Review of Ordeal by Innocence

Agatha Christie rides again, but, alas, the pleasures of this one are offset by a wildly inappropriate and cursedly intrusive jazz score by Dave Brubeck. Worse still, in order to accommodate Mr. Brubeck, several sequences are lengthened way past their palatable appeal. Some irritating editorial cross-cutting – even when attempting to be inventive – further dampens our enthusiasm, but nevertheless the movie ends up as a fairly suspenseful outing, well acted and atmospherically photographed against some fascinatingly unusual locations. Sutherland is aptly cast as the meddling do- gooder, but Dunaway is wasted in a few brief flashbacks. But the little usherette is delightfully pert. Indeed, most of the players are really excellent. Alas, for some unknown reason, the killer is revealed to the audience well before the actual climax, so that it no longer comes as a surprise. The fakey special effects are also a drawback, but all these points are merely quibbles. It's the outrageously intrusive music score that's the source of most audience irritation.