You never know what you are going to get with these Marples. Its always a mystery, but sometimes you will hit a happy combination of story, adapter and director. This is such a happy time. I do not know the director, but can see that he has substantial experience in at least staging and getting the actors adjusted to the enterprise. Some of these actors are known to us, and they really are comparatively excellent.
One character, the rich old woman, is a terrific character, worth admission by herself. The mystery is kept pretty close to the narrative so you have a pretty good chance of actually working on it. Usually, the deal is that you just have to wait until the end and act surprised. Oddly, the denouement here on a boat is the only weak segment. The detective trick this time is easy to spot if you know the sorts of tricks Christie liked to play with the Marple series. That business about tennis should be a clue.
Saffron Burrows must have it hard, being able to be cast as a pretty one. Here she manages to be something else, a rather sorry face in fact until the very end where she is transformed. Pretty good effect if you know the actress.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
One character, the rich old woman, is a terrific character, worth admission by herself. The mystery is kept pretty close to the narrative so you have a pretty good chance of actually working on it. Usually, the deal is that you just have to wait until the end and act surprised. Oddly, the denouement here on a boat is the only weak segment. The detective trick this time is easy to spot if you know the sorts of tricks Christie liked to play with the Marple series. That business about tennis should be a clue.
Saffron Burrows must have it hard, being able to be cast as a pretty one. Here she manages to be something else, a rather sorry face in fact until the very end where she is transformed. Pretty good effect if you know the actress.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.