THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (2024) REVIEW

3/5

🎖️ Synopsis 🎖️

Edmund is unlawfully arrested on his wedding day. Locked away, he plans on his escape and being reunited with his fiancé Mercedes. Upon his escape fourteen agonising years later , he finds himself in an unfamiliar world.

After discovering a hoard of new riches, he uncovers unsettling secrets around his imprisonment. In the midst of these revelations, he creates the dark alter-ego “the count of Monte Cristo”. A manipulative aristocrat looking to unleash hell on his unsuspecting enemies.

🎖️Film Review🎖️

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

A period film which details the life of a carefree sailor and the betrayals that lead to his transformation. The costumes are detailed and exquisite as well as the props and backgrounds. I really liked the black attire worn by Edmund when he transforms into the count of Monte Cristo.

The storyline begins straightforward but starts to get choppy and difficult after Edmund escapes. I found the arc of the Danglers, Benedetto and Haydee difficult to understand. Other than Benedetto’s father was the prosecutor and he had tried burying him as a child.

Haydee and Benedetto essentially act as Monte Cristo’s minions to carry out his master plan. However, Benedetto kills his father and Monte Cristo’s master plan gets derailed. As a result, we never understand why Haydee was trying to seduce Albert or what the Count had planned.

Would have been better if Haydee was in love with the count. Still desperate for revenge, the count coerces her to seduce Fernand. Promising her courtship if she succeeds. Unbeknownst to Haydee, The count alerts  Mercedes of their supposed affair, providing convincingly planned evidence. Distraught, Mercedes leaves Fernand for the count. At the end, he reveals his true identity to Fernand and Mercedes, thus achieving his revenge.

However, Mercedes lashes out at him for his hypocrisy. The count discoverers  that he no longer loves her as they’ve both  become different people. In retaliation, Fernand conspires with the prosecutor to imprison Haydee. The count realises he’s mistake in trying to relive the past. As a result, he goes on a quest to free Haydee and seek her forgiveness.

The counts fight scene with Fernando was thrilling to watch. However, I found it very bizarre that the count decided to get on his knees and surrender half-way during the battle. Only to then continue to sword fight haphazardly.

It was nice to see the count allow Albert and Haydee to continue their romance. Changing his view on love and letting go of his feelings of betrayal by Mercedes. The reaction of Albert realising Haydee’s true identity was gripping. However, we aren’t able to see any explanation or reconciliation between the two other than an extended make out scene.

I found the Count and Mercedes scenes to be an awkward situationship. The two confess feeling of mutual love but at the same they’ve both grown into two different people. The count appears broken-hearted and a little petulant whilst Mercedes is ardent that she wasn’t able to spend over a decade waiting for him. It would have been better if the Count had married somebody else.

Something else I noticed was that the count appears relatively young compared to Fernand and Mercedes. I liked how he is reasonably naive prior to his imprisonment. Not seeing Fernand’s or the former captain’s Jealousy. However, as “the Count of Monte Cristo” he becomes much more cunning and manipulative.

However, after confronted by Haydee, he realises he’s been venegeful and a poor mentor. It would have been good if we had gotten a monologue from Monte Cristo where he opts to follow the middle road   instead of being too trusting or vengeful.

🎖️Conclusion🎖️

The count of Monte Cristo felt like it would be more suited as a Netflix series than a feature length film. Especially as the backdrop, scenes and characters reminded me of Bridgerton. Even though the film has a run-time of nearly three hours, there are aspects which needed more screen time. You definitely get the feeling that the film glosses over certain scenes that were detailed in the books.

There are a lot of characters introduced with little backstory or development. Haydee and Albert’s relationship gets drowned out in silent montages and overshadowed by the Counts master plan.

Although, the audience sympathises with the count’s plan for justice initially. We lose interest when he forces other characters into his twisted vengence. As a result, he quickly transitions from French Zorro to a sorrowful anti-hero.

However, we do get some great action sequences including the count saving Albert, his shootout with him and his duel with Fernand. The director doesn’t try and force any social agenda or narrative in the film. At the same time, there is a refreshing sense of realism in the plot-line, decisions and personalities explored. Especially In the Count’s lost love for Mercedes and his ending as a sailing bachelor.

The film opts to adhere to realism as opposed to cooking up a “fairytale” conclusion for hopeless romantics. The director intelligently excludes suggestive  scenes and nudity, that could have easily cheapened the films premise.

A far cry from the sappy romantic blockbusters churned out by Hollywood. This ultimately creates a much more endearing film of love and loss.

🎖️Rating🎖️

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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