Agatha Christie's Marple: A Caribbean Mystery (2013)

I have a huge fondness for the Joan Hickson version and a surprisingly soft spot for the one with Helen Hayes, this one I thought really came up to the mark, they managed to reinvent it but maintain the essence of it. It starts off brilliantly, it's visually stunning, Andre Toussaint's 'Calypso Island' sets the tone. It's a total contrast to other episodes in the series, it's very bright and colourful, but this story needed to be. The location is utterly stunning, surprisingly it was South Africa. The costumes are a visual feast, the designers were bang on the money.Talk of voodoo in a Marple, shouldn't work, but it does, it helps add a smokescreen to the story. It certainly differentiates it from previous versions.I disagree with those that think the novel was one of her weakest, it's one I really like, it's a perfect holiday read. This production manages to breath life into some of the characters that in the book are a little flat, Lucky seems way more interesting, or possibly it's just the way Myanna Buring played her (brilliantly.)The acting as always if first rate, I think Julia is the standout once again, her performance seems effortless. Hermione Norris is especially good as Evelyn, she made her as cold as ice, she doesn't overplay it. Charity Wakefield gives us a very fragile and timid Molly, very much in character to the book. Anthony Sher is excellent as Rafiel. I suppose my only slight bugbear would have been Robert Webb's Tim Kendall, he was fair, but I feel he could have been better castThe Ian Fleming bit apart it's brilliant 9/10

Starting from a minor but irritating point: whoever thought it a good joke to include Ian Fleming and James Bond did not think about the chronology. The first Bond book was published in 1953, while this story is set in the post-colonial 1960s - the black police inspector tells Marple and Rafiel that the British are not in charge here any longer.Otherwise, a fairly good job. I knew it was filmed in South Africa but if I hadn't known I would have bought it as a Caribbean island. I haven't been to either place, though. I also haven't read the novel. I have seen the 1983 version with Helen Hayes many years ago, but don't remember a single thing about it.IMO Antony Sher gave the best performance as the wheelchair-bound millionaire. MyAnna Buring as Lucky is another cast member I will remember, something striking about her. The plot I already forgot, as with most Christie adaptations. The photography could have been more inspired, now it looked a bit muddy most of the time.

This is the third filmed version of Agatha Christie's "A Caribbean Mystery"; I don't much recall the Joan Hickson version, but compared to the enjoyable 1983 version with Helen Hayes as Miss Marple, this new effort is significantly superior in one category only: the photography, which vibrantly captures the beauty of the locations. The film does have a Caribbean flavor, although it was shot in South Africa, and the 1950's-style swimsuits and cars are a sight for sore eyes. Knowing who the killer is before watching, I am not exactly qualified to say how hard or easy it will be for someone to guess his or her identity; I will say, however, that if you tend to suspect the character who is, suspiciously enough, never even considered under suspicion, you'll be on the right track! Julia McKenzie continues to excel as Miss Marple (she does A LOT of knitting in this one), while my favorite supporting performance has to be Hermione Norris as Evelyn; she just exudes the strength of her character. *** out of 4.

It wasn't too long ago that I watched the Joan Hickson version of this same tale and, while I enjoyed the color of it, I did feel that that version dawdled a bit too much and lacked forward motion, lingering in the characters and losing momentum the more it went on. So with the new ITV version I was pleased to find that the thing I usually dislike about them actually worked in its favor – the color, the liveliness and the pace. The mystery kicks in very quickly indeed and apart from a few sidesteps it more or less keeps things coming so that I felt engaged with the story. As is normal for me, I wasn't right there with the characters when the resolution was revealed, but I did feel like I was at least going with it.The one exception is an odd moment where James Bond and Ian Fleming make it into the story; it is amusing perhaps but it served no purpose other than, if you're cynical, getting the writer a trip to the location for the sake of a few minutes of screen time. Higson probably deserved it though as he has done a good job as writer, making the story flow and having the material match the heat and color of the setting. The cast mostly get this too. McKenzie is still not really someone I like as Marple, but she is good here and in particular works very well with Antony Sher. The rest of the cast isn't quite that famous but has good turns from Webb, Brown, Wakefield and others.Overall an enjoyable and lively piece of Sunday night mystery; it has color and energy and comes together pretty well.