The Mystery of the Blue Train

Camera work here is so terribly distracting one must focus on the plot intensely to follow Poirot as he unravels this mystery. Casting the horrid likes of elliot gould make matters worse, as he hams it up unmercifully. Backlit scenes, blurry visuals, one wonders what in the Wide World of Mystery were they going for...

I am not a terribly big fan of Agatha Christie, but "Mystery of the Blue Train" is one of her novels that I did in fact like and was therefore thrilled to hear that they've made this TV adaptation as part of the "Poirot" series with David Suchet.

Unfortunately, it was not to be... it started on the wrong foot immediately with the way it was directed--was there no one around to rein the director in? Everything seems shot in darkness, through smoke, half-obscured, half-reflected in mirrors, etc. It's often difficult to even see the faces of actors because of this.

Of course, that would probably be bearable if the screenplay adaptation wasn't so bad. It takes amazing liberties with the novel (some of which have been already mentioned in other comments) that I couldn't believe. The storyline doesn't seem to make any sense any more, and the dynamic between some of the characters has been completely changed.

In conclusion, do not go anywhere near this movie if you've liked the novel at all.

At 53 minutes on streaming, captions say Duke Ellington. It is Sing Sing Sing, Benny Goodman's famous recording from 1937. I kept feeling confused during this episode. But the train and the beautiful scenery in Nice make it memorable. I would have liked to know more about the history of the ruby. I tried to put myself in Katherine's shoes and I don't know if I would so easily fallen in with Poirot as a companion. I'm also surprised at the French police giving Poirot the lead in the investigation. There are a lot of good actors in this episode, so many I felt like it was being set up as Orient Express lite.

Of course, this isn't the first time Poirot is on a train where someone is murdered. "The Mystery of the Blue Train" is from season 10 and stars David Suchet as Poirot, Elliot Gould, Lindsay Duncan, Bronagh Gallagher, and James D'Arcy.

In this episode, Poirot works to solve the murder of Ruth Kettering, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. She is beaten literally beyond recognition. Added to this, in order to be closer to her lover, she changed rooms with Katherine Grey, a new heiress whom Poirot has befriended. Ruth owned the brilliant Heart of Fire ruby, which is now missing - but the safe wasn't broken into. When Grey visits her relatives, she is attacked, raising the question - did the killer have the right woman? There's gambling, adultery, broke relatives and resentment as Poirot investigates the suspects further. Lindsay Duncan as Gray's suddenly attentive cousin (she's broke) is fantastic. I had the pleasure of seeing her in person in "Private Lives," and she is a wonderful actress. Suchet as usual is the perfect Poirot. I also had the privilege of seeing him in person in "Amadeus." He truly is a chameleon. Georgina Rylance is also excellent as Katherine Gray, an insecure young woman who's just inherited a fortune and now socializes with a different class of people.

The rest of the acting, frankly, wasn't fabulous - you could spot the fake American accents right away and the characters seemed put on rather than the real thing. It might have been the dialogue, it might have been the directing - I tend to think it was the latter.

I don't remember this book, so I didn't mind whatever changes there were. I enjoyed the story.

In the brief making-of feature included with the DVD of this episode, the screenwriter points out that Agatha Christie considered this one of her weakest novels, and that they had taken quite a few liberties in its adaptation. Purists will probably be angry at this, but it's my guess (never having read the book, mind you) that most of the changes must have been improvements. Because the final story presented on the screen is far from Christie's worst - in fact, it is closer to her best.

Although I liked "Sad Cypress" and "The Hollow" very much, it was mostly due to the direction and performances - the mysteries, though undeniably very clever (especially in their killing methods), felt somewhat thin. The "Mystery of the Blue Train" is the exact opposite of thin: it presents a complex web of interconnected plots and subplots, and a wide variety of characters / suspects, all of them colorfully brought to life by a first-rate cast (truly, there is not one weak performance in this film). You're not even sure who is going to get bumped off until he / she does! David Suchet gets the chance to do one of his showiest "Poirot gathering all the suspects, accusing everyone and taking his sweet time before revealing the truth" sequences at the end, and he's clearly enjoying himself after the low-key performance he has given up to that point in the film. There are also some "modern" elements introduced - more cursing than before, and even some (practically unnoticeable) CGI - but somehow everything works like a charm.

Poirot - 10th season and still going strong! (***)