The Sittaford Mystery

Let's get one thing straight: I couldn't possibly care less that these ITV mysteries don't bear any resemblance to the Christie novel. I've never read more than a couple of chapters of an Agatha Christie mystery, and I never intend to. I don't read *any* mysteries, for that matter, and so the reviewers' constant harping that these adaptations aren't true to the writer's "vision" carries little weight.

What I *do* enjoy are these English murder mysteries adapted for the stage and screen, and I think these ITV mysteries are good fun. Geraldine McEwen is a delight. I have never liked previous interpretations of Miss Marple, where she has come off as nothing but a dried-up, prunish, humourless busybody, but McEwen plays her with an amused twinkle in her eye.

That could characterize the entire production. They're witty and tongue-in-cheek, complete with bad "special effects" and cheesy music and title credits. The actors appear to be having the time of their lives, and it makes for a fun and fizzy mystery. There are worse ways to spend two hours on a Sunday night.

Faithful Shmaithful. Who cares? If you want Christie, read the book. If you want a fun evening, you could do far worse than these Marple mysteries.

Heavy snow is falling in the Dartmoor area of England and the guests of a small hotel find themselves being snowed in. News of an escaped prisoner loose on the moors dampens their spirits but to fill the time they decide to have a séance – even though one of their number, Clive Trevelyan, already has a connection with the other side. Meanwhile, at Sittaford House, Miss Marple discovers a death threat against Trevelyan and his loyal friend Enderby sets out to warn him despite the weather. When the séance predicts his death, things look bleak for Tevelyan, who finds himself surrounded by shadowy guests on all sides.

Several reviewers have already commented on the lack of respect shown to the source material but I would just say that those who have seen even one of ITV's "Marple" (not Miss Marple) series have no right to be surprised by this because it is a common factor across the whole lot of them. Accepting this, I wasn't looking for respect, just an entertaining mystery film – albeit the desecration of Christie's grave is rather a high price to pay for a Sunday night in. An hour goes by before we get a murder, which wouldn't be a problem if it used this time to do anything useful but instead it fails to build up back-story or characters. The slightly comic tone is forced and false while the actual mystery aspect is surprising dull – isn't the point of ITV revisionist approach to make it more energetic and accessible than the stiffer BBC version? As ever McEwan is all at sea with her character and does nothing interesting with Miss Marple. She is a dithery old thing but isn't able to bring out the sharp mind behind the physical appearance. The support cast ahs the usual famous names but, as usual, they aren't given much of value to do. Dalton is a strange find but he, Kaye and Smith are better than this. The performances are mostly a bit clunky even if everyone seems to be trying hard. The direction is colourful but the total delivery is badly inconsistent; comic music is played during unfunny moments and the visual trickery undermines the development of the story. To be honest I was bored and didn't ever really get into the story; I was hoping that the total rewrite of the original story would somehow produce something good but by the end of it I was left wondering what Churchett was thinking when he scrapped most of Christie's original novel.

Overall a bright and pointless mystery film that never decides what it wants to do and fails to do anything as a result. The presentation is bright but the mystery failed to engage me and I had lost interest long before it got anywhere near the solution. The cast can do nothing with the material and generally it just flops its way to the end without any great class or distinction. Others will say it is poor because of how it compares to the original material, personally I think it is poor even if you meet it on its own terms.

OK it's not a Miss Marple book and the murderer is changed. Does this really matter Personally I want to see something different to the book. What's the point of seeing a film of a book that you have read when you know exactly what will happen. The acting was good especially Timothy Dalton, Zoe Telford and Mel Smith. It's all very atmospheric and I enjoyed it. The Plot? A middle aged MP/Government minister/War hero is on the verge of replacing Winston Churchill as Prime Minister. Before he can accept he has something to do. It appears that he needed to get married. Following a Ouija Board session in a small hotel cut off by snow, the MP is murdered in his bedroom. The actual murderer is the least likely suspect till the end reveal.

Despite how annoyed I was at the multitude of changes in this adaption, I have to admit to rather liking it in a way. Kitsch, camp and ridiculous. But it genuinely held no resemblance to the book- the settings, characters and murder were all tinkered with, and the murderer and back story utterly changed! The inclusion of Miss Marple was just not necessary, considering this book stands up very well on its own without the inclusion of either of Chrsities famous sleuths. Whilst I praise the effort, and inclusion of good guest stars etc, I just didn't see why they had to change it so much. Stick with the book, I say....!

It occurred to me that, when you rank all 23 episodes of "Agatha Christie's Marple" from highest to lowest IMDb-rating, "The Sittaford Mystery" is all the way at the bottom of the list. That being said, 6.8/10 is still a terrific rating many movies and TV-shows would be very happy with, but it's remarkably weaker than the average rating of the series. I can think of a few reasons to explain why the installment is slightly less popular.

First and foremost, the source novel is one of Agatha Christie's most known stories, but it doesn't feature Miss Marple anywhere. It's not the only episode based on a non-Marple novel, but the lead character is usually ingeniously processed into the other stories, whereas she's pretty much the third wheel on the wagon in "The Sittaford Mystery". Moreover, Miss Marple solves the murder without even coming near the scene of the crime. She bases her theories on what others tell her, whilst she's stuck in a mansion during heavy snowfall. I know she's good, but she cannot be that good. Secondly, it takes an awful long time before the murder is committed. The film is over halfway already when the killer strikes, which leaves very little time to guess along for the culprit's identity and motives.

And yet, don't be too alarmed, as "The Sittaford Mystery" is nonetheless a compelling TV-movie with a very intelligent finale. Great performances, as usual, and the most momentous appearance here is definitely Timothy Dalton. His biggest role will always remain that of James Bond, of course, but personally I prefer to see him as a sneaky and callous figure, like he did in "The Doctor and the Devils", "Hot Fuzz" or here in "The Sittaford Mystery".