mckavitt
This ITV version of Death on the Nile is, in my opinion, right up there with Sad Cypress, Taken by the Flood, & Five Little Pigs, each one a masterpiece of televised Agatha Christie fiction, all w David Suchet, the best Poirot on film. First of all, this is a real film, nothing like a TV movie. As for the Ustinov version w its "star-studded cast", bah, humbug! That version has no heartbeat at all. One couldn't care less about the future of any of its characters, much less their pasts. Here, we have splendid British actors, some of them young & not yet famous, others well-established stars.In this version of Death on the Nile, the cast couldn't be better: the tragic couple, Emma Malin & JJ Field, as Jacqueline DeBelfort & Simon Doyle, respectively, are fabulous. Emily Blunt is marvelous as the spoiled but not completely hateful American heiress, Linnet Ridgeway. I will venture an opinion unvoiced thus far, that is, that the lovers' planning of Linnet's murder precedes Simon Doyle's marriage to her. In the very first scene, he bemoans being "broke", but Jackie's reassurance: "I'll think of something, I promise you, my darling, 'll think of something" elicits an immediate smile & revival of his sexual prowess.This is something, it is true, Poirot could not know, but we do, being witness to this seminal scene. And it turns out to be true. She does indeed think of something! As we see this in the v. next scene when she turns up at Linnet's palatial door w a suggestion that immediately places a v. sexy smiling Simon at Linnet's intimate disposal. Immediate shift to 3 months later & what has happened? Linnet has become Mrs Simon Doyle! How can we not believe this to be the plan of Jacqueline DeBelfort? As Poirot says: "She has the brains" & Simon Doyle is "the man of action to carry it (her plan) out."During the genesis of the shift to Egypt, we meet literally all the characters, one after the other, & get a pretty accurate glimpse of who they are... we are vastly amused, but also moved.It is here that Poirot's entrance is also made... & what an entrance it is! Commented as "... that dwarfish figure mincing down the stairs?" it sets the tone for the ironic or humorous scenes to follow. And a more true to life picture we could not hope for! Every character has a reason for being there... for existing!... from beginning to end. And all through this film, we get an even fuller picture of who Hercule Poirot is... a fine mind, but an unfulfilled life, lacking love ("Oh, Mademoiselle, how terrible it is, all that I have missed in life" to Jackie for whom love is everything) & one who is constantly buffeted by the willful ways of humanity... Performances by the rest of the cast are stellar! Nothing less than perfection. Each character is fleshed out, given depth, particularities, tics, overall personality, so that, unlike the prior Ustinov version, we are made to care about every one of them. Even the pathetic, heinous, not always PC characters. The interactions are so delightful, whether menacing or grotesque at times, that we are caught in Christie's net before we know it. That Judy Parfitt & Frances De la Tour play absolute but often comic horrors of the female species says something for the Thespian dedication we see at work here. But everyone is rich in character & worth every minute of the time devoted to them. Of particular note is the fact that the murdered Linnet Doyle elicits little or no sympathy from the other people present, the viewers &, most remarkably, from Poirot himself, from whom the wealthy heiress asked help & was uncharacteristically refused. Simon Doyle's cold-blooded murder is a chilling character study in itself, given what an amiable gent he seems to be... on every other occasion. The dramatic heart of the film, the murder, is the real climax of it all ~ handled w a suspenseful rhythm rarely surpassed, aided & abetted by the musical score, perfect throughout, though there are others to follow ~ such as the investigation itself, headed by Colonel Race, splendidly portrayed by James Fox. The brief exchange between him & Poirot: "Well don't be discouraged, Poirot, we'll get to the bottom of this", followed by Poirot's trenchant & hilarious response: "Oh, I know I will" is typical of the film's mood, though dark & ultimately tragic for several of its protagonists. And, of course, he does. And we are held by every moment of it, by the additional greased-lightning murders, after v. professional interrogations, cabin searches, more private face to face challenges by Poirot ~ The final climax & denouement are superb... w only Jacqueline DeBelfort's absence causing a little scratching of the head. Why on earth, since in all the other Poirots, everyone, including the guilty, is present? Followed by Poirot's also typically crystalline explanation of the crime. In his private interview w Jacqueline, she denies nothing & even manages to squeeze out a last few drops of compassion, not only from us the viewers, but also from Poirot, which explains his subsequent less than professional action in the ending scene. "Love makes you do many things, Monsieur Poirot" reveals some of the complexity here. The last glimpse of the lovers dancing in Jacqueline's poor but romantically candle-lit bedroom, before the drama, confirms the love & "life is unfair" themes reiterated throughout the film. So, speaking for myself, this is a top-notch Poirot episode, a thriller & romance, rarely if ever paralleled in a televised work of fiction & only by the 3 other Poirots, featuring David Suchet, mentioned at the beginning. Especially a whodunit. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
