Change Your Image
orde-morton
Reviews
Requiem (2018)
Trying Hard, Seldom Succeeding
I watched this series because I am a Richard Harrington fan. He leads in one of the numerous sub-plots and does rage and anguish well as always. Otherwise I am leery of shows that use supernatural events in a present-day context and Requiem did not change my mind. Eerie music, strange voices, flashing lights and the like are repeatedly used, rather than the understated suggestion of the unseen which can be far more terrifying. The lead actor, Lydia Wilson, fails to engage the viewer's sympathy and comes across as a crank who has difficulty in seeing any point of view other than her own. Since she is on screen at least half the time this becomes wearing. The subplots keep the viewer muddled but seem to have no other tie to the main drama. But the town and scenery are beautiful, and if you like horror shows you may well like Requiem.
Poirot: Appointment with Death (2008)
A mess
I have been reading Agatha Christie for over 50 years, but I am not one of those who think she is a sacred text, incapable of improvement and which it is sacrilegious to change. All the same, change should be an improvement or at least do no harm. The book "Appointment with Death" (a) has a clear plot and in Mrs Boynton one of Christie's most memorable characters (b) is a masterpiece of misdirection (c) shows Poirot's ability to see beneath the apparent to the real. This version tries to cram a much more complicated plot and more characters (notably Lord Boynton, someone superfluous to requirements if ever there was one) into a little over an hour of screen time. The result is that it is difficult to grasp who the characters are, let alone what their motives might be. Needless complications abound. Why are the Boynton children adopted? What purpose does Nanny Taylor serve? Why can Col Carbury, a British Foreign Office official, call on the French police in a French mandated territory? Why does Dr Gerard become a wholly superfluous villain? Above all, what does Lord B and his absurd search for the head of John the Baptist add? All this is such a muddle that it takes Poirot almost 15 minutes to explain the answer, which is not enough.The impression left is that the re-write team decided to throw in a little something for everybody - the Baptist for the religious, a peer for N American snobs, beatings for the sado-masochists, love interest for the damp handkerchief brigade,and plenty of drugs for all and sundry.
It is sad to see David Suchet's talents wasted. The Hotel Constantine's interiors are notable and some of the desert scenes handsome. Otherwise best forgotten.
Orde Morton