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© 2002 Films on Disc  Stuart J. Kobak ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
       

1/31/02
By Alexander Kobak

     There's nothing like a rousing story of betrayal and vengeance to sate our simmering bloodlust, and Alexandre Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo answers the call with quintessential brio. But does the film directed by Kevin Reynolds live up to it's namesake? Well, no, but The Count of Monte Cristo is still an entertaining piece of Hollywood fluff.
     The Count of Monte Cristo is a swashbuckling adventure set in early 1800s France. At heart, it is the story of two best friends, Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce), spoiled son of a Count, and Edmund Dantes (James Caviezel), son of a simple shopkeeper. Their personalities are as different as their backgrounds: Mondego, worldly and playful, constantly seeking amusement and yet rarely amused, Dantes simple and honest, completely without guile. Mondego, bitterly jealous of Dantes' happiness, sets out to steal Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk), Dantes' beautiful fiancée. He plants a blade in Dantes back with the help of corrupt magistrate Villefort (James Frain) by having him falsely branded a traitor and sent to one of the most remote and disreputable prisons in France. The years in prison burn away Dantes' innocence and joy of life replacing them with a cold hatred and desire for vengeance. He discovers a mentor, Faria (Richard Harris) in his lengthy stay, and Faria molds Dantes into a fighter and scholar and helps him to escape. Faria also leaves Dantes with one last parting gift, the location of the treasure of Monte Cristo. Finding the treasure makes Dantes one of the wealthiest men in the world, setting him up to coldly exact his vengeance upon Mondego.

     The action really carries the film, particularly the many sword fights. Excellent fight choreography overcomes some stylized action sequences.  Thankfully Reynolds keeps the fight choreography mostly straight forward.  Similarly, the costumes, set design, and locations are magnificent in their own right. The film looks good as well, with the color tones and film texture making the period come alive, although there are points where it loses it's balance somewhat and falls into a Disney Pirates of the Caribbean look and feel, but these moments are few and far between.
     Most of the performances tend toward the melodramatic but it seems comfortable with the period and subject matter. James Caviezel is particularly good. He is equally believable as the childish and innocent Dantes, and as the jaded and haunted vehicle of vengeance, The Count of Monte Cristo. Caviezel simply changes his physical bearing to a dramatic degree, and although he is helped by the addition of a goatee as the Count, it is still largely the way he carries himself, and the look in his eyes that carries the transformation.
     Unfortunately, as brightly as Caviezel's performance shines, the one that truly stands out is Luis Guzman as his buffoonish sidekick. While it appears we are stuck with requiring comic relief in our action and adventure films, I don't think it's too much to ask that those characters at least fit in the world the story is set in. The only thing that could have made Guzman any less incongruous would be if they had him in jeans and a tank top, listening to a Walkman. Not only is his dialect pure New York, but so is his dialogue. Almost every word he says drags you out of the carefully constructed world of 1800's France. And, to top it off, most of the time he's not even funny.
     The Count of Monte Cristo is still fun despite the anachronistic Guzman casting and certain plot twists at the end that severely test the strength of the audience's suspension of disbelief. One of the more interesting points of the film is how the pacing seems to follow the mentality of Dantes. When he is bewildered and overwhelmed, the film moves at an overwhelming pace, and when he is determined and methodical, so to is the film, and in this way we find ourselves emotionally attached to Dantes.  Although the deeper issues explored in the novel are glossed over, The Count of Monte Cristo delivers ample satisfaction to all those revenge fantasies you've had about your evil boss, unfair teacher, unfaithful companion...well you get the message.  

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