Le Comte De Monte Cristo (aka The Count Of Monte Cristo) (2024)

In 1815, a young sailor (Pierre Niney) rescues a young woman (Adele Simphal) from drowning. This heroic act is just the beginning of a nightmare of his imprisonment for 14 years before he makes a daring escape and sets in motion his plan for revenge. Based on the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas and directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre De La Patelliere. Sensational! Although the film takes some minor liberties with the Dumas source material (what version hasn't?) by adding  and deleting characters and changing motivations, this is by far the best version of the Dumas novel I've seen. At three hours with no intermission, it's a long film but so riveting that you're not conscious of its length. The acting is excellent by the entire cast and it's beautifully shot in wide screen by Nicolas Bolduc (WAR WITCH). In the title role, Pierre Niney gives a terrific performance going from a naive 22 year old sailor to a 36 to 40ish man whose only emotion is the hate that propels him on his journey of vengeance. Highly recommended. The superb cast includes Anais Demoustier, Bastien Bouillon, Annamaria Vartolomei, Laurent Lafitte, Patrick Mille, Julien De Saint Jean and Vassili Schneider.