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Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures

  • TV Movie
  • 20042004
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
227
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures (2004)
  • Drama
Late in 1926 acclaimed mystery writer Agatha Christie disappears after marital problems and creates a media frenzy.Late in 1926 acclaimed mystery writer Agatha Christie disappears after marital problems and creates a media frenzy.Late in 1926 acclaimed mystery writer Agatha Christie disappears after marital problems and creates a media frenzy.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
227
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Richard Curson Smith
  • Writer
    • Richard Curson Smith
  • Stars
    • Olivia Williams
    • Anna Massey
    • Raymond Coulthard
Top credits
  • Director
    • Richard Curson Smith
  • Writer
    • Richard Curson Smith
  • Stars
    • Olivia Williams
    • Anna Massey
    • Raymond Coulthard
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 5User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Olivia Williams in Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures (2004)
    Raymond Coulthard in Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures (2004)
    Raymond Coulthard in Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures (2004)
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    Top cast

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    Olivia Williams
    Olivia Williams
    • Agatha Christieas Agatha Christie
    Anna Massey
    Anna Massey
    • Older Agathaas Older Agatha
    Raymond Coulthard
    Raymond Coulthard
    • Archie Christieas Archie Christie
    Stephen Boxer
    Stephen Boxer
    • Psychiatristas Psychiatrist
    Anthony O'Donnell
    Anthony O'Donnell
    • Kenwardas Kenward…
    Mark Gatiss
    Mark Gatiss
    • Kenyonas Kenyon
    Richard Leaf
    Richard Leaf
    • Gunmanas Gunman
    Bonnie Wright
    Bonnie Wright
    • Young Agathaas Young Agatha
    Celia Montague
    • Agatha's Motheras Agatha's Mother
    Vicki Pepperdine
    Vicki Pepperdine
    • Carlo Fisheras Carlo Fisher
    Bertie Carvel
    Bertie Carvel
    • Max Mallowanas Max Mallowan
    Rosa Curson Smith
    • Rosalindas Rosalind
    Olivia Darnley
    Olivia Darnley
    • Nurseas Nurse
    Edmund Kingsley
    Edmund Kingsley
    • Soldieras Soldier
    Tim McMullan
    Tim McMullan
    • Pharmacistas Pharmacist
    James Tucker
    • Reggieas Reggie
    Laura Maclaine
    • Maidas Maid
    Gregory Finnegan
    Gregory Finnegan
    • Band Memberas Band Member
    • Director
      • Richard Curson Smith
    • Writer
      • Richard Curson Smith
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Biopic of sorts about Agatha Christie, the famed mystery writer. The story is told in flashback and from Christie's point of view at two distinctly different times in her life - one through the sessions she had with her psychiatrist after her famous 11 day disappearance in 1926 and the other through recollections she give at interviews with journalists on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the West End run of her play The Mousetrap. Christie had a free and open childhood, shattered somewhat by the death of her father. As a volunteer nurse, she met her first husband, Archie Christie. Much of the film deals with her disappearance in 1926 which came about following her husband's request for a divorce which would allow him to marry the woman with whom he had been having an affair. Her psychiatrist concluded that she had been in some type of fugue state and that her loss of memory was genuine. She eventually re-married, spending much of her time with in Syria and Iraq with archaeologist-husband Max Mallowan, to whom she was married for 46 years. She continued to write eventually producing 86 novels with an estimated 2 billion copies in print. —garykmcd
    • agatha christie
    • writer
    • disappearance
    • world war one
    • media frenzy
    • 23 more
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    • Genre
      • Drama
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    Did you know

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    • Quotes

      Archie Christie: Not everyone can be happy! Someone has to suffer!

      Agatha Christie: But why should it be me and not you?

    • Crazy credits
      There is a freeze-frame of each of the main characters, accompanied by a caption saying what happened to them after the events of the film. Then the caption disappears and there are a few seconds of motion-picture footage, then the frame freezes again and a caption gives the name of the actor.
    • Connections
      Version of Agatha (1979)

    User reviews5

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    didn't mind it
    "Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures" from 2004 is an attempt, as in the 1979 film Agatha, to examine Christie's mysterious disappearance for 11 days. The theory presented in Agatha was that she was planning to commit suicide in such a way as to frame her husband for murder but is stopped by the Dustin Hoffman character, an American reporter.

    A book that examined the disappearance stated that she did it to embarrass her husband and didn't realize the enormity of the drama it would cause.

    In this TV movie, she is thought to have been suffering from amnesia, devastated by her husband leaving her, her mother's death, and the pressures of her work.

    My own opinion is that she wanted to get away from it all, and due to the fact that she had such a wild imagination, called herself by the last name of her husband's mistress, went to a spa, and lived a fantasy imaginary life for a while. I think her unhappiness drove her to it. I'm not sure I believe she had amnesia - she may have said she did. I think it was a necessary respite.

    The title Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures is not really accurate as the movie really only concentrates on her meeting Archie, getting married, and disappearing. Her subsequent marriage is rushed through, and we learn nothing of her interest in spiritualism, something she shared with Conan Doyle. We also don't learn how sick she became of Poirot, calling him at one point "an egocentric creep."

    Anna Massey plays the older Christie, and Olivia Williams the younger. I thought Olivia Williams did a good job. Great production values, too.

    Agatha Christie was a fascinating and complicated woman. This movie doesn't tell her story, but rather speculates about a mysterious time in her life, a time when I think she acted out a fantasy rather than having a character do it.
    helpful•2
    1
    • blanche-2
    • Aug 28, 2017

    Details

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    • Release date
      • September 22, 2004 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Agatha Christie: Egy élet képekben
    • Production company
      • Wall to Wall Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color

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