"Simisola" is my personal favorite of the long-running Inspector Wexford series by British author Ruth Rendell. Most popular fiction that deals with racism contents itself with popular stereotypes and heads for a feel-good ending. This is one of the few stories that takes an honest look at the prejudices we all have to some extent, and how this affects our actions.
Chief Inspector Wexford tries very hard to objective about skin color, but when a black girl disappears and is presumed dead, Wexford is appalled to discover that he too has his prejudices.
While the social issues make this mystery particularly fascinating, because it is so convincingly real, the mystery itself is a juicy, meaty one, with plenty of fascinating characters and a rich, complex plot. Ruth Rendell does not write whodunits in the tradition of Agatha Christie, whose stories are really more logic puzzles than an examination of human nature. Here, Rendell paints a vivid picture of an England that is changing as rapidly as the rest of the world, and how people are struggling to adapt to this.
The movie is worthwhile and an adequate adaptation, but nothing can match the beauty of Rendell's prose and her keen perception of human nature. By all means, rent this one, but the book is the real treat.
The US DVD release runs 103 minutes; however, the British version was shown in three parts, each 50+ minutes (including brief recap sequences at the start of episodes two and three). If you have a Region 2 player, the longer version would be the one to get. One of the reviews below complains about plot holes; these are likely due to 50 minutes of footage being removed. Having seen both versions, some of the cut material is incidental, but most of it fleshes out the plot.
The US DVD release of the previous installment in the series, ROAD RAGE, included the complete 150 minute movie. It's a shame SIMISOLA was butchered.
Chief Inspector Wexford tries very hard to objective about skin color, but when a black girl disappears and is presumed dead, Wexford is appalled to discover that he too has his prejudices.
While the social issues make this mystery particularly fascinating, because it is so convincingly real, the mystery itself is a juicy, meaty one, with plenty of fascinating characters and a rich, complex plot. Ruth Rendell does not write whodunits in the tradition of Agatha Christie, whose stories are really more logic puzzles than an examination of human nature. Here, Rendell paints a vivid picture of an England that is changing as rapidly as the rest of the world, and how people are struggling to adapt to this.
The movie is worthwhile and an adequate adaptation, but nothing can match the beauty of Rendell's prose and her keen perception of human nature. By all means, rent this one, but the book is the real treat.
The US DVD release runs 103 minutes; however, the British version was shown in three parts, each 50+ minutes (including brief recap sequences at the start of episodes two and three). If you have a Region 2 player, the longer version would be the one to get. One of the reviews below complains about plot holes; these are likely due to 50 minutes of footage being removed. Having seen both versions, some of the cut material is incidental, but most of it fleshes out the plot.
The US DVD release of the previous installment in the series, ROAD RAGE, included the complete 150 minute movie. It's a shame SIMISOLA was butchered.