. The film really under-characterizes Haydée whose family has a backstory with one of the villains. She’s not introduced well and the character doesn’t have much to do. The climactic sword fight is also underwhelming. The story doesn’t feel like it is coming to a climax. The fight is included because it’s a famous part of this story but the scene doesn’t really resolve anything.
Bottom Line: 2024’s The Count of Monte-Cristo is beautifully produced and has a lot to recommend it. But as a drama, this version is too emotionally staid. It’s not boring but it isn’t that emotionally involving especially for a three-hour story of revenge.
Episode: #1032 (January 19, 2025)