Count of Monte-Cristo, The

Stars: Pierre Niney, Anais Demoustier, Bastien Bouillon, Laurent Lafitte, Anamaria Vartolomei, Patrick Mille, Vassili Schneider, Julien de Saint Jean, Julie De Bona, Adele Simphal

Director: Alexandre de la Patelliere, Matthieu Delaporte

Stylishly done, if vastly long, Dumas' tale of injustice, torment and revenge is here reclaimed by the French after several Hollywood tries.

The story is much as before, with a few tweaks, mostly at the end. Edmond Dantes (Niney, to me the only familiar face in the cast), a sailor, saves Angele (Simphal) from drowning in 1815, against captain's orders, said skipper (Mille) bring sacked and Edmond given his command.

About to marry his childhood sweetheart Mercedes (Demoustier), Edmond is hauled off by the law, framed by the vengeful ex-captain, betrayed by his cousin Fernand (Bouillon), who wanted Mercedes for himself, and condemned by a greedy prosecutor (Lafitte) to a living death in the notorious Chateau d'If island prison, from which no one had ever escaped.

After 15 years of pure hell, Edmond escapes by getting into the sack intended for a dead friend, who has told him where to locate the immense fortune of the Knights Templar on the island of Monte Cristo. Returning to Paris a rich man, Edmond takes in tow the son, Andrea (Saint Jean) of the prosecutor, dumped and buried as a baby but rescued by a downfallen Angele, and Haydee (Vartolomei), daughter of another man Fernand had betrayed.

Together, they plot the downfall of the guilty trio, still conveniently in cahoots, and living on their ill-gotten gains, with Mercedes as Fernand's wife.

It's amazing no one recognises the now 42-year-old Dantes when he returns to join their set, especially as Niney is a pretty distinctive actor (and more handsome when moustachioed), save Mercedes, although even she isn't quite sure.

With plenty of plot and bursts of action, the film moves along at a reasonable clip and a fair helping of humour, although scenes between Andrea and Haydee and their respective lovers could have been pared down a tad, and even the traditional final duel, although well executed, does go on a bit. Niney, though, is outstanding.

A deer-hunting episode may upset the more sensitive viewer.

David Quinlan

France 2024. UK Distributor: Entertainment. Colour (unspecified).
173 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 28 Aug 2024