It's lovely to see David Suchet tread the boards once again in the role he was born for, that of Agatha Christie's great detective, Hercule Poirot. I was a bit surprised to see that they were producing Cat Among the Pigeons. I read it years ago, when I was in junior high school. I recall writing a book report on it. It was an oddly structured novel; it had no main character. There were rather a lot of murders, and Poirot only came into the story in end to wrap things up. It felt as if he had been inserted into the story somewhat artificially. Years later I heard that this was exactly what had happened. Christie's publisher insisted that Poirot be stuck into the story to make the book more saleable. It would need a major re-write if it was going to be a good movie.
It got a major re-write. The little Belgian gentleman now enters the story at the beginning. The basic plot remains, a few details are changed, and it is all for the best. The setting, the costumes, the cinematography, all perfect. It is murder and mayhem at an exclusive girls school, with lots of suspects and plenty of interesting, well written and acted characters. Suchet is, of course, a delight. He looks, sounds, and acts exactly like the image of Poirot that Christie set in my mind all those years ago.
I see that there are more mysteries to come. Bon.
No comments:
Post a Comment