The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan a swashbuckling adventure from the classics
The French swords and muskets adventure The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan is a lavish production from the first frame til the last. And if you enjoy it, I have some good news.
The French swords and muskets adventure The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan is a lavish production from the first frame til the last. And if you enjoy this highly entertaining film, the good news is the final frame is but the midpoint of a two-part epic directed by Martin Bourboulon. Part two, The Three Musketeers: Milady, will arrive in cinemas on June 6.
Part one introduces us to D’Artagnan (Francois Civil), the lad from the provinces who arrives in Paris in 1627 hoping to join the elite King’s musketeers, and to the three musketeers we know by name: Athos (the ever-watchable Vincent Cassel), Aramis (Romain Duris) and Porthos (Pio Marmai).
As in Alexandre Dumas’s 1844 novel, there’s a “meet cute” element to the encounters, except that swords are involved. D’Artagnan offends each of the musketeers in turn and finds himself facing three duels the next day.
This lighthearted sequence sets up the bromance between D’Artagnan and the three musketeers, which briefly ventures down an interesting path involving Parthos’s sexuality.
The main tension is one we’re all-too-familiar with: religion. The feckless King Louis XIII (an excellent Louis Garrel) is Catholic. The Protestants are on the move and the English are watching.
The King’s chief adviser, Cardinal Richelieu (Eric Ruf), is on the side that suits him best. He recasts the musketeer motto “All for one and one for all”. His secret agent is Milady de Winter (a perfect Eva Green, who was the Bond girl in Casino Royale from 2006).
When D’Artagnan reveals a bible in his jacket pocket saved him from a musket ball, the captain of the musketeers remarks, “You’re the first religion has saved this year”.
And then there is the other familiar risk factor: love. The French Queen, Anne of Austria (Vicky Krieps), fancies the Duke of Buckingham (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) and he returns her favour.
It’s this channel-crossing passion that sets up the ticking clock drama in this 17th-century blend of The Avengers and Mission Impossible. It’s centred on a diamond necklace that the Queen must wear to the wedding of the King’s brother. D’Artgnan, Milady and others are desperate to get their mitts on it.
The director and the scriptwriters Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Pattelliere are largely loyal to Dumas’s novel but introduce some interesting new elements, especially one involving Athos and a murder.
It’s during this subplot that Athos talks about the one love of his life. It’s a beautiful moment, with Cassel at his best. The director did a similar blending of fact and fiction in his previous film, the outstanding biopic Eiffel (2021).
This film is gorgeously shot by cinematographer Nicolas Bolduc. It opens with a take-no-prisoners fight in the rain and mud that includes D’Artagnan and Milady and sets the scene for all that is to follow.
The sequel, Milady, picks up from the life-and-death moment on which this first instalment ends. Dumas, like his contemporary Charles Dickens, was a great and popular serialiser. I look forward to the next chapter.
The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (M)
French language with English subtitles
121 minutes
In cinemas. Advance screenings May 11 and 12 ahead of national release May 16
★★★½
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout