dmatthews03

This is a sly dog of a movie. Like "Beat the Devil" you have the impression that the cast and crew are having a great time but are not always letting the audience in on the joke.

I'd forget about the almost incomprehensible plot details. Just go with the flow and keep your ears and eyes open for the odd snappy line of dialog and striking composition.

I can see in the future some movie fans having earnest discussions about the plot details and characters (probably much to the amusement of the makers of the film.

I liked it.

The Moonstone was of course a landmark Victorian novel it being the first detective novel.

There is much to enjoy here, the scenery and settings are great, the photography and music excellent. The principal actors, Greg Wise and Keeley Hawes, are fine, playing it straight and acting their way through the twists and turns of the often ridiculous plot with great sincerity. I wasn't too keen on Anthony Sher's Inspector Cuff I found it too stagy and mannered and some of the minor characters are over blown but all in all it's a good production.

Lots of fun if taken in the right spirit.

With the talents involved this could have better. The comic scenes are just not funny enough and the dialogue isn't as sharp and clever as it seems to think it is, the stars look great though and fill their roles admirably. Their are delights along the way, some great locations and nice photography and a few nicely staged musical numbers which do however slow down the pace even more. McCary's Irish sentiment gets a bit mawkish at times but the ending is well done.

If you're in a nostalgic and benevolent mood this isn't a bad time waster.