Towards Zero

I am neither a fan or a hater of the new Marple series. There have been some surprisingly good ones as well as some duds. Towards Zero is one of the better/middling and more watchable entries, while not as good as Murder is Announced, Moving Finger, Blue Geranium, Pocket Full of Rye and Murder Crack'd from Side to Side(if we are including the Julia McKenzie entries too), it is much better than Ordeal by Innocence, Nemesis, Secret of Chimeys, Sittaford Mystery and At Bertram's Hotel. In fact, the latter two are the only ones I found unwatchable, not only were they poor adaptations but even on their own terms I just couldn't get into them.

Enough of that. About Towards Zero, it is not without its hindrances. The pace is sometimes a little dull and pedestrian, not as tedious as Sittaford Mystery, but there are some scenes towards the first half that begged for a steroid shot and then the build up to the final solution felt rushed. Also while the direction has its moments, there are times when it is mediocre as well and in the scenes where there is not as much happening some of dialogue is on the weak side.

However, Towards Zero does look great. The settings are picturesque and the cinematography is fluid too, while I also loved the atmospheric lighting shades. The music is also a plus, it is not overbearing or obtrusive as it can be, instead it enhances the atmosphere. While there are some changes, this is not a Marple story and Superintendent Wheeler is omitted, the plot is relatively easy to follow and quite solid up until the conclusion, which doesn't disappoint. Also unlike an adaptation like say At Bertram's Hotel, while as I've said there are changes, it is not a complete rewrite, and there are parts that have the Agatha Christie spirit. The acting is also good, Geraldine McEwan is not as fussy or too light-hearted as she can be and she works very well in one of her better performances of the series. Also excellent are Greg Wise who is dashing without being bland and the always dependable Eileen Atkins who is delightful. Tom Baker overdoes it a tad, but I too enjoyed him.

Overall, a solid adaptation and one of the better/middling entries. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Being a massive reader and huge fan of murder mysteries, I have always thought: " Agatha Christie is the best crime writer." Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple have always been my favorite sleuths to be honest (never really cared for Tommy and Tupence)."Towards Zero", which actually does not have Marple as the detective and is a stand-alone mystery book, was a pretty enjoyale read for me ( don't think it's one of the better Agatha Christie books though) and the adaptation of the novel is about on the same level as the book- it's fine.

Let's go through the good aspects first.

. The production values of "Towards Zero" are great as usual. Everything looks good and the music, which creates an unsettling mood, is very haunting.

. The script and the direction have their moments. Sometimes the mystery is very compelling with some clever red herrings and okay character-work.

. The acting is mostly good too with Greg Wise giving the most intriguing performance. Geraldine McEwan, who I do not consider as the best Miss Marple (Julia Mckenzie being the best of the series by a mile), is also enjoyable in her role.

That being said...

. The pacing of "Towards Zero" is quite pedestrian indeed. In the beginning the story did not get as properly going as it should have and in the middle it dragged quite a bit.

.The dialogue was not very witty at times and the direction did not flow as fluently. That being the case with a couple of not very good- shot compositions and quite rough editing.

. Also, am I the only one, who thought: Miss Marple did not have a proper place in the story?

Overall, a decent adaptation.

6/10 HK

"Towards Zero" is another entry into the controversial Geraldine McEwan Miss Marple series, known for its great production values and rewriting of Agatha Christie. This Christie story is intact except for the addition of Miss Marple. It's quite a good plot, too, with top actors.

Miss Marple visits a friend from school, Camilla Tressilian (Eileen Atkins), while staying at a nearby hotel, and Lady Camilla has a few people who are also visiting, and it's a bit uncomfortable. There's her nephew, Neville Strange (Greg Wise), a tennis star, with his new wife Kay (Zoe Tapper) and his former wife, Audrey. Normally they don't visit at the same time, but Neville ran into Audrey (Saffron Burrows) and she seemed fine about it, so he and Kay are going to visit his aunt now and taking another trip at a time when they would normally visit her. However, Kay is very bothered by Audrey's presence and Neville's attention to her. Also on hand is Freddie Treves (Tom Baker), a retired attorney, a male friend of Kay's, and a childhood friend of Audrey's; she was engaged to his brother, who was killed in an auto accident.

One night as the group is sitting around drinking, Freddie tells the story of a child who accidentally killed another child with a bow and arrow -- except that it wasn't an accident, but murder. He said he would always recognize this child, even as an adult, because of a physical abnormality. When he gets back to his hotel, there's a sign on the elevator stating it is out of order, meaning he must take the stairs. The next day, he's found dead of an apparent heart attack.

A while later, the hostess herself is found dead.

It's apparent to Miss Marple that Freddie's announcement set the wheels in motion for his own murder, but who killed Lady Tressilian, and are the murders connected? The police have their murderer, they think, but Marple has doubts.

This is a very good movie, with Marple replacing another recurring character in some Christie books, Superintendent Battle. The story is all the more interesting because several people in the group have minor physical deformities.

My only complaint is that Greg Wise, who plays the tennis star who just lost at Wimbledon, was 41 at the time of the filming -- a little old to still be playing championship tennis, if one remembers the fuss made over Jimmy Connors playing the U.S. Open at 39.

You never know what you are going to get with these Marples. Its always a mystery, but sometimes you will hit a happy combination of story, adapter and director. This is such a happy time. I do not know the director, but can see that he has substantial experience in at least staging and getting the actors adjusted to the enterprise. Some of these actors are known to us, and they really are comparatively excellent.

One character, the rich old woman, is a terrific character, worth admission by herself. The mystery is kept pretty close to the narrative so you have a pretty good chance of actually working on it. Usually, the deal is that you just have to wait until the end and act surprised. Oddly, the denouement here on a boat is the only weak segment. The detective trick this time is easy to spot if you know the sorts of tricks Christie liked to play with the Marple series. That business about tennis should be a clue.

Saffron Burrows must have it hard, being able to be cast as a pretty one. Here she manages to be something else, a rather sorry face in fact until the very end where she is transformed. Pretty good effect if you know the actress.

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

Geraldine MacEwan shines again in this latest installment of the updated Marple series from Britain: Marple is holidaying in Devon to visit a bedridden school chum whose family is descending upon her coastal manor. Among them are a tennis star, his first wife and his second, new wife who seem to be at odds; a meek and quiet family friend; and an apparent gigolo friend of the second wife. Add into the mix Tom Baker as an aged veteran who may or may not recognize a murderer from years past and you have a classic recipe for mystery.

The locales are picturesque and the characters as eccentric and distinct as in past episodes, however something feels very dull and pedestrian about this particular Marple outing. Perhaps because there are fewer likable characters this time round or because Miss Marple seems unusually subdued this time out.

It's worth a watch but certainly not the finest in the series.