I was a little apprehensive when I saw the gritty, serious trailer for Martin Bourboulon’s new adaptation of The Three Musketeers. I am a huge fan of Richard Lester’s 1973 versions (read my reviews here), which above everything else, perfectly capture the irreverent, often subversive tone of Alexandre Dumas‘ novels, something entirely absent from this trailer.

I needn’t have worried, as The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan does a fantastic balancing act between the more modern, serious sensibilities and a playful sense of humour. The result is a moody, impressive adaptation, that manages to be both serious without feeling starchy or self-important.

The film begins pretty much the same way as every other version of the story, with D’artagnan (Francois Civil) arriving in Paris to enlist with the musketeers. He has run-ins with his future compatriots he world-weary Athos (Vincent Cassel) the ebullient Porthos (Pio Marmaï) and the suave ladies man Aramis (Romain Duris), leading to each of them challenging the young upstart to a duel. From there though the film goes down a vastly different narrative, as Athos is accused of murder, and the others must prove his innocence before he is executed.

There is also much more of a focus on the ongoing religious / political conflict than previous iterations, with a much more sympathetic portrayal of King Louis XIII (Louis Garrel). Usually depicted as a weak-willed buffoon, this version has much more nuanced characterisation. Here the king is decried as weak by his more hot-headed advisors, and occasionally drops a malapropism, but by the end he seems a reasoned, even shrewd monarch. Garrel’s intelligent performance balances his childish petulance with an acuity that has been absent from previous versions. The love triangle between him, the queen (Vicky Krieps) and the duke of Buckingham (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) isn’t played for laughs here. All are given a lot more depth, and the relationships are all treated with a sensitivity that was obviously missing from the Lester films. Krieps in particular deserves praise for her sensitive performance, imbuing the Queen with a steely resolve that’s tempered with a genuine love for both of the men in her life.

The one slightly unfortunate byproduct of this new focus is a lack of depth among certain of the main characters. Porthos and Aramis are less well served by the story than in previous versions, and as the film goes on they are relegated more or less to background roles. The fact they still come across as fully fleshed out characters is more a testament to the charisma of the actors playing them than the script itself.

There is a real nuance to the performances, and a focus on the characterisation, whether it’s on the page or not, that is really impressive. Of the titular musketeers, Vincent Cassel is the most impressive as the cynical Athos. (“He drowns his demons, but now they can swim“) Cassel is effortlessly charismatic, with a weathered appearance and a combination of wry humour and melancholy that rivals Oliver Reed’s iconic portrayal. The scene where he tells the story of his past to D’Artagnan is incredibly touching, thanks to Cassel’s understated, off-hand delivery. (He also has his own unique link to the Musketeers stories, as his father Jean Pierre Cassel had previously played King Louis XIII in Lester’s Musketeers films and the comedy Cyrano and D’Artagnan)

Eva Green also vamps it up beautifully as Milady DeWinter, although she does threaten to throw the film off balance a little. As the only bona fide A-Lister in the cast, it does mean that to English speaking audiences she does draw the eye a fair bit when up against lesser known actors. She is magnificent though, and as with Faye Dunaway’s depiction in the Lester films, she is shown to be scarily efficient at her job, making for a formidable villain.

Thankfully, Bourboulon updates the more questionable elements of Lester’s films and Dumas’ novel, namely the questionable gender dynamics. The outcome may be a less faithful adaptation, but it’s a welcome concession to modern sensibilities. Apparently at least a portion of this can be credited to Civil, who insited on making the relationship between D’Artagnan and Constance Bonacieux (Lyna Khoudri) a more tender romance. Their interactions are much more sweet and chaste as a result of this, which is sure to lend an added poignancy to the already filmed sequel.

Similarly, one decision regarding Porthos is sure to rub some people up the wrong way but it feels a natural development for the gregarious, flamboyant character as written. It helps that Marmai’s performance brings out his intensity, as well as his almost feral fighting style, which seems to pay homage to the William Hobbs fight choreography from Lester’s films – the moment where he chucks his pistol at a baddie rather than reload it is a particularly nice touch.

It’s a refreshingly straightforward adaptation, which nevertheless has it’s share of directorial flourishes. There are a couple of ambitious long takes that are technically wonderful, and one particularly effective moment which has a fight scene occur offscreen, while the Queen’s panicked face is framed in a close-up, capturing her desperation as the fight closes in on her. The beautifully crisp cinematography from Nicolas Boldoc recalls Barry Lyndon and The Favourite in it’s use of shadows, mist, and beams of light pouring through windows.

The first French version of the story since Bertrand Tavernier‘s Revenge Of The Musketeers, nearly 30 years ago, this is a marked improvement on every other recent attempt to bring these characters to the big screen. The performances are all wonderfully lived-in and there is a lyricism to the dialogue, which crucially retains the dry wit of the source material without ever being cheesy. Sacrificing irreverence in favour of character development and a compelling narrative, The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan is a considered, beautifully made film, and surely the best adaptation of Dumas since Lester’s films.

The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan is on Blu-Ray and DVD now, order here: https://amzn.to/3s8EW1c