The Count of Monte Cristo (2024)

In many ways, this rendition of The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) is a great story told with care.

The sets all feel highly authentic and draw the viewer in, creating a distinct and period appropriate atmosphere. The Château d'If stood out as having a strong visual identity, with the circular cells evoking eternal confinement. The reveal of the treasure of Monte Cristo utilizes a number of things well: cinematography as the torch falls, lighting as the treasure is illuminated, and music cueing all of Edmond's doubts being shattered. The audience feels as though they have found the treasure themselves.

Having done their chemistry homework, Pierre Niney, as Edmond Dantès, and Anamaria Vartolomei, as Haydée, have an unmistakable dynamic seen in their candid discussions, always revealing a great deal about the characters’ current psychology.

This film also has the distinction of being French, both in language and production, which is only fitting given the original text and setting.

The change of Villefort's father to Villefort's sister, Angèle, generally detracts from the story; the sister reads more as a carefully written invention that clashes with the world presented. In contrast, Villefort's father in the source material is a very convincing Bonapartist, generationally and otherwise. The sister is curiously lionized as a hero without purpose. Meanwhile, the father in the source is more of a wild liability; this lends credibility to Villefort's plight. The film wants us to believe Angèle is both of these things, but convinces us of neither. The entire subplot needlessly simplifies some things and complicates others, failing to improve the story.

Aside from character alterations, entire new scenes and narratives have been introduced, such as the new sequence of events leading to Edmond’s conviction of treason. These are attempts to improve on something which is already great; that is not necessary and did not result in a superior film.

Telling its own story, but doing it well, The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) stands as a fascinating, if flawed, adaptation.