Edmond Dantes Is Counting on Revenge in The Count of Monte Cristo

When my brother was in early elementary school and I was in high school, the two of us often watched Wishbone together. This PBS series starred a Jack Russell Terrier in dual roles: an ordinary pet in one storyline and a classic literary character in another. I’ve always considered myself an avid reader, but that show introduced me to several literary classics. One was The Count of Monte Cristo.

The writers of Wishbone had a great way of distilling a novel down to about 15 minutes while still having it make sense. Nonetheless, The Count of Monte Cristo is a pretty hefty book, so what little I remembered about what little made its way to Wishbone wasn’t much. I had only a vague idea of the plot when I watched the 2002 film adaptation directed by Kevin Reynolds, with a screenplay by Jay Wolpert.

Edmond Dantes (James Caviezel) is a good man who is betrayed by his friends and thrown in jail for a crime he did not commit. During his long imprisonment, his bitterness festers, but he finds a productive way to channel his angst: by painstakingly digging his way out of prison along with an ancient abbot who’s tunneled in from a nearby cell. As a fan of Richard Harris, it was a kick for me to see him as this impish but wise character, one of his last roles. In fact, their quiet companionship may have been my favorite part of the movie.

But it’s only the beginning of Edmond’s long quest, for after his improbable escape, he must find a fabled treasure in order to restore his fortune, and then he intends to bring down his treacherous friends, one by one. Throughout this part of the movie, he is aided by Luis Guzman’s Jacopo, a good-humored man who is fiercely loyal to Edmond, to whom he owes his life, but troubled by his obsession with revenge, particularly on Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce), who went on to marry Edmond’s true love, Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk).

Caviezel gives an intense performance as a decent man twisted by years of suffering. I like him best when he shares scenes with other individuals who bring out the best in him: the sage abbot, the cheerful Jacopo and Albert (Henry Cavill), Mercedes’ gentle son. The movie is packed with enough action for three, which is almost what it feels like; there’s Edmond’s time in the prison; his sojourn with the pirates, where he finds Jacopo; and finally, his reemergence as the Count of Monte Cristo. It’s a fairly long movie at more than two hours, but I never felt that it dragged.

One of these days, I should probably read The Count of Monte Cristo, and then the purist in me can start chronicling all the changes that were made. But with my limited familiarity, I found this adaptation an exciting and well-acted film that I’d readily recommend.