"Agatha Christie: Poirot" Five Little Pigs (2003)

Director:

Paul Unwin

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
Kevin Elyot (screenplay)

TV Series:

"Agatha Christie: Poirot" (1989)

Original Air Date:

14 December 2003 (Season 9, Episode 1)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

Lucy Crale enlists Poirot to investigate the fourteen-year-old murder case in which her mother was hanged for poisoning her philandering painter father.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Hercule Poirot | Poison | Artist | Detective

Cast

David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Rachael Stirling	...	Caroline Crale
Aidan Gillen	...	Amyas Crale
Toby Stephens	...	Philip Blake
Marc Warren	...	Meredith Blake
Aimee Mullins	...	Lucy Crale
Julie Cox	...	Elsa Greer
Gemma Jones	...	Miss Williams
Sophie Winkleman	...	Angela Warren
Talulah Riley	...	Young Angela
Patrick Malahide	...	Depleach
Annette Badland	...	Mrs. Spriggs
Roger Brierley	...	Judge
Richard Teverson	...	Hollinghurst
Melissa Suffield	...	Young Lucy

Runtime:

100 min | Finland:94 min

Country:

UK

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Benington Lordship Gardens, Benington, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Trivia:

Meredith Blake is also the name given to a character in The Parent Trap (1998).

Quotes:

Hercule Poirot: The truth, it has the habit of revealing itself...

Soundtrack:

Alice Blue Gown

Splendidly-crafted adaptation of one of the better Poirot books!

I saw this when it first aired in 2003, when I was 11, and I was very impressed, really I was. Two years ago, I read the book, and I personally think the book is up there among the best with Death on the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia. What impressed me most with the TV adaptation, which I got on video recently, was that some of the scenes, like the hanging scene, were genuinely haunting, and that's what I want to feel in a mystery. The music score gave that haunted feeling and some poignancy, in an already complicated story. As far as I can remember, the overall structure was faithful to the book, and I also liked the actress of Caroline Crale, as you really feel for her, and Amias was certainly hissable here in the way they made him behave. Marc Warren and Gemma Jones also do well as Meridith and Mrs Williams. Also what the writers got right were Angela's disfigurement and although it was changed, the ending with Lucy in the lovely dress was very effective. As ever, David Suchet is impeccable as Hercule Poirot, and he is helped by a brooding script. However there were two things I didn't like about the adaptation- the idea of Blake being homosexual(I don't think that was in the book), and Julie Cox was perhaps too old for Elsa. All in all, technically and visually it's a delight to look at, and I enjoyed this adaptation very much, though I do prefer the book. 9/10 Bethany Cox.