The Count of Monte Cristo
Review
by : Kyle
DuVall
Starring:
Guy Pearce, James Caviezel, James Frain,
Richard Harris
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
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Deep down inside, almost everybody believes in karma, and
those who don't believe in it, wish they did. We've all been
screwed over at one time or another, and although very few
of us have ever been falsely imprisoned in a French dungeon
for 14 years like Edmond Dontes, the protagonist of The
Count of Monte Cristo, we've all got a streak of revenge
somewhere inside, and the only thing more satisfying than
believing that fate will dole out punishment to those who
have done us wrong is the prospect of actually being there
when it happens. Literature and film is full of tales of wronged
people nudging karma along, and one of the greatest of these
tales of retribution is Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte
Cristo.
The latest
in a long line of adaptions of this tale, director Kevin Reynolds'
latest film version of Count, is a movie that proves if revenge
is a dish best served cold, its even better served smart,
and Reynolds' reliance on fine-tuned performances, a strong,
understated script, and respect for the material, if not audacious
or ground-breaking in its scope, is definitely smart.
For those
of you who haven't seen one of the nine previous versions
of this film or read the classic novel, Count of Monte
Cristo is the story Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel), a young,
daring, if hopelessly naïve, sailor in France at the time
of the Napoleonic wars. After being duped into carrying a
letter for the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte, Dontes gets framed
for treason by his best friend Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce)
and crooked police inspector Villefor (James Frain). Dontes
ends up spending 14 years in a French dungeon, and just when
all hopes for justice are lost, he meets Ferria (Richard Harris),
an incarcerated priest and 18th century Obi-wan Kenobi, who
teaches him economics, fencing and how to dig a labyrinth
with a toilet bucket and a sharp rock.
In a plot
twist completely unbelievable unless one believes in Karmic
retribution, the priest also reveals the location of a lost
treasure to the young prisoner ( just think, all Mark Hamill
got was an old lightsaber…). When Dontes makes a harrowing
escape, the revenge-obsessed commoner finds the treasure and
uses it to create a new life for himself as the mysterious
Count Of Monte Cristo, and, as the count, woos French society.
He's also cooking up an intricate scheme to destroy the lives
of all the men who did him wrong.
Our cinematic
diet is glutted with revenge tales, but Count's brand of revenge
relies on neither the undead nor heavily armed Austrian strongmen
to spin its karmic wheels. The Count is a plotter, a manipulator
and above all, a man who believes simply killing his enemies
is just way too easy for them. While Arnold and Steven Seagal
take their revenge cues from "Guns and Ammo", Caviezel's count
learned his lessons reading Machiavelli. The comeuppance the
count serves up is a more elegant and delicious brand of getting
even, one that does not rely on explosions or arterial spray
to be cathartic and exciting. Watching the Count turn the
screws on his enemies through economic manipulation and psychological
maneuvering is not as loud a form of cinematic revenge as
we're used to, but the payoff is oh so much more sophisticated
and every bit as satisfying.
The
Count Of Monte Cristo is directed by Kevin Reynolds, the
man who brought us WaterWorld, and Robin Hood, Prince
of Thieves, but Count of Monte Cristo proves the
auteur theory is a very slippery slope. Regardless of the
merit of his past work, Reynolds knew just how to play Count.
The film is perfectly tuned. There are no tricks up this movie's
ruffled sleeves. It relies on its able performances to keep
us interested in a script which never over-reaches itself
and Jim Caviezal is, quite simply, too damn cool as the Count,
and his mawkish and vulnerable portrayal of Dontes before
he goes to prison has just the right touch of Luke Skywalker
farmboy to make the later transformation into the cool-as-ice
manipulator so great. Caviezal completely sold me on the Count
as the ultimate avenger.
Pearce
is just as good as Dontes' arrogant nemesis Mondego. I've
always wanted to see Pearce as this kind of villain. With
his slightly vulpine features, and preternaturally calm presence,
whenever Pearce looks into the camera I can't help but think
of the raptors from Jurassic Park, and Mondego's combination
of cunning, arrogance and self hatred finds a worthy, larger
than life vessel in Pearce, who seems to play the role with
predatory zeal and not a hint of self-consciousness.
There's
no attempt to re-invent the wheels of karma in The Count
Of Monte Cristo. This is simply a classic story told very
simply and very well. Reynolds has forced nothing into this
film, he's simply stood back, and let performances and a timeless
story do the work they need to do. The end result is a satisfying
2 hours at the movies. You won't cry your eyes out from the
drama, but you won't cry for the $6 bucks you spent either.
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