The Hollow

Hercule Poirot is at his country cottage, his escape from London on the weekends. He is invited to dinner at the nearby mansion of Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell. Also present are Gerda Christow, Henrietta Savernake, Edward Angkatell and Midge Hardcastle - all related in some way to at least one of the Angkatells - and John Christow, Gerda's husband. Henrietta is secretly having an affair with John and John is looking for a good time to tell his wife. After the dinner a woman appears to ask for matches. She is Veronica Clay, a neighbour and famous actress, and someone who was engaged to John Christow 12 years earlier. The next day, John is found murdered, shot to death, with his wife standing over him with a revolver in her hand. She is the obvious suspect, but things aren't that cut and dried.

Interesting mystery with a good twist at the end. A few good red herrings along the way too. Ending doesn't quite have the tension and build-up of the usual Poirot mystery though.

No Chief Inspector Japp, Captain Hastings or Miss Lemon either and they always add colour to the proceedings, being a ying to Poirot's yang.

As always, some stars or stars-to-be in the supporting cast. This time we have Edward Fox and Sarah Miles. Fox must either have needed the money or did this for a laugh, as his role is quite small - playing the butler - and his lines quite limited. Seemed well below his capabilities and fame.

Sarah Miles plays Lady Angkatell, an incredibly irritating woman. Her character almost single-handedly wrecks the movie. Whether that it is the fault of the writer, director or Miles, I don't know, though I suspect Miles was simply overdoing the lunacy side of the character.

Excellent work all around especially by the actress who played the wife Gerda (Claire Price) as well, of course, as David Suchet. I did really figure out whodunit but that is beside the point. The ending, which I won't divulge (someone describes it on the Board in answer to someone else's question if you are interested.) I found really sad. Despite Agatha Christie's reputation for writing cardboard characters, I thought these really well-rounded by and large.

The pacing of the story was good and I enjoyed seeing Sarah Miles as Lucy and Edward Hardwicke (Cedric's son I believe in addition to being a well-known Dr. Watson.)) as her husband.

Just after complaining that I found Death on the Nile to be a little telegraphed and obvious, the 9th season comes to a close with an episode which is nothing of the sort and features a nice mystery where the floor is open and nothing is given away too easily. Within the base elements of this case is the feeling that everything is a little too neat, and a little too balanced to really convince as a real situation. Within the film, this is very well presented by virtue of the actual murder scene almost being a frozen tableau when we (and Poirot) come across it – indeed there is a certain comedic edge to it as Poirot assumes that it is a game, so staged and unnatural does it seem. This very striking image I found most pleasing visually, but that it folds well into the theme of the episode made it work even better.

From here we have an engaging and quite satisfying mystery; with plenty going on, but not so much that the viewer feels they are being deliberately swamped. Technically it is very well delivered, with a consistent sense of pace and style to it – always feeling that slightly browning, crisp way of an English Autumn in the look and feel of the delivery. The pacing of the delivery is important and I enjoyed here how well it seemed to let things bed in, not giving them too long nor rushing them off the screen in favor of the next thing. The cast help this feeling and there is a real sense of quality with Dodds, Miles, Fox and others all in good turns.

In the end it is satisfyingly concluded and delivered in the normal way, making for an enjoyable and very well presented Poirot.

While vacationing in the country, Hercule Poirot is invited to lunch at a large manor house just down the road. Upon arrival, he's greeted by an unusual sight. Four people, one holding a gun, standing over a man who has just been shot. The gun the woman is holding proves not to have been the murder weapon. Poirot knows something is wrong with the scene he's just witnessed, but what? Can Poirot solve the mystery and find the real killer?

I haven't seen all of episodes in the Poirot series (yet), but I doubt I'll see one that I enjoy much more than this. The Hollow might be the best of the bunch. So what makes this one so good? As best as I can remember, there are only a few instances where the movie strays from Agatha Christie's book - and that's a good thing. As with all these Poirot episodes, the costuming, sets, lighting, and almost every other technical detail you can name are spot on perfect. The acing in The Hollow is as good as you'll find. David Suchet, Jonathan Cake, Claire Price, Edward Hardwicke, Sarah Miles, and Lysette Anthony all give performances worth noting. But Megan Dodds is the real standout. She's perfect as Henrietta Savernake. She's smart, clever, resourceful, beautiful, and every bit Poirot's equal. I've probably given Dodds too much credit and should save some for the screenwriters. The character of Henrietta is one of the best written in the series. Finally, there's the music. I don't remember being so moved by the music in any other Poirot episode. It fits the mood perfectly.

After my most recent viewing, I was going to rate The Hollow a 9/10, but I'm not sure that does it justice. I've seen The Hollow four or five times and even though I know the answer to mystery, it's still as good (or better) as the first time I saw it. Why not - I'll give it a 10/10. It's that good.

I hadn't read the book for a couple of months prior to seeing this, but while I enjoyed it I never considered it a favourite. While not the best Poirot, The Hollow is a rock solid adaptation, and is remarkably true to the book. Midge and Edward's relationship development is a little too out of the blue, my only criticism of the adaptation, but I loved the Hollow's serious and dark tone while maintaining some dark, subtle humour too. The story does have moments when it is thin, but it is still involving and suspenseful, and standout scenes have to be the face to face confrontations between Henrietta and Poirot and of course the final solution. The adaptation is exquisite to watch with terrific production values, and the music is a nice touch. The acting is excellent as per usual, David Suchet is impeccable as the eccentric Poirot, while Megan Dodds is breathtakingly-beautiful as Henrietta, Jonathan Cake is suitably loathsome as John Cristow and Sherlock Holmes's Edward Hardwicke is an inspired piece of casting as Sir Henry. Overall, a solid adaptation and wonderful to watch. 9/10 Bethany Cox