Five Little Pigs

The Poirot series has always appealed to me because I love that era, but also because it's intriguing and interesting. This is no exception - actually, this is one of my favorites, if not THE favorite.

A young woman asks to meet Poirot and she explains that she believes her Mother was wrongly hanged for killing her Father. There are a number of flashbacks, beautifully arranged in accurate places. Every suspect is interviewed and gives their account on the story. One little pig is lying.

Not only did the incredibly sad story make an impact on me, but the hauntingly beautiful score which set just the right mood (mysterious, sad, haunting) for the movie. It is the cherry on top of a very beautiful, yummy cake.

Poirot: Five Little Pigs is one of the best movies I've seen. It just feels right. You just relax and enjoy the story - you don't have to cringe at bad actors. A truly beautiful, hauntingly sad movie.

This is definitely one of the best, if not the best, adaptation of a Christie story, "Five Little Pigs," and certainly a top Christie story in itself.

A young woman, Lucy Crale, comes to see Poirot to ask for help in clearing her mother's name. Fourteen years earlier, Caroline Crale was hanged for the murder of her husband, an artist, Amyas Crale. Lucy promises that even if it turns out that her mother committed the murder, she will accept it, but she wants the whole truth.

Poirot then visits the five people who were present when the murder took place: Amyas' best friend, Philip Blake, a visitor at the Crale home when the murder happened; Philip's brother Meredith, from whom it is suspected that Caroline stole the poison used to kill Amyas; Elsa Greer, Amyas' lover and whose portrait he was painting; Caroline's half-sister, Angela, who is sure her sister was innocent; and Miss Williams, Lucy's governess. After hearing each story, Poirot knows the truth and reunites all of them to make the announcement.

The story unfolds neatly, and at the end, Poirot keeps you guessing. The flashbacks are beautifully, dreamily photographed, and the locations are lovely, as is the period atmosphere. The way the flashbacks were filmed is reminiscent of the flashback scenes in the feature film, "Murder on the Orient Express." The acting is superb, with David Suchet perfect as usual, and he's surrounded by some top talent, including Rachel Stirling, the brilliant Toby Stephens (he comes by his talent honestly, being the son of Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith!), Gemma Jones, and Patrick Malahide, Top drawer - don't miss it.

I saw this when it first aired in 2003, when I was 11, and I was very impressed, really I was. Two years ago, I read the book, and I personally think the book is up there among the best with Death on the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia. What impressed me most with the TV adaptation, which I got on video recently, was that some of the scenes, like the hanging scene, were genuinely haunting, and that's what I want to feel in a mystery. The music score gave that haunted feeling and some poignancy, in an already complicated story. As far as I can remember, the overall structure was faithful to the book, and I also liked the actress of Caroline Crale, as you really feel for her, and Amias was certainly hissable here in the way they made him behave. Marc Warren and Gemma Jones also do well as Meridith and Mrs Williams. Also what the writers got right were Angela's disfigurement and although it was changed, the ending with Lucy in the lovely dress was very effective. As ever, David Suchet is impeccable as Hercule Poirot, and he is helped by a brooding script. However there were two things I didn't like about the adaptation- the idea of Blake being homosexual(I don't think that was in the book), and Julie Cox was perhaps too old for Elsa. All in all, technically and visually it's a delight to look at, and I enjoyed this adaptation very much, though I do prefer the book. 9/10 Bethany Cox.

I'm quite opinionated when it comes to Agatha Christie's books-turned-movies, but this one was simply great (ignoring a minute comparison with the book).

I liked pretty much everything, from the actors, and I LOVED Rachael Stirling's performance as Caroline Crale, to the directing filled with flashbacks. Everything was so tense that you could even feel the powerful emotions and feelings the characters were going through. You could even feel sorry for the murderer in the end, as you were made to understand exactly what he was going through. Once again, I have to say that the acting was top quality.

One of my favourite episodes!

Regular readers of my comments know I have dozens and dozens here that complain about Christie films. Oh, I'll ramble on and on about the nature of detective narrative and how the filmmakers (different each time) always seem to apply formulas in ways that trample on the most fun parts.

What a sourpuss! What a killjoy!

But it all sets the stage for my enthusiasm over this project.

Here's the basic problem set. You must set the track of the story so that facts can be interpreted in different ways, "playing fair" with different outcomes. At the same time, there are important mechanics of narrative which move the viewer into the thing, detecting, writing, conspiring. And then we have the cinematic and theatrical needs. All that stuff about faces and places, character and rhythms, types of rhythms.

We have it all here, thanks to some smart people and the happy structure of the novel, which is a rashoman-like retelling of the same event. Each layer, each visit shows more and we know some versions will be lies.

Yes, I must admit the trick of the overly juggled hand-held camera and washed colors for the "movie within" was a bit amateurish and annoying. But forgivable, especially since this Poirot is so unlike all the other Suchet portrayals. This one is not a prissy joke, but a mind on legs, one that can be patient with a foolish world. Swapping directors around is so interesting because even with the same actor, you get a completely different character.

This one also has a higher level of acting talent than in the series stories.

I've remarked on Julie Cox before. Striking woman, something like an anorexic Polly Walker.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.