john-lauritsen

Winston in Orwell's novel is 39 years of age. While not handsome, he ought to be at least moderately attractive. John Hurt, who plays Winston, is 44 years old, but his face and body look more like 74. His nude love scenes are painful to watch, with his poor, withered body next to that of 24-year-old Suzanna Hamilton. The other actors are at least adequate. Cinematography prevails over story telling, which is interrupted time and again for irrelevant photographic excursions. By far the best 1984 film is the one done in 1954, with Winston played by Peter Cushing. The 1954 film was done on a small budget, but with top acting and a script and director that concentrated on telling the story.

This film is flawed by the casting of Edmond O'Brien as Winston. He is too coarse, fat, and unattractive for the part. It is hard to believe when Julia (played by Jan Sterling) hands him a note, "I love you". The love scenes between the two of them are repulsive as well as unbelievable. By far the best of the Winstons is Peter Cushing in the 1954 TV film. Nevertheless, the other actors, including Michael Redgrave and Jan Sterling, are good, and the film stays closer to the book than the 1984 film.

I loved this movie. Helen Hayes is perfect as Miss Marple. Her character has depth and range; it can be kindly and understanding, and then hard and logical. Hayes was a great actress in American theater. In one marvelously gratuitous episode, Hayes finds herself on a stage, looking out at the chairs in the auditorium, and is reminded of her earlier days in theater. She then delivers a fiercely dramatic monologue of Lady Macbeth and then segues into Portia's "quality of mercy" speech from The Merchant of Venice, at which point she is almost killed by a falling stage prop. All this lasts only a few minutes, but it is thrilling. When it comes to the scene where Miss Marple explains everything and denounces the killer, Hayes is fine, every bit the equal of Joan Hickson, who is also fine.

A great merit of this movie is that the actors and actresses enunciate. One can almost always understand the words, notably with the superb Leo McKern of Rumpole fame -- unlike the travesties made with Geraldine McEwan, in which most of the words are incomprehensible.

On the whole, Murder With Mirrors is faithful to the Agatha Christie novel. The only real weakness was poor Bette Davis, who was frail and recovering from a series of strokes. Out of mercy, she should not have been cast.