Customer Reviews

Agatha Christie's Poirot: Five Little Pigs

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Five Little Pigs" has always been among my favorite Poirot adventures, mainly because of its excellent premise. Poirot is attempting to solve a murder which occurred fourteen years before, resulting in the execution of a young woman. There are no cigar ashes, no footprints, no concrete clues of any kind to go by. Instead, Poirot is forced to rely entirely on his methods of probing into the psychology of his suspects; always a treat for the reader/viewer. And this case certainly has plenty of psychology - all his five suspects have some secret that needs ferreting out and which may or may not have any bearing on the murder itself. All very enjoyable.

That being said, I was rather disappointed in this TV adaptation in some respects. The only way in which it falls short of the standard I have come to respect from the makers of the Poirot series is in the differences between the book and the movie. I guess the producers thought there was just too much heterosexual romance going on in the original story. (We can't have that, can we?) Thus, Philip Blake is no longer the smouldering, jilted lover of Caroline Crayle - he is the smouldering, jealous lover of Amius Crayle. And Caroline Crayle, in a move which jarringly contradicts Christie's portrayal of her character, does not reject the advances of a man who tries to take advantage of her at a time when her marriage is threatened, but seeks him out in order to seduce him - in other words, committing the same act of unfaithfulness that she condemns in her husband. Plus, the flashback scenes of the "deep friendship" between Amius and Phillip were frankly quite distasteful. Caroline thus comes across as being far less admirable. And are we supposed to feel sorry for Phillip? No thanks.

This film is still definitely worth watching, but it's not quite the best of the newer Poirot films. Fans will enjoy it, but take my advice and read the book first, if you haven't already - or listen to the audio drama with John Moffatt.

Some Poirot films, although very good, are somewhat difficult to follow, but not this one. Poirot moves to solve the case in a lineal, step by step fashion. A young woman asks Poirot to find out if her mother, who was hanged for poisoning her husband, the young woman's father, did so. There are five suspects who may have committed the murder, if the husband did not commit suicide, as her mother claims. Poirot interviews each of the five people, gathers information, and deduces what actually occurred from what he hears. Viewers who pay close attention to the five versions of what occurred will see the clues. Whether they do so or not, they will enjoy the tale.

Suchet is fantastic as Poirot, as usual. Agatha Christie's story is great, as usual.

The screen writers are the problem. While part of the plot involves infidelity, Christie NEVER dwells on "bedroom" scenes. These, however, continue to show up in the new adaptations, which make it uncomfortable at best to watch ourselves, let alone with our children. Christie communicated quite clearly when infidelity and/or immorality were going on without resorting to steamy scenes--the screenwriters need to do the same.

WARNING: SPOILER
I could not believe it when Philip confessed to being Amyas' lover. This seemed way out of character for Christie to have a gay relationship going on. I ran in and pulled my book off the shelf, and--sure enough--there is no such thing. Philip was turned down by Carolyn because she loved her husband, not Philip turning down Carolyn because HE loved her husband. Ridiculous. The screenwriters obviously have an agenda and/or political correctness has gone amuck. Please stick to Christie's writing.

I highly recommend this adaptation. I thoroughly enjoy almost all movies based on the works of Agatha Christie. David Suchet will forever be the definitive Poirot for me. I usually object to movie scripts that vary from the original novels, but not in this case. The updates make the story much more real. For me, the original texture of the story has been preserved. This is one of my favorite Poirot made-for-TV movies despite the absences of the wonderful Miss Lemon, Captain Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp, present in so many of these adaptations. I could not pause the DVD even to visit the kitchen. I had to know 'what happens next'. I will be watching it again, I'm sure.

Five little pigs is arguably the best Poirot mystery. Till the very end the needle of suspicion swings in all directions. Another reason for the appeal of this story is that in this Poirot solves a murder case, from the personal accounts of all witnesses, that had happened 14 years ago.

"Five Little Pigs", based on Agatha Christie's 1942 novel, is the first film in Series 9 of "Agatha Christie's Poirot", which originally aired in 2003. It opens with the execution of Caroline Crale (Rachael Stirling) for the murder of her husband, the painter Amyas Crale (Aiden Gillen). Fourteen years later, their daughter Lucy (Aimee Mullins) asks Poirot to investigate the case. Her mother assured her that she was innocent. Lucy would like to know the truth. There were five guests at the Crale home the weekend that Amyas died, and therefore five suspects: Amyas' best friend Philip Blake (Toby Stephens), neighbor and Philip's brother Meredith (Marc Warren), Amyas' young mistress and subject of his most recent painting Elsa Greer (Julie Cox), Caroline's sister Angela (Sophie Winkleman), and Angela's tutor Miss Williams (Gemma Jones).

Poirot interviews the suspects, 14 years after the fact, in order to piece together the events of that fateful day. Most of the witnesses had motive to murder Amyas Crale, but most are confident in Caroline's guilt. Poirot begins to doubt it, however. This is a good mystery with a strong cast, but the film's structure is so simple that it is flat. Poirot simply interviews each witness, so we see the same events recounted from different points of view, before gathering everyone together to announce his conclusion. Without Hastings or Miss Lemon or Inspector Japp, there is nothing to add interest while Poirot shuffles from interview to interview. Poirot's warmth and humor have little opportunity to express themselves, while his fussiness and self-righteousness remain.

This was the year that the show's producers made notable changes: Poirot's mustache coiffure has changed from cute-comical to sinister-comical, and David Suchet's interpretation of his mannerism is a little different in conversation. The Deco title sequence is gone. The score is a little distracting. I favor the lighter, more amiable, modernist Poirot. But the cast and plot are good, even if Philip Jackson breaks down in a fit of grief that is not quite believable at one point, and his character has been altered in a way that does nothing to serve the story. Bonus features on the A&E 2004 DVD are short text bios of Agatha Christie, David Suchet, and Hercule Poirot. No subtitles.

Like many fans of the great Belgian detective and his "little gray cells" I heartily admire David Suchet's take on the role. However, methinks sometimes the writers and directors and even the rest of the casts don't get enough credit.

This one rates "splendid" in my book. More than any other filmed Poirot, FLP hinges on tiny clues and psychological understanding. The crime happened years and years past. Poirot undertakes to find the truth by interviewing the surviving witnesses--obviously not including the wife hanged for her husband's murder but who assured their daughter in a letter delivered long after she was innocent.

Performances are top-notch, including the pervasive theme that nothing is quite as it seems. Everyone is lying, sometimes to themselves more than anyone else. Characters interact in the kind of complex way that marks genuine human behavior. More, we get to see an arc of this, via flashbacks to a past that even *looks* different than the present (and a noticeably more distorted set of flashbacks to the victim's childhood as well). People who pretend to be strong, turn out to be overly sensitive and maybe weak. The poetic may be the most coldly calculating. Maybe the young aren't nearly as innocent as they at first seem.

One final point that is almost too sweet for fans of mysteries--all the clues needed to solve the mystery are right in front of the viewer. Really. You can solve it. Nothing you need to solve the case is hidden.

Rather than spoil it any further, I'll leave it there.

Great movie, I'm an avid Christie fan, never had this on DVD, but as all my Christie, I enjoyed it immensely!!

I'm getting the entire series - bit by bit. That's how much I like Suchet and Poirot.

I saw this movie today on the Discovery Channel and liked it. It kept me inturested. I wanted to know who the true mureder was, and though I had a suspision, I had a suspision on everybody. Everyone had a motive, everyone but the 7 year old daughter and of course, Pirot himself. A true mystery that kept me guessing! All in all a good movie.