The Count of Monte Cristo

Faithful to the Novel?

     The Count of Monte Cristo is a film adaptation of the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.  The 2002 movie was directed by Kevin Reynolds and stars James Caviezel, Guy Pearce and Richard Harris.  The movie is good and keeps the main theme, revenge, of the novel intact, therefor it is a faithful adaptation of the novel.  

     The main theme of both the film and novel is revenge.  In the film it can be seen in this quote.

I want revenge.

Your gonna need a better name to accomplish that.

Then I shall become a count.

This exchange was between Dantes and Jacopo.  In the novel the theme can be seen in the following quote.

The count was as erect and triumphant as the avenging angel.

     The reason for Dantes need for revenge is he is betrayed by three people, Fernand, Danglers and Villefort.  They accuse and convict Dantes of treason against the king even though they all know he is innocent.  The prison master of Chateau d'If says to Dantes

I know you are innocent.  There are hundreds of prisons across France for guilty people... Chateau d'If is where they put the ones they're ashamed of.

In the book Villefort knows of his innocence almost immediately because Dantes was

... So candid and open, so full of affection for his fellow man, including even his stern judge, that it seemed to Villefort that each word he spoke was proof of his innocence.

When Dantes learns that Fernand is one of the conspirators against him, thus igniting his thirst for revenge, he asks why.  Fernand says:

You're the son of a clerk, I shouldn't want to be you.

In the novel Dantes learns of Fernand's part in his arrest in a different way, but it sparks the same need for revenge.  The priest, Faria, sees this and says:

I regret having helped you clarify your past... because I've instilled in your heart a feeling that wasn't there before: vengeance.

     The film The Count of Monte Cristo is fantastic.  It keeps the viewer interested and has a exciting climax.  It is a good film for anyone to see, whether you have read the novel or not because it follows the  same idea of the book but is still easy for a nonreader to follow.