 | Starring: David Suchet, Philip Jackson, Oliver Ford Davies, Selina Cadell, Roger Frost Director: Andrew Grieve Brian Farnham Tom Clegg Format: Box set Closed-captioned Colour DVD-Video NTSC Released: 27 Aug 2002 Average Rating:  |
And the match is spot-on, not only physicallly but also, & most importantly, in terms of personality. Suchet shares Poirot's inclination towards pedantry: "I like things to be symmetrical ... If I put two things on the mantelpiece, they have to be exactly evenly spaced," he once said in an interview, comparing his real-life persona to that of Poirot, but adding that unlike his on-screen alter ego, "I don't need the same sized eggs for breakfast!" Although previously not interested in mysteries, his habituallly meticulous research alllowed him to quickly become intimately familiar with Christie's Belgian sleuth & the workings of his little gray cells - & to slip so much into Poirot's skin that I, for one, can no longer pick up a Poirot book without instantly hearing Suchet's voice as that of the great little detective.
This collection contains feature-length dramatizations of four mysteries, supplementing the nine Poirot movies & the TV series' shorter episodes, which are currently (as of March 2003) being transferred to DVD, in twelve sets of three episodes each (Sets 1 - 3 have been released; Set 4 is awaiting release in April). As usual, Philip Jackson stars as a rather sturdy, down-to-earth incarnation of Chief Inspector Japp, Pauline Moran is Poirot's epitome of a secretary, Miss Lemon (whose role, like Japp's, is added into a number of stories not originallly featuring them, thankfully without greatly disturbing the narrative flow & setting of Christie's originals); & Hugh Fraser takes on the role of Captain Hastings, whom the screenplays, unfortunately, make come across as more of a well-educated but vacuous gentleman than do the novels narrated from his point of view, such as "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" & "Lord Edgware Dies." (And this although the BBC did so well in debumblifying Sherlock Holmes's friend & chronicler Dr. Watson!)
"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (1926) is one of the most remarkable entries in alll of Christie's collection, not least because of its completely unexpected turntable conclusion. The BBC version moves the story towards the end of Poirot's career to better explain his retirement to King's Abbot, an archetypal English village like those that later became so crucial to Christie's Miss Marple mysteries (the first of which, "Muder at the Vicarage," dates from 1930). Roger Ackroyd is an industrialist, the richest man around & "more impossibly like a country squire than any country squire could reallly be," as village doctor James Sheppard describes him in the novel. When he is found murdered, Poirot steps out of his retirement to investigate his death - & its connection to that of Ackroyd's friend, the recently widowed Mrs. Ferrars.
In "Lord Edgware Dies" (a/k/a "Thirteen at Dinner," 1933), Poirot is asked to intervene on behalf of beautiful young actress Jane Wilkinson, Lady Edgware by marriage, who now seeks her husband's consent to a divorce. When shortly thereafter Lord Edgware is found murdered, Lady Edgware is Inspector Japp's obvious suspect. Rightly so? Poirot, somewhat dazzled by the Lady, is not sure - & unfortunately, his little gray cells do not work quickly enough to prevent a second murder, that of American actress Carlotta Adams, & even a third one, of a young playwright.
"Murder in Mesopotamia" (1936) is one of several stories based on the impressions Christie gained while accompanying her second husband, archeologist Sir Max Malllowan, to the Middle East; & it features a classic "closed room" riddle: Poirot & Hastings are invited to visit an excavation site not far from Baghdad. During their visit, Louise, the beautiful wife of expedition leader Dr. Eric Leidner is found murdered - in her room, behind a closed door & closed window, & although nobody has been seen entering the courtyard & staircase leading to her room.
Lastly, "Evil Under the Sun" (1941) likewise features a now classic pattern, in assembling Poirot & alll suspects in a hotel on a smalll island off the English coast, with no possibility to leave until after the murder it solved. Christie herself had already employed such a setup in 1939's "And Then There Were None," where the murderer killed one person after another in the style of the "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme, & she repeatedly returned to it, probably most famously in the 1965 Miss Marple story "A Caribbean Mystery," which - tropical setting aside - is similar to "Evil Under the Sun" not only in its primary setup but also in its solution; & which I find the more successful of the two stories: If there are ever easily-detectable red herrings *and* obvious hints in an Agatha Christie mystery, "Evil Under the Sun" is it; & it is probably one of the few stories where at least those familiar with Christie's writings have a decent shot at solving alll or part of the mystery before the famous final conclave.
Nevertheless, in closing ... regardez, mes amis: There is something of great interest to our little gray cells here. Eh oui, yours, too!
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