Ariadne Oliver is organizing a murder mystery hunt at the home of the wealthy George Stubbs and his pretty young wife Hattie. Despite her constructing a fake murder, Ariadne feels like something is a bit off, and has a terrible feeling about things going terribly wrong. Summoning Poirot urgently, she involves him in what he sees as just her worry; as he moves through the family and attendees, he makes note of small things but it is not until a real murder occurs that he must move the little grey cells to deduce what lies in front of him.
So far the final season of Poirot has been a little disappointing and I came to this film maybe not expecting too much – particularly after The Big Four. Dead Man's Folly instantly has a better look and feel to it, with a very English setting and great use of locations both internal and external. This contained and appropriate setting allows for clues to be scattered while Poirot observes those around him and, once the murder occurs, this continues with just about enough accessibility to allow the viewer to feel like they are part of it – picking things up even though we don't always realize it. Perhaps it is not as accessible as it could have been; personally at times I had to glance at the cast list on IMDb to remind myself what certain characters looked like since there were a lot of names and characters here, but it is horses for courses and I guess others will not feel this way.
The mystery comes together in a nice twist on the usual denouncement scene, and I enjoyed how it all fell into place. The very final part of the film didn't quite work for me. I am not sure if the book ends with the same dispensing of "justice" as we see here, but the inclusion of very clear approval/blessing from Poirot seems a bit heavy in its delivery. Knowing how Curtain will end already, I guess it is another step on maneuvering the character to that point – a journey that links to his struggle at the end of Orient Express; I get that, and I think it is a generally good ending – just that the definite nature of it was too heavily done and lacking a more subtle touch that the moral struggle would have benefited from.
Technically the film looks very good. It does make great use of the locations, and it is delivered with a convincing atmosphere throughout, building in a way that things do as one feels dark secrets are coming out. The cast are mostly good. Suchet is good as ever, even making those final moments work (even if I didn't like them). Pertwee is a nice presence, Cusack is of course memorable, while Front, Wanamaker, Leonidas, Kelly, and others all do good work. The only odd performance actually was a Dutch student with an accent that even Steve McClaren would turn his nose up at; it was so forced and heavy that I always assumed it must be some clue.
Aside from these minor quibbles, and the way that it was not quite as accessible as my slow brain would have benefited from, it was a film I enjoyed – and certainly one that stands out in the so-far so- so thirteenth and final season.
So far the final season of Poirot has been a little disappointing and I came to this film maybe not expecting too much – particularly after The Big Four. Dead Man's Folly instantly has a better look and feel to it, with a very English setting and great use of locations both internal and external. This contained and appropriate setting allows for clues to be scattered while Poirot observes those around him and, once the murder occurs, this continues with just about enough accessibility to allow the viewer to feel like they are part of it – picking things up even though we don't always realize it. Perhaps it is not as accessible as it could have been; personally at times I had to glance at the cast list on IMDb to remind myself what certain characters looked like since there were a lot of names and characters here, but it is horses for courses and I guess others will not feel this way.
The mystery comes together in a nice twist on the usual denouncement scene, and I enjoyed how it all fell into place. The very final part of the film didn't quite work for me. I am not sure if the book ends with the same dispensing of "justice" as we see here, but the inclusion of very clear approval/blessing from Poirot seems a bit heavy in its delivery. Knowing how Curtain will end already, I guess it is another step on maneuvering the character to that point – a journey that links to his struggle at the end of Orient Express; I get that, and I think it is a generally good ending – just that the definite nature of it was too heavily done and lacking a more subtle touch that the moral struggle would have benefited from.
Technically the film looks very good. It does make great use of the locations, and it is delivered with a convincing atmosphere throughout, building in a way that things do as one feels dark secrets are coming out. The cast are mostly good. Suchet is good as ever, even making those final moments work (even if I didn't like them). Pertwee is a nice presence, Cusack is of course memorable, while Front, Wanamaker, Leonidas, Kelly, and others all do good work. The only odd performance actually was a Dutch student with an accent that even Steve McClaren would turn his nose up at; it was so forced and heavy that I always assumed it must be some clue.
Aside from these minor quibbles, and the way that it was not quite as accessible as my slow brain would have benefited from, it was a film I enjoyed – and certainly one that stands out in the so-far so- so thirteenth and final season.