Meurtre au soleil

I have watched another two notoriously famous works of Agatha Christie, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (1974) and DEATH ON THE NILE (1978), despite of three in a row, I could still enjoy this one to a great extent.

The distinction of a star-studded cast and an isolated milieu is too overt to be surprising, luckily enough the island itself compensates a mind-distracting delightfulness. Also it has been the third time around, so as that I am lucidly familiar with its plot design-pattern, the obvious target is farcically recognizable and the murderer is not so perplexing to guess, in addition that all the cartoonish characters attenuate the tone of the headlining murder, which I will recommend to those who usually are shunned by the murder/crime genre.

Speaking of its cast, I adore Maggie Smth, I am thoroughly enjoy her a touch over-the-top performance here, also Jane Birkin is magnificently multi-faceted (I couldn't recall her roll in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS though). Diana Rigg and Sylvia Miles are perfectly for their roles as bitchy, bitter, vanity bourgeois women. By comparison the equivalent supporting male cast is being eclipsed wholesale, of which even a renowned James Mason cannot avoid.

Peter Ustinov's Pourot is cannily uncompromising with a sharp wit under the contrast of his chubby appearance (although my favorite is Albert Finney in MOTOE). I'm curious now Sherlock Holmes franchise has been resuscitated into somewhat bromance-cum-action flick, maybe it's the right time for Monseiur Pourot to reestablish his name as a genuine detective mind versus a lumbering body, let wisdom rules again!

Peter Ustinov recreates the role of Poirot, following the wonderful Death On The Nile. This is not the story as Agatha Christie wrote it, but here we have a rare example of the movie being better than the book. In fact it would be more accurate to say that here we have a murder mystery based on an idea by Miss Christie. We are presented with is a cast of characters, a murder victim, and just about everyone has a motive. Poirot of course, deduces who did it. The sun in question, under which this evil takes place, shines down on a privately owned island in the Mediterranean, giving us a warm and exotic location.

There isn't one bad performance among the cast, several of whom have appeared before in at least one other Poirot story. Maggie Smith and Jane Birkin in Evil Under The Sun; Dennis Quilley and Colin Blakely in Murder On The Orient Express. Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith almost steal the show as two women who smile sweetly at each other as they spit venom! But every bit as good are Blakely, Quilley, Mason, McDowall and the rest. And while all this is going on, the soundtrack is solid gold Cole Porter, which has been orchestrated perfectly to fit the story.

This movie is pure fun. Make yourself comfortable, suspend disbelief and allow yourself to be transported to another era and location for a couple of hours of enjoyment.

What can I say, this is an excellent film, only equal to The Suchet Poirot Murder On the Links, it's the most enjoyable Agatha Christie That Ustinov has ever made!!!! 10/10 Stars!!!

It's one of those films I'd almost forgotten about after David Suchet's outing, but Ustinov's has a huge charm which can be overlooked no further.

The plot for some part is a little far fetched, but such is the quality of the writing and the mystery itself it doesn't matter in the slightest, for it to have worked the timings would have had to have been literally to the minute.

The characterisations are the strong point of the film. Ustinov made a brilliant debut in Death on the Nile, and he shows once again just how good he was in the role. Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith are wonderful in their respective roles in particular, both actually make their characters more interesting then they appear in the book, the interplay between the two is wonderful, so much fun. Nicholas Clay and Jane Birkin are fantastic also, her transformation is sensational, what a beauty!

It is a lavish looking film, the locations are sensational, and the costumes are superb, they really add a glamorous note to it, Rigg looks sensational in many scenes.

Overall 9/10. It's a great story, it's brilliantly acted, and the characters are just magical, it's hugely entertaining!

The best still remains "Death On The Nile". I feel that the "first act" of "Evil Under The Sun" is ever-so-slightly too long. And the very final moments of the film, after the revelation of the killer(s) and AFTER the classic "Jane Birkin walking down the staircase" scene, could have been better executed. Other than that, this is a highly enjoyable film that can be watched multiple times. The first time, you'll like it more for the cleverly conceived mystery, which I would actually classify as one of Agatha Christie's best; it seems almost unsolvable, yet it's so simple when it's all explained. In the following viewings, you'll appreciate more the magnificent locations (I'm still planning to visit "Daphne's place" someday - I'd love to see how and if it has changed over the years), the quotable dialogue, the delightful performances from the entire cast (starting of course with Sir Peter Ustinov, so funny when he's reveling in his own brilliance), the grandiose score. The generally excellent David Suchet "Poirot" series also adapted this story, in 2002, but that version can't hold a candle to this one in my opinion. (***)