Murder on the Orient Express, 2010Starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot
3/5 stars
I read "Murder on the Orient Express" not too long ago and loved it so I was excited to see this adaptation of it on PBS Masterpiece Mystery. The more famous version is in 1974 and starred two of my favorite actresses, Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman. I have not had the opportunity to see it yet but I hope I will some day. Until then this was an okay experience. I did not think it was fantastic. I liked the Poirot actor fine (he really did have an egg-shaped head) and the actress playing Mary Debenham was pleasing to me. But I preferred it as a book.
The big change is the denouement, which occurs not at the very end but probably about twenty minutes before leaving a big scene for Poirot and the audience to wrestle with the meaning of it. Like "And Then There Were None," this is a case of vigilante justice and that raises big moral questions. Oddly, I supported it here but not in "And Then There Were None." I am very interested in seeing the 1974 version though.
I haven't read the book, but I actually watched the movie and I quite liked it. Mostly because of David Suchet. Very cool review! I like your comparisons to the book.
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