IMDb user comments for
Marple: Murder Is Easy (2008) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

30 out of 49 people found the following comment useful :-
My, what a shame!, 10 December 2008

Author: tml_pohlak_13 from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

You know what mystery is greater than "And Then There Were None" or "Murder on the Orient Express"? It's the mystery of WHY producers and screenwriters think they can out-write Agatha Christie, whose books still outsell today's authors. There's a reason why she is The Queen of Crime. Though, granted, not all her books were perfect, "Murder is Easy" had a very nice, if somewhat far-fetched, plot, and was lots of fun to read. This adaptation was quite unfaithful, and turns the original's farfetchedness into pure, mind-boggling, improbability.

To begin with, I was prepared the original story would have changes in it, so as to include Miss Marple's character. What I don't understand is why they went to such lengths to change the story. The murder of Lavinia, in the book was clever: the murderer pushed her into the street, in busy traffic. Here? The killer pushes her off an escalator in the train station. Now, this already makes the solution far from probable. How is it that a) no one on an escalator (going two ways, side by side) will not notice this? b) no one remarks there was such-and-such a person by her before she fell? c) that this same person did not offer any information? d) the killer calmly walks right beside the body and leaves with no one noticing or getting suspicious (no crowd, either)? Is it just me, or is that far more ridiculous than being pushed into heavy traffic, where everyone is too crowded to notice?

On a lighter note, Julia Mackenzie again delivers a solid performance as Miss Marple, completely outdoing her predecessor, Geraldine McEwan. It seems, though, that "A Pocket Full of Rye" was only to get her off to a better start with the fans-- this rewrite is just terrible. Murders went from being unlikely in the book to ridiculously crazy in the movie.

My, what a disappointment! What a letdown! Despite solid performances from the cast, great music (yet again, one of the things I look forward to in every episode), the changes to the plot were unnecessary and numerous. A potentially perfect episode went down the tubes. I'll give it a 7 out of 10. It has some interesting elements, but the plot changes just don't work.

Add another comment

Related Links