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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sophie O. before HOTEL RWANDA, May 12, 2005
This review is from: Alibi (DVD)
If you were impressed by Sophie Okonedo in 2004's HOTEL RWANDA, in which she played the wife of the beleaguered hotel manager, a role for which she received an Oscar nomination, then do yourself a favor and view ALIBI.
Here, in this movie made for the British telly, Sophie plays Marcey Burgess, whose regular 9 to 5 is as a benefits claims verifier. She also works a part time gig as a waitress for a catering company. In the latter capacity, she's present at the surprise birthday bash thrown by Greg Brentwood (Michael Kitchen) for his wife Linda (Phyllis Logan) at their country house. During the festivities, from her vantage point in the kitchen, she observes Greg's business partner, Martin Shaps (Tom Knight), engage in a bit of surreptitious touchy-feely with Linda. The two are evidently more than just friends. Later, on the way back to the city with the rest of the catering crew, Marcey discovers that she's left her purse back at the Brentwood house. She returns at 2:00 AM to discover the place pretty much deserted except for Greg bent over Martin's dead body. Terrified, Burgess locks herself in a bathroom, and listens through the door as Greg explains the situation; Martin's death was an accident. And Linda had left earlier to spend the night with her sister after a Big Row over the expense of the party; the Brentwoods are financially strapped. When Marcey lets slip that she thinks Linda and Martin were lovers by mentioning the tactile incident, Greg is devastated. Believing Greg's story about his partner's death, and feeling sorry for the former, Burgess emerges from the loo to help plan body disposal.
It would be unseemly to gush too much about ALIBI; there are problems. Marcey's motive for helping Greg out of a dodgy spot was never rationalized to my satisfaction. Sure, she obviously felt sympathy for the guy. But abet winkling away a corpse? Puhleeze! Perhaps she was compensating for having to deny petitioners benefits after listening to their hard luck stories all day/every day at the office. Also, the manner by which Martin's cadaver was eventually disposed wasn't completely thought out by the scriptwriters. Lucky for our two conspirators that Columbo wasn't on the local constabulary.
The real treat is watching Sophie display a range of behavior from fear-induced hysteria to coldly rational problem solving characterized by an intelligent cleverness unexpected in a bureaucratic desk drone. Yup, Okonedo has a wealth of acting talent that makes me want to seek out any other Big Screen role that she's played. Kitchen is good also, but his Brentwood persona is very nearly that of the same actor's Inspector Foyle in the marvelous British miniseries FOYLE'S WAR, albeit a bit more of a whiny Sad Sack.
ALIBI is the perfect film for that dinner before the telly.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another example of strong Brit tv, April 7, 2005
This is another captivating job of writing by Paul Abbott ('State of Play', 'Shameless'), and although it may strain our credulity a bit, the strong performances by Michael Kitchen, Sophie Okonedo and Phyllis Logan bring this piece up to a standard not reached by most US films in wide release.
From what I've seen of Abbott's pieces, he can really write and he has heart. Kitchen's role in this is certainly not as commanding as that of his loveable Foyle, - Sophie Okonedo really has the lead in this, and she's amazing. I don't agree with the other reviewer here, and wasn't interested in quibbling mystery/horror fare - it's not a mystery at all, it's a character study. And although the eventual ending might be a tad anticlimactic, every moment getting there, watching actors of this caliber get shuffled about in Abbott's twists and turns, was just delightful. Let's get all of Abbott's work out on dvd here in the States, what do you say?
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quirky thriller . . ., November 18, 2007
This review is from: Alibi (DVD)
About the time you think you know what you're watching - a thriller about a young woman who discovers a killer disposing of a body - this quirky story begins taking odd and unexpected turns. After a while, you begin to realize that it's not all "dead" serious. There is dark humor around the edges, and the two protagonists become partners in a cover-up that keeps threatening to come unraveled.
The man (Michael Kitchen) claims the death was accidental, though the body, it turns out, belongs to a man having an affair with his wife. The young woman (Sophie Okonedo), who has no reason to get involved, does anyway - and thereby hangs the tale. Paul Abbott, writer for the series "Cracker," keeps the complications piling up as revelation follows revelation, and each of the characters gets into and out of one predicament after another. Kitchen, parodying all the grimaces and facial contortions of his likeably reticent detective Foyle ("Foyle's War"), gets to muddle on under the influence of a few too many Valium. Cleverly plotted, this British TV drama, is entertainingly implausible in just the way it should be.
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