La signora in giallo - Appuntamento con la morte

Jessica Fletcher attends a writers' conference. One of the new members, Russian author Yuri Malenkovich, causes a stir by announcing that his manuscript is set to rock the authorities of both Russia and the US. The night of his introduction, he's killed.

It's a good follow-up from South by Southwest; I'm glad they took their time and opted not to churn out TV movies. I think the previous movie was slightly better, but this is still a good second outing.

The storyline is a good one, and the ninety-plus-minute run time allows it to develop well. I didn't work out who the killer was. It's a good story with some interesting characters and a few nice scenes.

The series often had Russian spies and KGB agents, so it was fitting that we had a couple here. I wish they'd expanded a little on the athlete's story, that came to an abrupt end.

Daniel Dae Kim was rather good; this comes just before millions would get to know him in Lost. Richard Crenna was excellent as Warren, and Lansbury's performance was first-rate; she stepped back into Jessica's shoes so easily; she's fabulous here.

7/10.

Jessica Fletcher becomes a speaker at Speakers' Incorporated attended by various authors. Russian author Uri Malenkovitch also attends to promote his book about the KGB. When he is killed, Jessica must help a struggling writer who is accused of his murder.

Angela Lansbury looks older yet shines as always, with her reassuring, matronly presence causing to make you forget about the world's ills for just a short while. She gives her character a human quality, which I feel is one of the reasons why MSW was so successful. Here, this TV movie isn't so different than the episode, except that it's longer, elaborating on characterisation and plot. The plot is quite engaging, and it's just all cosy fun that is so much fun.

This full length Murder She Wrote TV film has Jessica Fletcher at a writer's conference organized by Richard Crenna and while JB Fletcher is a noted celebrity the big fish at the conference is former KGB agent Duncan Regehr who has written one successful novel. Now Regehr is promising a tell all expose of his years at the KGB. As you can imagine a lot of people wouldn't want to see that in print.

So Regehr is murdered and at the more leisurely pace that a feature film offers Angela Lansbury solves it.

Regehr is the type that will leave few mourning for him. Still murder is murder. There is a final scene with Lansbury giving a speech and she's asked about the ethics of getting involved with so many real life murder cases. Her speech ought to be required viewing for all, it's that good.

It is good to see Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) back in action in the second TV movie after the Murder, She Wrote TV series ended. This time, Jessica is among the guest authors at the Speakers Incorporated to give a speech. Russian author Uri Malenkovitch (Duncan Regehr) is another attending author and plans to promote his book about his former days in the KGB. When he is murdered, Jessica is called upon to help solve the case.

This movie possesses the same charm, sleuth tactics and plot twists and turns of the TV series, and is filled with much intriguing plot points and daring investigation scenes that puts Jessica collaborating with the sometimes oblivious local investigators and FBI agents to solve the case (it would have been better to have the detectives and FBI prove to be a little more resourceful and credible than relying on Jessica so much). I especially enjoyed how each of the authors has a background story and each one is considered a suspect, like a Clue-style case.

The direction and pacing are pretty good and, although much of the movie is all-talk and less action, the quality of the acting, the aspects of the drama and script, and the unpredictability of the plot made the movie nonetheless captivating. I also especially enjoyed some of Lansbury's eloquent and meaningful dialog she delivered throughout the movie.

With all the finger-pointing and perplexed situations, you would be eager to find the truth of the matter and who is behind the all the murder. It is a good TV movie that continues the nice throwback to the heyday of the TV series.

Grade B+

I gave up reading the Agatha Christies after I learned to spot the murderer, usually about a third of the way in, when he (or frequently she) was placed at the centre of an over-theatrical scene in front of a fairly large audience.

Although Angela Lansbury and her colleagues have always been at pains to distance themselves from Agatha Christie, the same principle is applied in this story, set in a conference of budding authors, who are each given their turn on the stage. And sure enough, the killer does manage to give away an important clue during his own well-received talk.

In her position as the famous crime-novelist, Jessica has been invited to preside over the conference, and gets a close-up view of a colourful mix of characters, some of them connected with the ex-head of the KGB, also at the conference, who has just been offered a fortune for his memoirs, exposing the secrets of the Soviet Union. When the inevitable murder takes place, Jessica warns more than one character - significantly - that too much willingness to help the police may be aimed at deflecting attention, and can point to the killer. When it comes to the final unmasking, there is another Christie touch, when it turns out that the murderer is not a thug or a psychopath, but a decent and responsible person, driven to extremes by circumstances with which one can sympathise.

Regular fans of Murder She Wrote will recognise a particular in-joke, when one character laments "Jessica Fletcher's here. There's been a murder. What are the odds?" A few years from now, viewers may need a few title-frames to explain the historical context, but when the film was released in 2000, the ending of the Cold War was recent enough to make a strong basis for the story.