On the request of a friend, Miss Jane Marple goes to look into strange occurrences at the home of Carrie Lousie Serrocold. A fire in the Serrocold home destroyed many important documents belonging to her and there are suggestions that someone is trying to harm her. While a family play turns dramatic and violent, trapping everyone in the room, someone stabs Carrie Louise's former husband in the back, the police get involved and so, of course, does Miss Marple.
The new Marple films have not really inspired me and over the years of ITV having the franchise I must confess that my hope is only that they are OK. So I was pleased to find that They Do It With Mirrors is one of the "most OK" ones so far. The plot is solid and quite engaging even if the title itself serves as a hint as to the resolution. Most importantly for me, I was able to follow it along and it actually made sense – I could see the logic (more or less) behind the solution. This shouldn't sound like something to be praised but the last one of these I saw (Why didn't they ask Evans) didn't even make sense or seem to be too fussed about it at that. As with the previous films, the more even tone (rather than flamboyant light entertainment) provides a solid base for the film and makes it easier to get into.
The cast seem to do well this time also – or rather, specifically McKenzie. She was yet to make any impression on me at all with her rather average performance but here she comes over as being canny, thoughtful and smart as a character without losing her openness which makes her get the information she needs. For the first time she appears to have decided what her Marple will be like and she has delivered it pretty well and dropped the big gormless smile that she had in other films. Yes she still looks the spit of Jim Broadbent but she made me forget that for the most part. Cox is a bit of a surprise find and he does well but I did get the feeling that his fame would make him a natural suspect because even though the film has plenty of faces, Cox is far and away the biggest name in the room. Wilton is no slouch either though and she gives a good performance along with Payne, Smart, Peake and others. I liked Jennings as the Inspector while comedians Sayle and Hughes are amusing in small roles, although I did wonder why either of them bothered. Collins is not as awful as many have said, it is just that she is out of place – her performance and her presence is more in keeping with the sillier tone of the previous Marple films, not this one.
They Do It With Mirrors is the final of the first batch of McKenzie Marple films and it appears to be one of the better of them. It is not without problems of course and it is never something I would describe as great but it did have more to it than the other films. The plot works well, engaged me and didn't frustrate me, while the performances are all good despite Cox being a bit too obvious as a presence compare to the other faces.
The new Marple films have not really inspired me and over the years of ITV having the franchise I must confess that my hope is only that they are OK. So I was pleased to find that They Do It With Mirrors is one of the "most OK" ones so far. The plot is solid and quite engaging even if the title itself serves as a hint as to the resolution. Most importantly for me, I was able to follow it along and it actually made sense – I could see the logic (more or less) behind the solution. This shouldn't sound like something to be praised but the last one of these I saw (Why didn't they ask Evans) didn't even make sense or seem to be too fussed about it at that. As with the previous films, the more even tone (rather than flamboyant light entertainment) provides a solid base for the film and makes it easier to get into.
The cast seem to do well this time also – or rather, specifically McKenzie. She was yet to make any impression on me at all with her rather average performance but here she comes over as being canny, thoughtful and smart as a character without losing her openness which makes her get the information she needs. For the first time she appears to have decided what her Marple will be like and she has delivered it pretty well and dropped the big gormless smile that she had in other films. Yes she still looks the spit of Jim Broadbent but she made me forget that for the most part. Cox is a bit of a surprise find and he does well but I did get the feeling that his fame would make him a natural suspect because even though the film has plenty of faces, Cox is far and away the biggest name in the room. Wilton is no slouch either though and she gives a good performance along with Payne, Smart, Peake and others. I liked Jennings as the Inspector while comedians Sayle and Hughes are amusing in small roles, although I did wonder why either of them bothered. Collins is not as awful as many have said, it is just that she is out of place – her performance and her presence is more in keeping with the sillier tone of the previous Marple films, not this one.
They Do It With Mirrors is the final of the first batch of McKenzie Marple films and it appears to be one of the better of them. It is not without problems of course and it is never something I would describe as great but it did have more to it than the other films. The plot works well, engaged me and didn't frustrate me, while the performances are all good despite Cox being a bit too obvious as a presence compare to the other faces.