As an avid fan of both the TV films and the books, I can honestly say that this adaptation of "The Hollow" is both faithful to its original material and also adds a certain sparkle to an otherwise weaker Agatha Christie story. Everything from the casting, to the beautiful costumes, to the enchanting music engrossed me right until the very end. This show is well known for its high production values, and almost always never fails to deliver.
In particular I was impressed with the portrayal of Henrietta Savernake. One of my favourite minor Christie characters, Megan Dodds was perfect as the "not terribly truthful" but beautiful Henrietta, and was exactly how I imagined her. Jonathan Cake gives a solid performance as the cheating John Christow and even manages to make the audience empathise with his character, something of which surprised me as John is not a likable character at all in the book! And of course we come to the character of Gerda Christow, played with integrity by Claire Price. She was utterly fantastic I thought, emphasising the character's fragility and inner strength as you will see later on in the film with ease.
Sarah Miles as the scatterbrained Lucy Angkatell was both amusing and endearing to watch, and Edward Hardwicke's welcome portrayal of her husband Henry was perfect also. The outrageous and often humorous portrayal of Veronica Cray by Lysette Anthony provided some light relief from the seriousness of the film.
The only niggle I really have about the film was how Edward and Midge's relationship appeared to be rushed and not explained particularly well - which I assume was down to a lack of screen time, but this does not detract from the overall success of the adaptation.
As usual, David Suchet is perfect as our little detective. In my opinion he is the definitive Poirot and his dedication to the character shines in this. Wonderfully enchanting, "The Hollow" is among one of the best of the Poirot adaptations.
In particular I was impressed with the portrayal of Henrietta Savernake. One of my favourite minor Christie characters, Megan Dodds was perfect as the "not terribly truthful" but beautiful Henrietta, and was exactly how I imagined her. Jonathan Cake gives a solid performance as the cheating John Christow and even manages to make the audience empathise with his character, something of which surprised me as John is not a likable character at all in the book! And of course we come to the character of Gerda Christow, played with integrity by Claire Price. She was utterly fantastic I thought, emphasising the character's fragility and inner strength as you will see later on in the film with ease.
Sarah Miles as the scatterbrained Lucy Angkatell was both amusing and endearing to watch, and Edward Hardwicke's welcome portrayal of her husband Henry was perfect also. The outrageous and often humorous portrayal of Veronica Cray by Lysette Anthony provided some light relief from the seriousness of the film.
The only niggle I really have about the film was how Edward and Midge's relationship appeared to be rushed and not explained particularly well - which I assume was down to a lack of screen time, but this does not detract from the overall success of the adaptation.
As usual, David Suchet is perfect as our little detective. In my opinion he is the definitive Poirot and his dedication to the character shines in this. Wonderfully enchanting, "The Hollow" is among one of the best of the Poirot adaptations.