Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo" is one of my favorite novels, and we haven't had a major screen adaptation in at least twenty years. This is because the plot is notoriously long and complex, with the unedited versions of the novel often exceeding 1200 pages. In 2024, however, two new adaptations were released. One is the French "The Count of Monte Cristo" film, written and directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, and starring Pierre Niney. The other is an English language miniseries starring Sam Claflin and directed by Bille August. It's a French and Italian co-production with a very international cast and crew. I can't say which adaptation is better, but it's still fun to compare and contrast.
Both of the 2024 versions of "The Count of Monte Cristo" are fairly similar through the early parts of the story. Thanks to the actions of three terrible men, young sailor Edmond Dantès is wrongly accused of espionage, separated from his beloved fiancée Mercédès, and sent to the Château d'If prison for fifteen years. He escapes with the help of the wise Abbé Faria, a fellow prisoner who teaches Dantès everything he knows. After securing a secret treasure hoard, Dantès reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo and goes to Paris to seek his revenge against his enemies. And it's with the manner of this revenge that the adaptations diverge considerably.
The film version is designed to be an action-adventure blockbuster, with lots of action scenes, dynamic camerawork, and invented spectacle. A new character, Angèle (Adèle Simphal) is added to help streamline the plot, and the Count also teams up with a younger pair of collaborators seeking revenge - the rescued slave Haydée (Anamaria Vartolomei) and the secret son of one of the Count's enemies, Andrea (Julien de Saint Jean). Every character has been simplified to the basics, their motives and personalities often replaced completely. And for the purposes of an action-adventure film, it all works fine. There are duels, fights, chases, betrayals, unexpected deaths, and Niney gets to ham it up in disguise as a terrible Brit named Lord Halifax. The film is three hours long, but moves so fast that the running time flies by. The performances are strong, and Pierre Niney is a fun Edmond Dantès. I also prefer this version of Mercédès (Anaïs Demoustier), who is much more self-assured than most versions I've seen.
Turning to the miniseries, if you want something that's closer to the Dumas novel, even with the international cast, you might like this version. It doesn't adapt every subplot, because the series would have to be about twice the length for that, but all the major characters and relationships are well-represented at least. Claflin is joined by Jeremy Irons as Abbé Faria and Ana Girardot as Mercédès - practically the only French actor in the cast. With Italy's RAI as a co-producer, The Count's earlier adventures with the smuggler Jacopo (Michele Riondino) and the bandit Luigi Vampa (Lino Guanciale) get their share of airtime. The revenge unfolds at a much more reasonable pace, and there's more time with secondary protagonists Albert De Morcerf (Nicolas Maupas) and Valentine de Villiers (Amaryllis August), the children of the Count's enemies. Sam Claflin as Dantès is fine, but not as dangerous as I'd like. There's not nearly as much action as in the film, but the Count's machinations have more time to really make an impact. My biggest issue is with the abrupt ending, which cuts short a few of the final reveals and resolutions.
However, no adaptation of "The Count of Monte Cristo" is going to be perfect. The original source material simply doesn't fit the usual constraints of a modern feature film or television serial. And there's still plenty of debate over which version of the book should be considered the definitive one. In the end, I liked both of the 2024 adaptations on their own terms, as they serve different audiences and have very different goals. Both have high production values and plenty of talented people involved. I'm still looking for a version that I like as much as the novel, however, and I'm afraid I haven't found it yet.
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