bensonmum2
Pithy plot summary: It's Agatha Christie, which means that someone is murdered in an elaborate manner and it's up to Poirot to find the killer. Oh, and it takes place on a boat on the Nile.As hard as I try, every time I watch the 2004 version of Death on the Nile, I can't do it without comparing it to the 1978 version. It's impossible. And the newer film, in my opinion, doesn't measure-up. While there are a number of things I could write about, there are two main areas where the newer Death on the Nile pales in comparison. Acting – with two exceptions, the actors in this film are not the world-class actors in the 1978 movie. Don't get me wrong, the actors here are fine – there aren't any poor performances. But they're not Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Maggie Smith, David Niven, or Jane Birkin. The two exceptions I mentioned are David Suchet and David Soul. As much as I like the 1978 movie, Peter Ustinov never really feels like Poirot. And, as much as I love George Kennedy, Soul is a better fit in the role.Tone – the newer film has a much darker, brooding feel to it that the earlier movie. As a result the newer movie's just not as much fun or enjoyable. This really hurts the 2004 production. The 1978 movie actually has quite a bit of comedy in it, but not enough to take away from the serious nature of the subject matter. Even other episode in the Agatha Christie's Poirot series have a lighter touch to them that would have worked much better here. That's not to say it's a bad movie, there's really a lot here to like. I've already mentioned the two Davids – Suchet and Soul. There's also some incredibly beautiful cinematography, nice costuming, and interesting locations. It's also as faithful to the significant plot points found in Christie's book as the earlier movie. On the whole, the good and bad just about negate each other and I rate it a 5/10.
Absalom1991
The change in production team and "vision" for the Poirot series achieved its most sterile and calculating ebb with "Death on the Nile." Once again, they worked very hard to create a little movie for people who never read Christie, wouldn't read Christie, wouldn't want to read Christie, and who lacked the stamina, education and taste to read Christie (who wrote, remember, for a very broad readership at the time - such is the ongoing trend from literacy now).What does that mean? Vapid performances, inept posing, contemporary mean-girl characters masquerading in costume, invocations of sex with lady-candles set to ignite the bedroom, drugs and dumbed-down scripts so that the venality of the actresses can match the vacancy of the target audience.On the Nile, I would have been satisfied to have seen Michele Buck, Delia Fine, Leila Kirkpatrick and Margaret Mitchell, Fiona McGuire and Kate Stannard - notice a trend? - served feet-first to the crocodiles. This production team took an ample budget and the talents of Suchet and de la Tour and spritzed stinky cologne at us as we tried to get by them, just as cosmetic sales staff do at department stores.Pfui.
TheLittleSongbird
The book Death on the Nile is long and complicated, but superb all the same, and one of my favourite Christies. The Peter Ustinov film is one of the better outings of his as while it wasn't completely faithful, it boasted a superb cast and it was sumptuous to look at. This adaptation for me is slightly inferior to the Ustinov film, and the only one of two to make me feel that way (the other is Evil Under the Sun). Starting with the pros first, it is breathtaking to look at. The Egyptian scenery and the costume and set designs were top draw, the script captured the style of the book perfectly and the music was excellent. And the acting was great, David Suchet is impeccable as Poirot, and Emma Malin is a superb Jackie, gorgeous and expressive. Frances DeLa Tour gives a first rate performance as Salome Otterborne, the same character that Angela Lansbury overplayed so deliciously in the 1978 film. In fact the only weak performance came from Emily Blunt as Linnette, she looked the part (more than Lois Chiles I'd say) but she wasn't quite bitchy enough. As a matter of fact, neither Blunt or Chiles quite nailed Linnette quite right. And there are slight improvements over the 1978 film too, one is that the pacing is faster, the other is that it is more faithful to the book, the murders are closer to the ones in the book and the ending done in Romeo and Juliet style is closer too. However, there are one or two flaws, namely the direction from Andy Wilson, it wasn't absolutely abysmal, but it wasn't quite as efficient or as suspenseful as it could've been. Also there were times where I felt that I had been told too much too early, and this was a similar problem I had with Murder on the Links. All in all, this is a very good episode. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox
