Miss Marple - La dernière énigme

I was quite taken aback by the reviews here, but for good reason. I read all of the Agatha Christie books and stories years and years ago. Truthfully I can't remember some of them in great detail. While I found "Sleeping Murder" confusing, I didn't realize nearly everything about Christie's story had been changed.

I'll also be brutally honest - I liked Joan Hickson's acting, but she wasn't my idea of Miss Marple. She wasn't lively enough. You know how it is, you read a book and you get a picture in your mind. Mine was always Helen Hayes, don't ask me why - a little old lady with bright eyes and a beautiful smile and a sharp mind. I have to agree - this Marple, Geraldine McEwan, is too knowing. Miss Marple in the books had a cheerful, nonthreatening way about her, and she always solved the mysteries by making a comparison to happenings in the village of St. Mary Mead.

Anyway, I digress - this story apparently retains very little of the original. It's gorgeous to look at - excellent production values, incredible landscapes and costumes, and period pieces. Sophia Myles was lovely as Gwenda. I couldn't figure out the relationships between the members of the comedy troupe either. Also, another reviewer is correct, nobody just picked up the phone from India and dashed off a call to England like it was one street over and vice versa.

The story, such as it is, is a good one. It's just not an Agatha Christie story.

Gwenda Halliday, a wealthy young Englishwoman recently emigrated from India, intuitively buys a seaside manor house, where she re-experiences a murder in a good Agatha Christie adaptation. Of course, it's adjusted for a modern audience, but it's quite engaging with the focus on the characters, they are fleshed out well, and the acting is fine all around. The denouement was well done, though I wasn't too surprised as I had already the splendid book.

It starts off incredibly bright and vibrant with the Indian dancers, you can't beat a bit of Julian Wadham. The music is quite nice too. We get a glimpse of young Gwen, and the sad tail of her mother's death. They clearly tried to do something different, and it's all started off really well.

Sadly it starts to go a little off the boil...

Sophia Myles is a beautiful girl and makes a very good Gwen, but her realisation that she's been in that house before is forced through too quickly, it feels rushed. Sophia does act her scenes out brilliantly though and her terror at the flashback is truly well done.

The Theatre scene is stunning, DAME Harriet Walter on stage, joyous, once again Myles is up to the mark.

Charles Vanstone's voice overs are cringe worthy, and serve no real purpose. Where did he get that ridiculous voice from!!

Una Stubbs is how can i put it, unusual in the role I have to admit, and she looks like Geraldine's grandmother, which way have they done her up!!!! Geraldine herself looks a big ragged in Sleeping Murder, she's wearing some dubious cotton seconds.

I hated the Funnybones, each of them are actresses and actors of some quality, but they are given a shambles of a script. Sarah Parish is marvellous through, definitely the best of the bunch, Dawn French is NO singer.

I am a lifelong fan of Hickson's versions, and they are glorious, I did not want to do the usual comparisons because they are totally different, but they are leagues apart. Personally I was always a fan of changes to the scripts and updates, I know the JH version and the book so well, I welcome a few changes, good ones that is, largely they got them wrong here.

I'm one of the few that loved McEwan's Jane Marple, I loved the twinkle in the eye, but she was very poorly written for in this one.

It get's a 6, largely because of the performances of Sophia Myles and Phil Davies, without them it would have been a 5. The script is a little disjointed, it could have been so good, especially with the stellar cast. The last 20 minutes are the high point, really good. Shame the rest wasn't the same quality.

Here's a thought. In filmed adaption of crime novels, more often than not-the plot is changed. Often radically. Does it spoil the story ? If you expect the film to be like a book summary, yes. But an adaption is a film, a totally different medium, BASED on the book. Now does this justify the changes made to Dame Agathas novel ? Does it make the story more suitable for film ?That is for anyone to comment, but please. Do not slaughter the movie for not being accurate to every novel detail. In my humble opinion, the changes does make the story more interesting. I love Agatha Christies books, but I always found her Poirot-stories more suitable for film adaption. At least if one wants the adaption to be faithful to the novel. I agree with most commentators here, the Hickson Marple is far more accurate with the novels in mind. But the changed Marple like this one is more colorful, more vivid and hence more entertaining. The acting is excellent, the filming is stunning and the mystery is certainly adequate. There are little holes in the plot, but there is nothing new in that. All in all, well done- and a brave adaption to put some freshness into the sometimes-please forgive me all you faithful-slightly boring Marplestories.

Gwenda Halliday moves to England from India and moves into a house in a seaside village. She will soon be married and needs to renovate the house first. However, she keeps getting the strange feeling that she's been in the house before even though, as far as she is aware, she has never been in England before. Then a view of a part of the house sparks an image of a murder in her mind, and she gets extremely agitated. Her assistant, Hugh Hornbeam, is worried about her and calls in a friend, Miss Marple. It turns out Ms Halliday has previously lived in England, in that same house.

Quite intriguing, especially as the mystery involves a potential murder committed nearly 20 years previously. "Potential" because we don't even know if there was a murder, adding to the intrigue.

Quite engaging too. We have some interesting relationship drama and the plight and backstory of Gwenda is quite engaging. Some colourful characters too and a touch of romance.

Great cast, with some big names: Paul McGann, Dawn French, Geraldine Chaplin and Martin Kemp (of Spandau Ballet fame). The standout for me is the gorgeous Sophia Myles, who plays Gwenda.