'Les Petits Meurtres D'Agatha Christie' is a French series that is essentially Agatha Christie, one of my all-time favourite authors, with a French light comedy twist. On its own terms it is fascinating and charming light-hearted entertainment with intriguing stories, while not straight up faithful adaptations or definitive ones like the best of the Joan Hickson Miss Marple and David Suchet Poirot adaptations it hardly disgraces Christie either.
The last episode to feature Larosiere and Lampion (do prefer this duo over Avril and Laurence, didn't warm to those two straight away which was not the case with Larosiere and Lampion), "Le Couteau Sur La Nuque" is another example of a good but not great episode. It's the fourth adaptation of one of my favourite Poirot novels 'Lord Edgware Dies', after the Austin Trevor film, the Peter Ustinov version 'Thirteen at Dinner' and the ITV David Suchet adaptation. Of the four, Suchet for me is by quite some way the best and is among the best feature-length episodes of that series. 'Thirteen at Dinner' is still enjoyable though and so is this 'Les Petits Meurtres D'Agatha Christie' episode "Le Couteau Sur La Nuque", although it does get my vote as the weakest of those three.
It's not perfect. The pace is not always consistent, occasionally dragging in the middle. With more tension in some of the storytelling, with a little more freshness put into a few of the red herrings and tighter direction, this would already have been improved.
As interesting a character Larosiere always was, his personal life situations were much more interesting in other episodes and distracted a bit from the mystery.
On the other hand, there is a lot to admire. It looks lovely as ever, the period detail and scenery are lavish but a great job is also done evoking a sinister enough atmosphere when necessary. The vibrant but never over-saturated or garish colours, that could be quite atmospheric, and stylish photography complement beautifully. The music matches the light-hearted and at times very atmospheric tone very well. On the most part, the writing is thoughtful and intriguing with the right amount of entertainment value. It didn't feel overdone or stale. The mystery is still clever and very sophisticated with no dumbing down or over-convolution, the denouement is still ingenious. Furthermore, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep one on their toes and guessing, even if some of it is on the conventional side for those familiar with the original story already. Any brutality is not overused, abused and gratuitous.
Characterisation has come on a long way, much more depth and distinction since the series first started. The pairing and contrast of Larosiere and Lampion fascinate, with Larosiere having always been more interesting and developed and Lampion more likeable.The acting is solid, still get a lot of pleasure from watching Antoine Dulery and Marius Colucci, individually and especially together. Support is solid.
In conclusion, good but not great. 7/10
The last episode to feature Larosiere and Lampion (do prefer this duo over Avril and Laurence, didn't warm to those two straight away which was not the case with Larosiere and Lampion), "Le Couteau Sur La Nuque" is another example of a good but not great episode. It's the fourth adaptation of one of my favourite Poirot novels 'Lord Edgware Dies', after the Austin Trevor film, the Peter Ustinov version 'Thirteen at Dinner' and the ITV David Suchet adaptation. Of the four, Suchet for me is by quite some way the best and is among the best feature-length episodes of that series. 'Thirteen at Dinner' is still enjoyable though and so is this 'Les Petits Meurtres D'Agatha Christie' episode "Le Couteau Sur La Nuque", although it does get my vote as the weakest of those three.
It's not perfect. The pace is not always consistent, occasionally dragging in the middle. With more tension in some of the storytelling, with a little more freshness put into a few of the red herrings and tighter direction, this would already have been improved.
As interesting a character Larosiere always was, his personal life situations were much more interesting in other episodes and distracted a bit from the mystery.
On the other hand, there is a lot to admire. It looks lovely as ever, the period detail and scenery are lavish but a great job is also done evoking a sinister enough atmosphere when necessary. The vibrant but never over-saturated or garish colours, that could be quite atmospheric, and stylish photography complement beautifully. The music matches the light-hearted and at times very atmospheric tone very well. On the most part, the writing is thoughtful and intriguing with the right amount of entertainment value. It didn't feel overdone or stale. The mystery is still clever and very sophisticated with no dumbing down or over-convolution, the denouement is still ingenious. Furthermore, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep one on their toes and guessing, even if some of it is on the conventional side for those familiar with the original story already. Any brutality is not overused, abused and gratuitous.
Characterisation has come on a long way, much more depth and distinction since the series first started. The pairing and contrast of Larosiere and Lampion fascinate, with Larosiere having always been more interesting and developed and Lampion more likeable.The acting is solid, still get a lot of pleasure from watching Antoine Dulery and Marius Colucci, individually and especially together. Support is solid.
In conclusion, good but not great. 7/10
