Summary:
Edmond
Dantes (James
Caviezel) is betrayed by his best friend, framed for treason and sent to
one of
France’s most draconian prisons, where he
languishes in a bare, stone cell for thirteen years.
In the later years of his sentence, he meets a fellow prisoner, a
former priest named Faria, (Richard Harris) who teaches him to read,
write, wield a sword and, most importantly, to dig for his freedom.
Faria’s death precipitates Dantes’ escape, with a treasure map
from the old priest in his possession.
The treasure enables him to assume a secret identity; that of one
of the world’s richest men, The Count of Monte Cristo.
(What, you thought
Clark
Kent
came up with this idea first?) Wealth,
however, is not Dantes’ goal. From that moment forward, his life is dedicated to the pursuit of
revenge.
Steve
says:
There’s
a terrific movie out and no one is talking about it, with even fewer
people going to see it. Pity.
Perhaps it’s because the story is 156 years old.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is the seventeenth film incarnation of
the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas.
(For the very young or the uninitiated, that’s pronounced “doo-MAH,”
not “dumb-ass.”) If
you’ve never seen or read any version of this story, you should know
that it’s packed with elements that audiences still love to this day;
sex, betrayal, wrongful imprisonment, gunplay, swordfights and best of
all, revenge.
THE
COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is, in fact, the granddaddy of vengeance tales and
this latest screen incarnation does its progenitors proud.
Director Kevin Reynolds serves up a tasty feast for the
senses, with rich and dazzling visuals throughout and his pacing of Jay
Wolpert’s script is meticulous.
Given the length of the prison sequence, Reynolds ran the risk of
boring the pants off of us, with multiple scenes of our scraggly hero
living out his miserable existence in the infamous Chateau D’If.
But the writer, director and actors pull it off, adding their own
touches to the story along the way. Most
of them work, though I seriously doubt that premarital sex was as common
and accepted as portrayed here.
Kevin
Reynolds is best known to the public as the director who locked horns with
former friend Kevin Costner while attempting to direct him in ROBIN HOOD,
PRINCE OF THIEVES and WATERWORLD. Costner
had Reynolds thrown off WATERWORLD, presumably for the unforgivable crime
of trying to get him to act.
Jim
Caviezel proves his mettle as a leading man, having previously scored in
supporting roles in THE THIN RED LINE and PAY IT FORWARD.
His portrayal of a callow young innocent in the early scenes is as
effective as his evocation of a moneyed aristocrat in the latter third of
the story. In the agonizing
prison sequences, Caviezel’s Dantes grows naturally and believably from
victim to victor, all the while bearing a rather striking resemblance to
Unibomber Ted Kaczinski.
Richard
Harris shows some of the spark of his older performances, having most
recently walked through the role of Professor Dumbledore in HARRY POTTER
AND THE SORCERER’S STONE. His
Abbe Faria is passionate and real.
The
only sour acting note is sounded by the usually solid Guy Pearce (PRICILLA
QUEEN OF THE DESERT,
L.A.
CONFIDENTIAL).
His portrayal of the Judas-like best friend, Fernand Mondego, was
over the top in just about every scene in which he appeared.
You see, the thing about evil people is -- they don’t know
they’re evil.
Their values
are too twisted to be able to perceive themselves as bad guys.
Pearce’s Mondego not only seems to be aware of his own villainy,
but he wears it like a badge of pride.
I would have believed him a lot easier had he not been gnashing his
teeth and glowering throughout most of the movie. He’s capable of much better, which you will see for yourself if
you check out either of the aforementioned Pearce films or one of last
year’s best movies, MEMENTO.
The
unpronounceable Dagmara Dominczyk (ROCK STAR) is fine as Mercedes, the
light of Dantes’ life until she is stolen by the oh-so-evil Mondego.
(Did I mention what a bad dude he was?)
In
an uncharacteristic role, Luis Guzmán (BOOGIE
NIGHTS) lends solid support and a couple of laughs as Dantes’ loyal
manservant, Jacopo.
The
two sexual encounters in the film are tasteful, brief and non-explicit, so
I wouldn’t blanch at bringing the kids (ten or over) the see this
timeless classic, rendered lovingly and effectively for modern audiences.
Because
of the couple of shortcomings I mentioned, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
doesn’t quite rate
five
kernels. But I’ll get as
close as I can with four and a half.
*
* * *
Patty
says:
Maybe
the reason that nobody is talking about this film is that it doesn't
distinguish itself as more than average. There were several
opportunities to turn this film around, but it just didn't happen.
Slip the video into your VCR some rainy Sunday afternoon and watch it in
the comfort of your bunny slippers. Your bedroom is a good enough
venue for this movie.
So why am I so
under-impressed?
I'll get to that. First let me tell you what I liked about this
movie. Richard Harris looked like he was having a great time playing
Abbe Faria. Harris took command of his scenes and in spite of the
abysmal surroundings of
Chateau
D'If. Indeed, the
deplorable conditions of imprisonment for Dantes and the Abbe would have
seriously upstaged a
lesser
actor. Harris made it look like window
dressing as he foraged through the trite realities of life in the dungeon
(I wonder what a guy would smell like without having taken a shower for
eleven or so years?). They caught and roasted rats, they dug a huge
tunnel and he became Dantes' teacher. It was all great guy fun.
Of course, leather bound books kept showing up in Harris' cell. They
were able to dig a tunnel without being detected, without having any beams
for support and with no tools except for something that looked like a
giant chop stick. They dug, they dumped the dirt into their toilet
buckets (about a cup at a time) and the Abbe instructed Dantes. By
the time they had spent a couple of years together, Dantes was fluent in a
second language, economics, history, sword fighting, literature, and could
fly a hot air balloon. The Abbe was evidently an excellent teacher.
Jim Caviezel is convincing as
Edmond
Dantes. He has
all the makings of a good leading man. He's cute, but not so cute
that when he picks up a sword he won't use it. He had some chemistry
with Mercedes, but the PG-13 rating made the sex scenes sort of lackluster
by contemporary standards. You don't have to draw me a picture, but
I didn't see enough passion between them to convince me that
Edmond
would expect to find
her waiting after his lengthy imprisonment. I mean, a gal has to get
on with her life.
Steve, I agree with you about Guy Pearce, but for different reasons.
I don't believe that the character got set up to be likable before he was
revealed as the bad guy. I mean, what is it that Dantes liked about
this guy? He was shallow, superficial, alcoholic, womanizing (Dantes'
woman was his primary target, no less), disloyal and jealous. In
short, the guy had no redeeming qualities that would make Dantes turn to
him in a time of crisis, let alone hang out with him voluntarily.
Guy Pearce played the role
well, the script just didn't flesh the
character out.
I LOVED Luis Guzman in THE COUNT. His character was allowed some
latitude in dialogue and portrayal that created a contemporary portal.
It was one of the few consistently interesting characters in the movie.
There were scenes in the film that seemed to me to be afterthoughts aimed
at seducing Oscar nominations. The party scene which did nothing to
contribute to the plot was a magnificent display of theatrical opulence.
Dantes had become a rich guy when he found the treasure and took on the
personae of the Count of Monte Cristo...we got it.
The
prison escape didn't work for me. It was one of the few suspenseful
scenes in the movie when you really thought that Dantes would get caught
trying to escape. Let's just say that there is something wildly
illogical that threatens to foil the escape. You'll catch it.
I found the movie entertaining, but I can only muster up enough enthusiasm
about it to give the film three and a half kernels.
*
* * *
January
30, 2002
