The Three Musketeers - D'Artagnan(2023) - Film Review
Part 1 of a new 2 part adaptation by French director - Martin Bourboulon
Well, this new two part film adaptation of Alexander Dumas’s great story kind of snuck-up on me, and I consider myself a big fan of all things Dumas.
That said, I did manage to go and see this on the big screen at my local Everyman theatre, and what a treat it was for someone, who I openly admit, has become a little bit jaded by the recent Hollywood releases.
But, first things first - What you need to know…
This is a French film released by Pathè, and yes, it is a French language film with English subtitles, for those of use whose command of French, like mine, isn’t that good.
It was shot on location across Europe, and its the first part of an essentially two-part film, which was filmed back to back. The first part - The Three Musketeers - D’Artagnan, being released in the UK on the 21st April 2023, and the second part - The Three Musketeers - Milady due for release on the 13th December 2023.
What else… Ah yes:
It is an adaptation of Dumas’s story, but its not a strict adaptation. What I mean by this, is that the plot or story is largely very familiar, but some of the details are quite strikingly different.
I know that might sound like a warning siren for anyone, like myself, enamoured by the books, but in this rarest of cases the changes are good ones, not only sympathetic, but perhaps even as good as the original.
For example, we still have the familiar plot elements around the Queen’s necklace, but instead of the main antagonist being the brilliantly Machiavellian Cardinal Richelieu, in this adaptation the rivalry with England and her support for Protestant lords within France is much more to the fore as well, adding a nice additional dimension, giving even established fans something fresh to enjoy.
Anything else?
Tone, mood and feel are obviously more subtle aspects of any production, and for familiar stories like this, it can be way in which the director really puts their stamp on the film.
For eample, from amongst the myriad previous adaptations of the this story, and there are many, the 1973 adaptation by Richard Lester, featuring Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed and Frank Finlay as the musketeers, is rightly reputed to be one of the best adaptation ever.
It’s a film I’ve watched many times, but the mood of the film is a little more light-hearted and humorous than the books, as you’d expect from a screenplay in part written by the great George Macdonald Frasier of Flashman fame.
Produced in the early 1970s, when the world was finally beginning to recover from the economic disaster of WWII, the focus was very much upon escapism, and in this case that resulted in a much greater focus on the splendour and glamour, the romance and care-free nature of the times.
And, in contrast it meant downplaying the danger and death, resulting the the peril faced by the characters never feeling that real, as most of the defeated Cardinal’s soldiers end up groaning or staggering off after a fight, rather than dying.
In contrast, the 1998 adaptation of the Man in the Iron Mask, featuring Gerard Depardieu, John Malkovich, Jeremy Irons, and Gabriel Byrne as the musketeers, starts off trying to be more gritty in tone, with the dangers more pronounced and closer to modern tastes.
But despite the all-star cast, this film struggles to maintain that tone because its success was viewed as needing to be driven by the teen star power of the young Leonardo DiCaprio, fresh out of the blockbuster hit Titanic.
Consequently, the director chooses to structure the film around long sequences focused on the young star, with comic, tragic and action scenes injected in around them. resulting in an altogether more muddled tone and distinctly average production.
This is where the latest adaptation by BourBoulon shines. The France of Louis the XIII not only feels credible and lived in, whilst also giving a consistent impression that while life is valued, that is in large measure because the life and rights of the individual at the time is almost disposable, imperilled not just by war and disease, but by random acts petty criminals and vagabonds.
Yes, there are lighter moments, but the mood is consistent, even when the focus is on the monarchy, who are portrayed as competent and real people rather than the usual cardboard cut-outs, individuals worthy of devotion that they command from the general populace and the lower nobility, like the families from which the Musketeers are drawn.
Of course, not all the characters are fully fleshed out yet, Milady de Winter and the Cardinal Richelieu being the two best examples. We’ve met them and know who they are, but their backgrounds and motivations still require some more filling out. Detail which will hopefully be coming in the second film.
In Summary:
Like the best films of this type, Bourboulon’s adaptation seems to bring the past alive in a wholly realistic way, with characters that don’t miss a beat, and a plot that rolls along at steady canter with no low points of unnecessary padding.
The action is very well done, the menace and threat believable, the characters distinct and engaging, and the performances effortless, all backed up by wonderful choice of location and set dressing, costume and dialogue.
As a whole, I’m struggling to find anything I don’t like about this film. Yes, if you consider both parts of this film together, then its long, but if the first part is any indication, even if you were to view both films together, back to back, it wouldn’t SEEM long.
For me, this is the best adaptation of The Three Musketeers story to date, and without doubt the version that will appeal most to fans of the books. So the only drawback I can find, is that because of this new adaptation I’ll probably be watching the 1973 version a little less frequently.
ABOUT PETER KNYTE
Peter is and independent author living and working in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
For more information about him and his work visit:
Africa keeps its secrets well,
and its ancient secrets best of all.
Untouched by the stock market crash of 1929, Kenya is the glamorous retreat for many seeking to escape the privations of the western world.
After being drawn into a strange shamanic ritual, an ages old secret is revealed, which puts a group of friends onto a path they cannot help but follow.
But along the way after recovering a number of ancient artefacts, their search attracts the attention of those for whom keeping such secrets buried is a solemn duty.
Above a world so like their own,
but not their own...
As lightning flashes between the tall buildings of Manhattan island, a strange craft of huge proportions suddenly appears, a metallic airship bristling with weapons.
But the ship is clearly damaged, with large holes that reveal a dark and lifeless interior.
Despite its appearance, the captain and some of the crew cling to life... along with the enemy has nearly destroyed them.