Marple: A Pocket Full of Rye (TV 2008)

A detestable businessman is murdered while at work, and a handful of rye is found in his pockets. Soon after, members of his household fall victim to a killer intent on recreating scenes from a popular nursery rhyme.

Director:

Charlie Palmer

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel), Kevin Elyot (screenplay)

Stars:

Julia McKenzie, Rose Heiney, Laura Haddock

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julia McKenzie	...	Miss Marple
Rose Heiney	...	Gladys
Laura Haddock	...	Miss Grosvenor
Kenneth Cranham	...	Rex Fortescue (as Ken Cranham)
Thea Collings	...	Tilly
Lucy Cohu	...	Pat Fortescue
Rupert Graves	...	Lance Fortescue
Matthew Macfadyen	...	Inspector Neele
Edward Tudor-Pole	...	Professor Bernsdorrf (as Edward Tudor Pole)
Ralf Little	...	Sergeant Pickford
Helen Baxendale	...	Mary Dove
Ken Campbell	...	Crump
Anna Madeley	...	Adele Fortescue
Joseph Beattie	...	Vivian Dubois
Wendy Richard	...	Mrs Crump

Storyline

When Rex Fortescue dies while sitting at his desk in the City, it's determined that he was in fact poisoned. He was married to a much younger wife, who now stands to inherit. His son Percival, a partner in the family firm, was a disappointment to him and a daughter, Elaine, hasn't amounted to much. Another son, Lance, had a falling out with his father many years before and relocated to East Africa. He suddenly appears soon after his father's death claiming that they had reconciled and been invited by him to return to England with an offer to rejoin the firm. Miss Marple takes a particular interest in the case when her former maid Gladys, now working in the Fortescue household, is also murdered. She soon learns that the elder Fortescue had received veiled threats for some time and that they might have something to do with a long ago business deal that made his initial fortune.

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Plot Keywords:

miss marple | upstairs downstairs | grain | pie | marmalade | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 July 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agatha Christie Marple: A Pocket Full of Rye

Filming Locations:

Englefield House, Theale, Reading, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

ITV Studios, WGBH, Agatha Christie

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last TV project for both Ken Campbell and Wendy Richard. Campbell died during post production; Richard passed away nearly a year after filming was completed.

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Connections

Version of Tayna chyornykh drozdov (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Sing a Song of Sixpence"
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Solid murder mystery that holds a tone consistently well and is inoffensive without being bland or dull

When successful businessman Rex Fortescue is poisoned at his desk it appears to Inspector Neele that he has plenty of suspects to work with. Rex's much younger wife is in line to inherit his fortune. Of his children, Percival felt trapped below him in the business, Lance had a falling out with him and moved to East Africa while his daughter is clearly relieved that her father is dead. Things become more complex when Gladys the maid is also murdered – bringing in the attention of Miss Marple, former employee of Gladys.

I shall leave it for others much better read than I to debate how "faithful" this film is to the source material because, to be blunt, I don't care. If I want something that is accurate and faithful to the book then I shall read the book – not watch an adapted version of the book, what I am looking for from the film is that it works, that it intrigues, that it entertains, that it thrills – really whatever it is trying to do, I hope it does it and that I like it, simple as. I was not so taken by previous ITV Marple films even if some of them did have light entertainment qualities that I appreciated, so I saw the new casting of Marple as a "reboot" of sorts for the series.

In a way this is the case because A Pocket Full of Rye seems more interesting in the mystery and less interested in being camp and gaudy in the way the other films often did. So although we had some flamboyant touches and some "big" names in supporting roles, it never felt daft and these qualities were never overdone to the detriment of the film. So, in theory what it delivers is a solid piece of Sunday night drama. The mystery is not really open to the viewer to solve but it has enough going on in it so I was happy to follow along with Marple and the Inspector as they went about their business. It never gripped me but I was reasonably interested in it throughout and, as a basic approach to these next few films, it does offer me hope that they will be more reliable and sturdy as films.

I cannot say the same for McKenzie though because although she didn't fill me with dread, she didn't give me much to be hopeful about either. Her take on Marple doesn't appear to be fit in anywhere. We've had versions that go the "batty, flamboyant" route, others that are harsher/sharper and others that are a bit colourful and dithery. Again, not looking for brand loyalty, I'm happy to judge each as they come on their own merits but with McKenzie it wasn't clear who she was trying to make her character as she just came over quite ordinary and bland – certainly all I took away from her role as Marple is the comfort that, should she ever be unavailable to finish a film mid-shoot then we can just get Jim Broadbent in drag (and to anyone who says she doesn't look identical to Broadbent clearly is confusing him with someone else). Maybe she was playing it safe though, looking for somewhere middle where she sacrifices making the role her own in favour of not upsetting everyone but she does benefit from a support cast who also do the "solid but not showy" direction. I liked Macfadyen's turn as the Inspector while Graves delivers a good character without ever being camp or ridiculous. Little, Baxendale, the late Wendy Richards, Madeley, Haddock and others all match this as well and I thought the cast were well directed in terms of the tone that the film was aiming for.

So nothing amazing but then it is not awful either. It is a solid murder mystery that holds a tone consistently well and is inoffensive without being bland or dull. I like this approach and will watch the remaining Marple films to see if they hold and build on this, but it must be said that on the basis of this first film, McKenzie's goal is to avoid upsetting anyone's vision of what Miss Marple should be by simply not doing anything in any specific direction.