What a ride these ITV Marple versions are! Sticking with the tradition that a different adapter, director and crew handle each episode means that they vary considerably. All are produced lavishly in parts, and rarely scrimp on sets. All have the same actress playing Marple.
But the approach to material, the notion of what matters, the cinematic philosophy all change from one to the other and to my mind vary as much among them as between one of these and one by another producer. Here we have respect for the complexity of the mystery. Because the story incidentally involves trains at the beginning, we have lush, overblown references to the Lumet version of a Poirot classic. The similarities are striking and obvious. And very, very effective. The energy of this beginning is not sustained, but it does blast the beginning, and the energy of the locomotive is somewhat imparted to the huge hulk of a house.
As all these are, the time is reset to be after the war, a generation or more after the books. I'm not sure what it says about a time and place that there are so many and such great houses; the point here is to serve as an inhumanly grotesque representation of the wealth that is the presumed motive.
In most of these episodes, they show extreme sensitivity to casting, putting actors in roles that resonant with what we know of them. Here we have Jenny Agutter as the mother who dies (naturally) at the very beginning. Her role only hinted at recalls her history in adventure. We first saw her in the amazing "Walkabout."
Someone in the editing shop knows how to use filters effectively.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.