This final episode in the final season of Poirot is one I have seen before, and done so recently. This made it stand out for me as I really had seen very few of the ITV films before, which is partly why I took the decision to watch all of them over the last year or so, starting with the first and working forward to this point. Knowing the ending and detail was actually pretty enjoyable because it freed me up to pay more attention to what I knew would be important, however this was not the key difference in this viewing. The bigger difference came from me not just watching as an one-off event to see event television, but rather I was drawing to a close a character and series I greatly enjoyed – so there was a certain base of feeling and engaging that perhaps had not been there the first time.
That said, this did not make me feel it was artificially better than I remembered, because I did enjoy it the first time round, and second time round only moreso. The plot does have elements which are not convincing, but the delivery and the general intrigue of the plot does very much keep it moving and encourage you to go with much of it. It is a very finely crafted script, which is refreshingly back in the normal mould of the series after the previous film had felt so very different in style. The crafting allows for lots of small details but in a tightly focused situation and group of people – a combination I like since the latter allows me more time for the former. The mystery develops well, and, although the ending does ask a lot of the viewer, it is dramatic, emotional and genuinely quite surprising if you do not know how it ends. It is also an ending that works thanks to the legwork done in the previously film to bring out Poirot's religious beliefs, and his struggle with some ideas of justice – such base elements help sell this ending much better than it would have done otherwise – and of course, it also helps that it is moving and delicately handled, with the early death and flashback being a very good device.
Although the film is not the brightest, the darker coloring and Autumn setting add to a rather tragic feeling that the film warrants. I particularly enjoyed the internal room design, it felt like it was all from an older time but had not aged well to keep its once majesty glory; this is best seen in Poirot's own room, with its tatty wallpaper, or the large rooms which are now sparse, or indeed even the owners – far from the gentry who lived there. This is a feeling that works very well in the context of the narrative. The use of music and the pacing of the delivery also adds to the emotional engagement, but it is the cast that impresses the most. Suchet is excellent as you expect – it is very odd to see him without his mustache at one point, but his character is strong nonetheless, it is a very strong ending to a career defining role. Almost as good is Fraser, who mostly was comic relief in the past, and was barely used in Big Four, but here gives a very emotional performance with lots of small touches and detail. The supporting cast are good with McArdle, Standing, Reid, Glenister, and others, but really the film belong to Suchet and Fraser.
A moving, intriguing, and very well crafted final film – one which is even more appreciated given that it comes at the end of a variable season. My memory was that the final film was very good, and watching it this time with the experience of watching all of the preceding episodes, it plays even better than I remembered.
That said, this did not make me feel it was artificially better than I remembered, because I did enjoy it the first time round, and second time round only moreso. The plot does have elements which are not convincing, but the delivery and the general intrigue of the plot does very much keep it moving and encourage you to go with much of it. It is a very finely crafted script, which is refreshingly back in the normal mould of the series after the previous film had felt so very different in style. The crafting allows for lots of small details but in a tightly focused situation and group of people – a combination I like since the latter allows me more time for the former. The mystery develops well, and, although the ending does ask a lot of the viewer, it is dramatic, emotional and genuinely quite surprising if you do not know how it ends. It is also an ending that works thanks to the legwork done in the previously film to bring out Poirot's religious beliefs, and his struggle with some ideas of justice – such base elements help sell this ending much better than it would have done otherwise – and of course, it also helps that it is moving and delicately handled, with the early death and flashback being a very good device.
Although the film is not the brightest, the darker coloring and Autumn setting add to a rather tragic feeling that the film warrants. I particularly enjoyed the internal room design, it felt like it was all from an older time but had not aged well to keep its once majesty glory; this is best seen in Poirot's own room, with its tatty wallpaper, or the large rooms which are now sparse, or indeed even the owners – far from the gentry who lived there. This is a feeling that works very well in the context of the narrative. The use of music and the pacing of the delivery also adds to the emotional engagement, but it is the cast that impresses the most. Suchet is excellent as you expect – it is very odd to see him without his mustache at one point, but his character is strong nonetheless, it is a very strong ending to a career defining role. Almost as good is Fraser, who mostly was comic relief in the past, and was barely used in Big Four, but here gives a very emotional performance with lots of small touches and detail. The supporting cast are good with McArdle, Standing, Reid, Glenister, and others, but really the film belong to Suchet and Fraser.
A moving, intriguing, and very well crafted final film – one which is even more appreciated given that it comes at the end of a variable season. My memory was that the final film was very good, and watching it this time with the experience of watching all of the preceding episodes, it plays even better than I remembered.