mightymezzo

I was really looking forward to seeing how this favorite of the Poirot mysteries would work with David Suchet. It very wisely avoids comparison with the gloriously glossy all-star 1974 film starring Albert Finney, going instead for a quiet, dark and morally conflicted treatment of the story. It emphasizes the horrifying crime at the heart of the mystery, and introduces an element I don't recall being mentioned in any of the other stories: Poirot's Roman Catholic faith. (Interesting that several Agatha Christie stories, in particular "Murder on the Orient Express" and "The Mousetrap," involve crimes against children.) Suchet is letter-perfect, as usual. But, this "Murder on the Orient Express" is a bit slow paced, and the opening scene in which Poirot and Miss Debenham witness the stoning of a woman in the street, seems rather gratuitous.

I saw this at Cinequest in San Jose, in the gorgeous California Theater, but this movie would look good in the homeliest cineplex. This is the rarest of thrillers: one that makes its impact through careful character studies and a refusal to give up its secrets. Frank Langella gives a sterling performance as the corporate whistle-blower marked for death, subtle and surprising in its emotional power. Elliott Gould isn't quite as effective as a private detective/birder, but he is very watchable as he watches his subjects, both human and avian. "The Caller" actually looks more like a fine French drama, in its attention to detail and the deft use of its child actors. Definitely worth watching!