Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings travel to a small seaside English town for some "restful vacation". But that is not exactly what they get, when they meet a young woman who owns a large house near their hotel, and whose life seems to be in danger.
This is a 100-minute-long episode of the Poirot series, and I'd be lying if I said that the pacing never lags - it does. At the same time, I wish the post-climax had gone on a bit longer, to allow Poirot to make some further explanations. As it stands, the plot has some unclear points (the bullet....the poisoned chocolates....the cousin that was invited upon the insistence of Poirot....obviously I can't go any further without spoiling things), and it is possible that it doesn't stand up 100% under scrutiny. On the other hand, there's plenty to like here: the wonderful locations and production design, the exceptional acting, the cinematic direction, the small clues planted here and there ("Oh, how I like them!", says Poirot), some laugh-out-loud moments (the scene where Hastings tries to explain who Poirot is to Nick is a small masterpiece of writing and acting, as is the one of Inspector Japp on the beach).
As for another reviewer's remark, "how beautiful is Polly Walker!", the answer is: more beautiful than words can explain. (***)
This is a 100-minute-long episode of the Poirot series, and I'd be lying if I said that the pacing never lags - it does. At the same time, I wish the post-climax had gone on a bit longer, to allow Poirot to make some further explanations. As it stands, the plot has some unclear points (the bullet....the poisoned chocolates....the cousin that was invited upon the insistence of Poirot....obviously I can't go any further without spoiling things), and it is possible that it doesn't stand up 100% under scrutiny. On the other hand, there's plenty to like here: the wonderful locations and production design, the exceptional acting, the cinematic direction, the small clues planted here and there ("Oh, how I like them!", says Poirot), some laugh-out-loud moments (the scene where Hastings tries to explain who Poirot is to Nick is a small masterpiece of writing and acting, as is the one of Inspector Japp on the beach).
As for another reviewer's remark, "how beautiful is Polly Walker!", the answer is: more beautiful than words can explain. (***)