Really Surprised!

good back-story, and good acting

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Poirot and Hastings are on holiday in Cornwall, staying at a resort. There they meet Magdala Buckley, a young heiress. She reveals to them that several events have occurred recently that make her think her life is in danger. Moreover, her fiancé has just died in an aircraft accident, and she was the sole beneficiary in his will. A wealthy uncle has also recently just died, leaving her a fortune. Her sudden inheritances appears to be the motives for the attempts on her life.Good mystery with a decent twist towards the end. As sometimes occurs, if you think about it, sometimes the solution is quite obvious, and this has elements of that. However, it's still a pretty intriguing journey.Polly Walker appears as Magdala Buckley.

I had seen this movie about a year ago and vaguely recollected that there was something about it that I didn't enjoy, but upon rewatching I couldn't find anything that bothered me unduly. From the opening moments, when we see Poirot and Hastings in an airplane, Poirot's hand gripping the armrest like a claw, the witty dialogue begins. Hastings compares the view of the landscape and clouds to a patchwork quilt and cotton wool. When Poirot, who is clearly terrified, refuses to play along, Hastings accuses him of having no imagination. "That is true", Poirot says, "but you have enough for both of us." The plot line is clear enough. Poirot and Hastings, on vacation in Cornwall, meet a young lady who has apparently just escaped being killed more than once. When the lady's cousin is mistaken for her and shot in consequence, the lady, Nick Buckley, retreats to a nursing home for her own protection, but the attempts on her life continue. Poirot and Hastings, along with Chief Inspector Japp and Miss Lemon, need to find out who killed Nick's cousin Maggie before Nick herself is killed.The solution to the mystery is clever, but not extraordinary for Christie. What makes the movie charming is a combination of the stunning location shooting and the light-hearted writing. From the Majestic Hotel where the pair are staying, to the grounds of the titular End House, to the shots of the coastline, the episode is a feast for the eyes. And, although some of the best lines are borrowed straight from the original novel (Poirot asks Hastings to tell Nick what a great detective he is. When Hastings responds with a dull description, Poirot says, "Mais dis donc, that I am a detective unique, unsurpassed, the greatest who has ever lived!" Hastings: "Well, there's no need now, you've told her yourself." Poirot: "Yes, but it is agreeable to maintain the modesty.") there are also several scenes written for the screenplay that shine, especially when Poirot assures everyone at the table that Miss Lemon is psychic and she has to suddenly pretend to be a medium and conjure up Miss Buckley's spirit.) Overall an entertaining entry in the Poirot series.

David Suchet as Poirot, and Hugh Frazer as Captain Hastings, take a vacation at a resort in Cornwall, where they meet Magdalena "Nick" Buckley, the beautiful young woman with the startling gray eyes (Polly Walker) who lives in the mansion called End House next door. The three are having tea al fresco when Nick, waving her fingers, complains about the bees that fly right in front of your face. She seems to be having a run of bad luck lately because she's barely escaped two accidents (runaway car, falling boulder) that would have been fatal.After she leaves, Poirot reveals that he has copped her bonnet. It has a bullet hole through it. It wasn't a pesky bee after all, it was a bullet, and to prove it Poirot produces the bullet, identifying it as having come from a Mauser.This initiates a quiet investigation by Poirot and his sidekick. Nick had recently written a will before her appendicitis operation. Could the motive be money? Ah, but not. Nick may be living in End House but she is almost penniless and will soon have to move out. Except that her derring-do fiancé now dies in a plane crash and leaves her millions.At Poirot's urging, Nick invites her cousin Maggie to stay with her in End House, along with a few friends already there. But, helas, Maggie borrows a dress from Nick and is shot one night and killed, evidently by accident.Then it gets more complicated and I don't want to go on about it. You know how Agatha Christie's plots work -- everybody seems to be a suspect. And, as often happens, there is some subsidiary or embedded criminal activity involved too -- such as forging a will or trafficking in cocaine -- which tends to throw off the pursuit of the murderer.In the end (and hereabouts there be spoilers), Poirot reveals that both "Nick" and her cousin "Maggie" had the same first names -- Magdalena -- a family tradition. And Poirot reveals that the love letters from the derring-do aviator, as well as his will leaving everything to Magdalena, were intended NOT for "Nick" but for the now defunct cousin "Maggie," whom Nick herself deliberately murdered. The atrociously good-looking Nick sneers, calls everyone stupid, admits the murder, and goes off to snuff herself.This is one of those stories that has holes you could drive a Peterbilt 18-wheeler through.Question. Okay, they're sitting outside having tea and a bullet whizzes through Nick's bonnet. Who fired that shot? She's been faking all those attempts on her life, so who shot at her? And how does Poirot, without ever getting out of his chair, produce the pristine Mauser slug that barely missed Mlle. Nick's noggin? Magic? Or magnets.Question. At the end, Poirot produces the love letters addressed to Magdalena, and the aviator's will leaving everything to Magdalena. How does he know that they were really addressed to the other DEAD Magdalena, the cousin with whom the aviator was in love? Poirot and the police don't have a shred of evidence. (Evidence always comes in "shreds" and is a dichotomous variable -- you either have a shred or, more often, you don't have a shred. Nobody ever has half a shred.) It's all conjectural. Yet, as in a Columbo episode, the real murderer throws up his hands on such flimsy speculation and says, "Okay, you got me." The location filming is splendid and the acting is professionally competent and Polly Walker is so succulent that she should have done a gratuitous nude scene, but this plot won't hold water. Usually we can ignore holes in the story but in this case they are so in-your-face that they thrust themselves into your awareness. Or maybe not. I don't know. But I don't think of this as one of Dame Agatha's better-built narratives.

I had a little trouble finding this production on IMDB because I was looking for a recent entry, I find it hard to believe this movie is 14 yrs old as I write this. David Suchet is ageless. I won't so much comment on this episode as I will on the series in general. There are some who think a 2 hr Poirot movie is about 1 hr too long. I don't agree. For those of us who appreciate beautiful and intriguing locations - this is it. For those who appreciate period planes, cars, and especially wardrobe - this is it. There is a flavor and atmosphere about this series that reminds one of the Jeremy Brett version of Sherlock Holmes or The Great Gatsby. Not so much the period as the loving attention to detail.I admit that these entries can be hard to follow. If you have a tendency to nod out or run to the fridge for a snack, you will probably lose it. If you are looking for blood and gore or high energy explosions, tune into the latest Bruce Willis flick. Poirot makes you think. You have no choice. A&E has been importing these English mysteries to the US for years. Film food for thinking people. If the Brits can do it, why can't we. Hollywood was the benchmark for quality film production since the silent days. Today, our movies are digitized and cartoon like. We have forgotten how to tell a story. We have sacrificed originality and quality for the corporate bottom line. Shame on us.As for this particular story, it's as convoluted as the others. We have the whole ensemble. Poirot, Hastings, Miss Lemon, and Inspector Giapp. As for the other principals, they are competent and professional - just as you would expect. One little quirk worth mentioning. Although the female leads are interesting to watch, they usually fall into one of two categories. They are either cute and coquettish or intimidating and horsey. This movie is no exception. This is not a criticism, it's a compliment. It disproves the theory that you have to inject a traditional sexpot into the movie to fill some kind of void. These imports along with Inspector Frost, Inspector Barnaby, Sherlock Holmes, Cracker, and a few others provide a touch of class that we seem to have lost. I urge anyone who needs a break from the mindless junk we are being fed in prime time, to tune in. You will be rewarded - and with luck, be transported back to a kinder and gentler time when a mystery was a mystery.