A New Spin on the Count of Monte Cristo

 
A New Spin on the Count of Monte Cristo
When this new take on the Alexandre Dumas classic premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, it received a 12-minute ovation. When you walk into a 3-hour-long period film at 8:30 am on one of the last days of the Cannes Film Festival, one wonders: Am I going to make it through this film? A sprawling film of this length leaves one wondering if it’ll hold the mind’s attention until the film’s end, and I’m happy to report Le Comte de Monte-Cristo did.  A new take on an old tale is often a gamble, but this 2024 iteration of the classic 1844 novel from French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas, written and directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, was executed well. Of note, it’s unusual – though not unprecedented – for a film to have two directors (films like The Matrix, Casino Royale, and Fargo pulled it off with success). For a film like Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, with a size and scale that feels on par with Lord of the Rings, it’s clear why multiple creative minds were needed. This is a period drama/action/adventure movie that spans 21 years, and the film’s costuming and makeup departments alone surely required a team large enough to fill a small yacht along the Croisette. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pierre Niney (@pierreniney)
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Lead photo credit : LE COMTE DE MONTE-CRISTO. Réal : MATTHIEU DELAPORTE & ALEXANDRE DE LA PATELLIÈRE Prod : CHAPTER 2 / PATHÉ FILMS © Rémy Grandroques

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Anne McCarthy is a contributing writer to BBC News, Teen Vogue, The Telegraph, Dance Magazine, and more. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Westminster and is the Editor in Chief of Fat Tire Tours’ travel blog. She lives in New York City.