A Tale of Betrayal, Injustice, and Revenge

This Kevin Reynolds' 2002 adaptation of the Alexander Dumas novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a moving and highly enjoyable re-telling of the tale. The acting, cinematography, and direction are excellent, and the storyline keeps moving along at a well-set pace, never dragging and never dull.

The basic story involves the betrayal of Edmund Dantes (Jim Caviezel) by his best friend Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce), Dunglars (Albie Woodington) who was a crew member of the ship Edmund had recently been given command of, and the local magistrate Villefort (Freddie Jones). Edmund is unjustly accused of high treason (in unknowningly offering help to the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte) and sent to spend his life in the horrible Chateau D'If where he is annually flogged, and spends day after day in wretched conditions. While imprisoned, Edmund comes to befriend an elderly inmate, Abbe Faria, known only to him as "Priest". In exchange for his assistance in helping him tunnel his way out of the prison, Priest agrees to teach the illiterate and unschooled Edmund in ways of fencing, and other areas of education including philosophy and economics.

Eventually, Edmund escapes from his prison in a cleverly thought out manner and becomes a free man. Before his escape, and with Priest on his deathbed, Edmund is revealed the location of a lost hidden treasure, the reason for Priest's imprisonment in the first place. After his escape, Edmund comes upon a band of smugglers, befriends them and saves the life of another who becomes his servant. Upon recovering the treasure, Edmund plots out his revenge....upon Mondego, Villefort, Dunglars, and upon his own former fiance Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk) whom he believes wasted no time at all in marrying his former friend. Edmund becomes the highly wealthy and mysterious Count of Monte Cristo in order to become close to his enemies and find the time to strike his revenge.

The Good:

- Jim Caviezel's & Richard Harris' performances. Caviezel puts great depth of emotion into the wrongly imprisoned Edmund, a man who truly cared for his friend and his love, Mercedes, and now plots his revenge against them both. I never found a moment where I doubted his character. Also, Harris is always a fascinating man to watch on screen. He always puts a, what I call, 'sympathetic likability' into the characters he plays, both from his role in "Gladiator" and here in this film as well. He was amusing and truly cared about Edmund almost like a father.

- The revenge. I liked the fact that his revenge was more to inflict the same, if not more, suffering upon those who wronged Edmund, than in simply killing them (save one) for what they did. It was a good idea to do it that way (whether it was like that in the novel or just a script change). A DVD deleted scene shows how one revenge-exacting moment could have been handled, but I think the final version seemed better.

- The cinematography. Kevin Reynolds used many gorgeous backdrops for the scenes set in this film, mainly filming in Ireland, but also upon the island of Malta. The cliff views from Chateau D'If at the end of the film showed off the land and the ocean beautifully. Also, I particularly enjoyed the lighting effect upon the water as Edmund dived under to locate the treasure chests. The way the light reflected inside the cave was beautiful.

- The direction. Kevin Reynolds kept the film flowing at a good pace. Every scene was put together to compliment the next, both during the first act which set up Edmund's imprisonment and escape, and the second act in which Edmund exacted his revenge. Each scene fulfilled its specific purpose, not seemingly added on a whim. The DVD includes several deleted scenes and an introduction to them by Reynolds explaining their deletion from the film, and for good reason, although some of the scenes, I felt, should have been kept in the final version.

Since I didn't think there was anything particularly bad about the film, I'll just list here:

The Not Quite so Good:

- Performances of Guy Pearce and Dagmara Dominczyk. As Mondego, I could reasonably accept his motivation for betraying his friend (jealousy and lust for Mercedes). But in his performance, Pearce really seemed to go a little too over-the-top as the bad guy. His character was a little too snooty and arrogant for me. I felt he could have toned it down a bit and not lose anything in the role. As Mercedes, Dominczyk was pretty bland. I didn't find her all that attractive (though she is, somewhat), and really couldn't find myself being too sympathetic with her, though that may be a fault both with the script and performance itself.

- Jacopo, Edmund's friend and servant. Luis Guzman's character was a bit too anachronistic for the period of time this film took place in, for me. The actor seems to have some Brooklyn in him and it comes through both in his accent and in some of his lines. Particularly when speaking to Edmund about the people he wishes to get revenge upon, he comes across as a punk gang member willing to help his homey take out his enemies. I may be a little picky here, but it was slightly distracting.

All in all:

I really enjoy period piece films such as this one and the 1997 "Man in the Iron Mask". I enjoy them mainly because I'm drawn into the time period and into the story itself, and with this film, it's definitely no different. I never lost my interest in the story or the performances. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a welcome addition to my DVD collection and would be a good one to add to anyone's. I definitely recommend this film.