The fresco inspired by Alexandre Dumas, with Pierre Niney, was released in American theaters. His team's objective: to seduce the public and the Academy of Oscars.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo to attack the United States. The adaptation of the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas, which inspired one of the most famous superheroes, Batman, has just been released in American theaters. And according to the first reviews, the Americans are under the spell of the fresco with Pierre Niney.
“It's the only novel that cinema and television can't miss despite the countless number of adaptations. We don't get bored, it's rococo, we have a great time, like every time “, said Indiewire critic David Ehrlich on the Letterboxd application.
“The latest French adaptation (of Comte de Monte Cristo) is a magnificently produced work (which) recalls the kind of films that Hollywood no longer knows how to make,” praises critic Bilge Ebiri in New York magazine. According to him, Le Comte de Monte Cristo can guide Hollywood “in the right direction.”
“A superb cast”
“Adventure and swashbuckling films were the prerogative of Hollywood,” he still insists. “The Count's (played by Niney) skill at disguise could make Ethan Hunt and Tom Cruise (in Mission Impossible). Batman could also ask him the name of his tailor to have the same black suits,” the critic enthuses.
Same story in the columns of the Los Angeles Times. Critic Robert Abele affirms that the film directed by Alexandre de la Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte is a “magnificent” spectacle which gives its spectator “a striking pleasure” thanks to “a superb casting”.
The daily particularly praises the staging of one of the key scenes of the film, that of the dinner where Monte Cristo traps his adversaries. “The directors know perfectly well when to exploit the tension, to stretch the suspense, particularly in this particularly delicious scene, marked by quite wicked humor,” notes the review.
Go as far as possible
Released on December 20 in the United States, The Count of Monte Cristo hopes to qualify for the next Oscars. “Who doesn’t want to have an Oscar?” Alexandre de La Patellière had fun speaking to BFMTV last October at the Cinéroman festival in Nice. “We want to go as far as possible.”
“We have all dreamed of America. If the film can find its way there, that would be wonderful,” he added. “But now the whole world is starting to discover the film. We're going to travel a bit with the film. It's an adventure that continues. That's what's beautiful. We'll see how far it goes.” The Oscar nominations will be revealed on January 17.
Released last June, Le Comte de Monte Cristowith Pierre Niney in the lead role, was a colossal success, with 9.3 million admissions. A success which consolidates that of the diptych of Three Musketeerswhich brought together nearly six million spectators in theaters in 2023.
Its creators – producer Dimitri Rassam and directors Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière – are now preparing an even more ambitious project, also intended for an international audience: a new adaptation into seven films of the Cursed Kingsthe literary saga of Maurice Druon that inspired Game of Thrones.
