Towards Zero

Definitely worth a glance. I saw this on our local NPR station last night (July 15) and in this summer of Desperate Housewives reruns, thought "Mystery" is usually a viable alternative. And it was. A shock to see "old" Tom Baker. Has it really been three decades since he rode through time in his telephone booth? I liked the new Miss Marple ... at least she was new to me. Perhaps not as lovable as the cinematic Marple of 4 decades ago (was that Margaret Rutherford?), but okay. I'd gladly catch another episode of the series with her. It was also a treat to see the drop-dead handsome Greg Wise and present-day Julian Sands. The clues to solve the mystery are presented fairly and it is a good mystery, worthy of Christie. Check it out if you like brain teasers.

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

I guess I should consider myself singularly fortunate to be right at the Canadian border because we get a lot of Canadian and British shows that would not normally be seen in the USA. I did not even know that the BBC was running a whole new series of mysteries based on Agatha Christie's beloved Ms. Jane Marple, spinster sleuth extraordinary.

Geraldine McEwan as the latest and very good incarnation of Jane Marple gets invited for a weekend to the home of Eileen Atkins an old school chum. They've got quite a gathering of people at the Atkins homestead that weekend, including her ward Greg Wise and both his current wife and ex-wife. Now you know that's got to be a recipe for trouble.

But later on retired solicitor Tom Baker dies of a heart attack and shortly afterwards Atkins herself is bludgeoned to death. That does bring the police in. But of course the redoubtable Jane is way ahead of them.

McEwan's Marple is more Angela Lansbury and Helen Hayes matronly than Margaret Rutherford's old blunderbuss was. I remember recently seeing one of the Rutberford films and good old Margaret withheld clues deliberately from Scotland Yard. She wanted the fun of solving the case. But in this one, McEwan just shrewdly deduces from the behavior all around her and comes up with the answers.

It was nice to see Tom Baker whom I so well remember as the Doctor number four of the Doctors Who. I see this has also been the his last appearance to date in front of the camera.

Christie purists say that the plot was altered. Whether it was or not I can't speak to that, but Towards Zero is an intelligent drama and those who don't like pure Agatha can take to this one.

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.

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