The Count of Monte Cristo

The main cast fits a French and Mediterranean period adventure. The clearest identity-focused choice is giving supporting character Eugénie Danglars a visible same-sex relationship with Suzanne. The film does not frame its wider casting as a diversity program. The result is a low score for one supporting queer role.

The film gives a real subplot to Eugénie’s same-sex love for her singing teacher Suzanne. Haydée is a survivor of enslavement who helps carry out Edmond’s plan and later leaves his control. Angèle is a new female Bonapartist who resists Villefort and replaces a male character from the novel. Edmond’s revenge remains the main story, so these identity-driven themes are important but not dominant.

The film changes Villefort’s Bonapartist father, Noirtier, into his sister Angèle. Angèle carries the political letter, challenges her brother, and becomes a key part of André’s backstory. This is a clear gender change to an established role and affects the opening and later revenge plot. Other changes, such as making Danglars a slave trader and pairing Haydée with Albert, change the plot but not a character’s race, gender, or sexuality.

X research found no anti-woke complaints about this film. A few Reddit posts, a viewer review, and a comparison blog called parts of the adaptation woke or objected to the slave-trader change and the female replacement for Noirtier. Those complaints stayed small and were not a sustained campaign or major news story. Right-leaning praise that the film was not woke does not raise this score.

The directors’ public profiles describe mainstream filmmakers without a clear activist or DEI record. Dumas brings older liberal, anti-slavery, and anti-authoritarian ideas. Those ideas support the film’s concern with injustice and corrupt power, but they are not modern identity politics. This gives the creator context a mild score.