The Clackamas print., February 06, 2002, Page 8, Image 8

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A&E
TI he CI ac I íamas P rint
WEÓNEsdAy, FEbRUARy 6, 2002
Contemporary ’Count’ offers more than swordplay
ERINN LERTEN_________
Staff Writer
Alexandre Dumas’ legacy of
swashbuckling tales endures
in scores of film and TV adap­
tations. Thirty-plus versions
of “The Three Musketeers”
have been made, about 20 of
“The Count of Monte Cristo,”
and two in one year alone
(1998) of “The Man in the Iron
Mask.”
At the same time, the
writer’s archaic style has lost
the readership of many ado­
lescents, and recent movie ad­
aptations have struggled to
freshen up his tales of 19th
century heroism with kung fu
and comedy.
A new version Of Dumas’
revenge tale “The Count of
Monte Cristo” seeks to aban­
don such campiness in favor
of the old-fashioned qualities
that once made the writer a
childhood favorite: sword­
play, hidden treasures, sneer­
ing villains and damsels in
distress.
Adaptations of “The Count
of Monte Cristo” include a 13-
hour BBC miniseries from 1964
and an eight-hour French
miniseries from 1998, which
starred Gerard Depardieu.
But short of that sort of time
commitment, feature films
have to cut significantly from
the 1,100-page book. The lat­
est version drops a subplot
about the Count’s vigilante ex­
ploits and eliminates the char­
acter of Haidee, another love
of the title character.
Makers of the most recent
"Count of Monte Cristo" film
found that adapting Dumas for
a contemporary audience did
require more than staying true
to the text. To some extent, the
gimmick in this film version
may be its feminist tilt.
Jim Caviezel stars as
Edmond Dantes, a wrongfully
imprisoned man who escapes
to seek revenge after 13 years
and learns that his true love,
Mercedes
(Dagmara
Dominczyk,) has married the
man who betrayed him.
Dumas is notorious for his
dainty female characters, pow­
erless women who seem like
mere prizes for the manly he­
roes.
Modern moviegoers would
chuckle at such a prudish hero­
ine, Dominczyk said in an in­
terview with The Canadian
Press, which is why director
Kevin Reynolds (“Robin
Hood: Prince of Thieves”)
gave her room to play with the
part.
“We had to embellish the ro­
mance,” Reynolds said in the
same interview. “For it to work
you had to feel like these two
were in love. If you don’t,
you’re not going to feel like
he had his heart ripped out or
understand his motivation.”
Dominczyk said she thought
the story of betrayal, revenge
and murder also needed a char­
acter who embodied purity of
heart.
“It’s such a dark tale and
deals with brutal emotions and
the plot is twisted, so
Mercedes has to be the relief
from all the testosterone,” she
said. “But she’s not an inno-
fiers comef
Internet photo
cent bystander either. . . . She
has a backbone.”
The movie also features a
happier ending than the book,
and there are fewer killings -
which renders the Edmond
character more likable.
“The Count of Monte Cristo”
is rated PG-13 and is now play­
ing at theaters everywhere.
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