TV Review: The Count of Monte Cristo (2024)

The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) directed by Bille August based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas

Edmond Dantes (Sam Claflin) is on the verge of becoming ship's captain for his boss and husband to his sweetheart Mercedes (Ana Girardot). The previous captain died during their last voyage, leaving Dantes in charge of the ship. The captain alos picked up a letter during a clandestine meeting with Napoleon on his first Mediterranean exile. Dantes does not know about the content of the letter but his rival for the captaincy, Danglars (Blake Ritson), knows it is treasonous. He hatches a scheme with Fernand (Harry Taurasi), a cousin of Mercedes who wants to marry her. They send a letter to the local police investigator Villefort (Mikkel Boe Folsgaard) accusing Dantes of being a Bonapartist. Villefort investigates and is on the verge of exonerating Dantes when he discovers the letter is intended for Villefort's father, a Parisian Bonapartist. If that gets out, his father will be in trouble and so will Villefort. Villefort sends Dantes off to prison at the Castle D'If, an island prison where none escape. Mercedes promises to be true but Dantes's death is falsely reported. She eventually marries Fernand, Danglars becomes a wealthy banker, and Villefort works his way up to Paris law enforcement.

In prison, Dantes swears vengeance and eventually makes friends with Abbe Faria (Jeremy Irons), an imprisoned priest who has been tunneling out of his cell. Faria and Dantes start tunneling together as Faria educates Dantes on everything he knows, including a fabulous treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. After years of work, Faria dies before they are done. Dantes makes a fabulous escape, finds the treasure, and returns to France as the Count of Monte Cristo, ready to get his revenge on the people who put him through fifteen years of unjust and horrible imprisonment.

The story is famous and has been made into film and television versions many times. This recent PBS Masterpiece production has lavish settings and costumes. The eight-episode arc has time for most of the plot of the book. It does a good job with that. The filmmakers throw in some extra subplots that weren't really necessary--an affair that results in an illegitimate child and a lesbian couple. Those creative licenses stick out like sore thumbs and do not sit well in the narrative. The performances are good and the ending retains Dantes's realization that his revenge has a much bigger cost than he expects. This would have been great if the creators stuck more closely to the novel.

Mildly recommended.