Original Sin

"Original Sin" is an almost 3 hour British t.v. miniseries "old school" mystery which centers on a murder at a waterfront publishing firm, numerous clues, and equally numerous suspects with the inscrutable Commander Dalgliesh (Marsden) and his trusty sidekicks hot on the trail. A rather convoluted mess of a story which is not particularly engaging given its length, viewers may find the conclusion to be too little too late. Recommended for those who have viewed the other films in this series, preferably in chronological order. Those unfamiliar with P.D. James' novels or this series of films should begin with the oldest first and work forward from there. The DVD I watched had no subtitles or CC and I did have some trouble with the audio and the dialects. (C+)

Tragedy strikes as Peverell House, a classy publishers situation on The Thames. On the case is Adam Dalgliesh, together with an old, and new colleague.

Slightly different to the earlier adaptations, in that it's only 3 parts, as opposed to 6, but it's just as good.

Some nice production values throughout, it's very well made, the building itself looks grand, and there's some really nice music.

An intriguing mystery, with some very bizarre crimes,lots of red herrings, and a very surprising, but revealing conclusion.

I loved the characters in this scenario, and there were some really fine performances, I especially liked Sylvia Sims, Ian Bannen and Cathryn Harrison.

Very good, 8/10.

A real filmatic quality to this one, not least the opening scene. We have Dalgliesh reading poetry to some music and beautiful cinematography from a boat on the Thames with the backdrop of the Houses of Parliament. A quality cast too, Ian Bannen in his later years and the much under- rated Amanda Root in her prime particularly worthy of mention. A good plot, if slightly confusing opening , that is nevertheless worth sticking with.

The story is interesting and educated with some good character development. My biggest disappointment is weak development of the lead detective. What saved the detective investigation aspect of the film was his two assistants.

It could be they intended the film to focus on the employees of the publishing house. All of which were suspects. It's worth watching but if you are new to the Mystery Series I suggest Prime Suspect, Touching Evil and Heat of the Sun.

The novel 'Original Sin' is perhaps P. D. James' longest and richest book. Its many characters are fully and interestingly developed. Even the murderer is a fairly sympathetic figure. The book has multiple interesting narrative strands. It cannot be praised too highly.

The film, by contrast, is AWFUL. It should have been at least 4 hours long in order to do the complicated narrative justice. The casting is poor, and the acting for the most part is wooden. In the book, Frances Peverell and James de Witt are attractive young people. In the film, they are middle aged and are considerably less attractive than in the book. Roy Marsden's acting is uninspired, as is that of the actress who plays Kate Miskin. The murderer is a more stalwart figure in the film than in the book, which makes him less sympathetic in the film.

The themes of war and racism that one reviewer dislikes are central to the book. Without giving too much away, I will merely remark that the roots of the murders go back to World War II and that the alleged racism is connected to the horrors of the Holocaust. The young Jewish man on Dalgliesh's team understands the motives for the murders and as a result understands what the murderer was trying to do.

Finally, the excellent ending of the novel is cheapened by the different, sensationalized conclusion in the film. All in all, I'd say read the book, and don't bother with the DVD.