Poirot - Lord Edgware Dies

Even The Great Hercule Poirot Was Stumped On This One.
Last night's bargain-rack movie was "Lord Edgware Dies" from the Agatha Christie Hurcule Poirot Series of mysteries. This one was a bit more complex than most and, actually, had four deaths, a rather high casualty rate for a Poirot story. Of course, the setting was elegant and all of the participants were of the guilt-edged crowd. It seemed that Lady Edgware, a recent acquaintance of Poirot's requested that Poirot visit her long-separated husband and see if he might help her in obtaining a divorce from her husband. Poirot somewhat reluctantly stepped in to help and was startled to find that Lord Edgware had already agreed to the divorce. That night, Lord Edgware was killed by a knife-stabbing to the neck. Okay, who did the dastardly deed? Well, Lord Edgware was widely viewed as a scumbag of the first order with a lot of enemies and a lot of people might stand up to applaud the event of his demise. Lady Edgeware immediately became everyone's number one suspect, except that she had...

A Good Re-telling Of A Classic Mystery
When it comes to these mysteries, they fall into three categories: 1) Those where I've read the book; 2) Those I've never read the book and am thus unfamiliar with the story; and 3) Those where I've seen another film version, usually with Peter Ustinov (but also including Albert Finney's portrayal in Murder on the Orient Express). This falls into category number three.

I did notice differences between this version and Ustinov's, but not monumental changes. (Murder On The Orient Express and Appointment with Death have greater divergences between the versions.) I think I enjoyed this one a little more, primarily due to the actors in the key roles -- while I've liked Ustinov in this role (and Finney, for that matter), I think Suchet does an exceptional job as Poirot -- such a good job that I can tell when he's using his acting talents in a role he's done many times. (This movie is an example of that.) I can't compare it with the book, since I haven't read it.

But...

David Suchet is Poirot
What's not to love about David Suchet playing Poirot? I've loved all of these Agatha Christie adaptations. It's been a very long time since I read the books, but I believe the videos are true to the flavor, if not the letter, of the originals.

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