Customer Reviews

Mystery: Malice Aforethought

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

 

 

Malice Aforethought is one of those British mysteries that are set in a small rural village of yesteryear and populated with a cast of memorable characters. Dr. Edmund Bickleigh is a henpecked husband who denigrates his aspirations as an amateur artist. It's also why he is a chronic womanizer. Then into the village moves Madeleine Cranmere and he falls hard. The problem is that he must remove the obstacle of his domineering wife, end his affair with a local girl, and continue the veneer of respectability demanded of a man in his position. The costumes are period authentic, the sets are scrupulous detailed, the dialogue engaging, the acting first rate, and the plot twists are truly imaginative. Also available in a video cassette format and lead to an exciting and unpredicted conclusion, the DVD edition has a total running time of 2.5 hours and also includes access to the "Mystery! website, offers scene selection, and features closed captioning for the hearing impaired. Malice Aforethought is a mystery lover's delight and certain to be a popular addition to any community library video collection.

As I have previously indicated on this Board, I am a huge fan of British Murder/Mysteries. "Malice Aforethought" is certainly a "jolly good Murder/Mystery!" It has everything in its list of "ingredients" that I feel a good Murder/Mystery should include in order to make for a good and savory (what I call) "Murder/Mystery broth". "Malice Aforethought" certainly has the right "ingredients" to make it a most enjoyable 180 minutes of viewing. The "ingredients" comprising the ("Malice Aforethough) "Murder/Mystery broth" are as follows:

(1) Good suspense with the murderer appearing to have gotten away with murder, but as they always say: "murder will out". In this case, it's Typhoid Fever will out.

(2) Interesting characters consisting of an outwardly meek, masochistic letch of a philandering, obsessed with sanitation husband/doctor; a shrew of a wife that by her own personality and ways would certainly drive even a saint to want to murder her; a blond artistic vamp (with certain demands) for the "put upon" husband to lust after making the murder of the wife even more desirable: a "must get rid of (long standing) girlfriend" that becomes dispensable in order to get to what and/or to whom is really wanted. This girlfriend is very willing to (lie) in order to prove that she really loves her man; plus some innocent looking but irritating, see-all, know-all, town gossips that keep the "low cast" doctor and his philandering in their sights with the kindest word for the doctor/husband being "he's a beastly man". In addition there is a see all sickly gardener that too must be disposed of before he tells all of what he has seen.

(3) Great script that is written very well with nary a dull moment keeping this viewer on the edge of his seat.

(4) Wonderful recreation and depiction of a fascinating decade and/or era (the 1920s).

(5) Great acting with Ben Miller playing the lower class, seemingly "hen- pecked", letch, "scum-burger" of a husband marvelously; Barbara Flynn (in a role switch for her--she usually plays the Victorian fragile type of woman) is wonderful as his domineering, upper class very irritating, brow-beating, pretentious, full of herself harpy of a wife; and Megan Dodds is great as the conniving, money seeking would be artistic vamp.

(6) An intriguing setting for the entire "goings on"--a rural, picturesque and peaceful (at least on the surface) small English village with cobblestone walkways and small sheep herds.

The entire above ingredients meld together marvelously to make a wonderfully delicious concoction. Added, to the cauldron and to the above listed "ingredients", is just a pinch of so-called British "black humor" making for a most enjoyable and savory "Murder/Mystery broth".

This mystery is not a "detective driven" Murder/Mystery. Although there is a detective in the story his investigation does not bring the culprit to justice; potted meat and flies see that justice prevails.

To sample a "jolly good" example of some very savory steaming "Murder/Mystery broth", purchase this DVD.

I saw this on PBS years ago and I loved it. When I discovered it on Amazon I was so delighted. It did not disappoint and I discovered some new thhings about it, like the fact that the delightful Richard Armitage from North and South has a small role in this mystery. Anyway, all in all I would recommend this movie to everyone.

This PBS Mystery offering was interesting, with the usual great production values. It featured a first-class performance by Ben Miller as Dr. Edmund Bickleigh. On balance, though, I think it suffered by having no sympathetic characters and a plot, which seemed so original when the novel was published in 1931, that now seems a little ho hum. There is no mystery in this mystery, so it depends on how much we can empathize, or at least smile at, the lethal doings of the doctor.

Bickleigh is a country doctor who has risen above his station in life, married well, and whose wife never lets him forget who has the money and the status in their little English town. He is a man with an inferiority complex and a passion for affairs. When he thinks he has actually fallen in love, his wife finds out and commands that it stop. His solution? Murder...which is determined by the authorities to have been an accidental drug overdose by the deceased. But Bickleigh's love leaves him for another, tongues begin to wag and it is clear he has never really been accepted by the town's upper crust. Even with this, life for the doctor is better than it has ever been when he was under the thumb of his wife. But still, a few loose ends must be taken care of. The doctor finally is accused of his wife's murder, but through a loving intervention he is acquitted. Then he is accused of another murder. This he didn't actually do, but the evidence, being a potted meat sandwich which cannot be interrogated, is incriminating. Justice triumphs in her own sweet way.

This is a black comedy with British upperclass superiority matched against Bickleigh's feelings of inferiority and his complacent belief that some murder is justified. Miller does a great job, as does Barbara Flynn as Bickleigh's wife, an upperclass, domineering shrew. Twenty years ago Flynn played an entirely sympathetic, funny and slightly skeptic co-lead in The Beiderbecke Affair, an amusing and romantic mystery which is still available on DVD.

Great movie for mystery buffs. I thought it was similar to all the wonderful Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple movies. Excellent casting, costumes and story. The best surprise of all was discovering Richard Armitage (Gibbons from the new Robin Hood on BBC America) Enjoy!

"Malice Aforethought" is a wry mystery based on the 1931 novel by Francis Iles (Anthony Berkeley Cox). This novel is widely considered the mystery writer's best work, but it is unlike conventional mysteries in that we know who commits the murder and why. We are privy to the murderer's plan, and we watch the darkly comic consequences play out.

In the small English town of Wyvern's Cross, lover's trysts and hypochondriacs occupy most of Doctor Edmund Bickleigh's (Ben Miller) time. Dr. Bickleigh's constantly critical, domineering wife Julia (Barbara Flynn) owns the couple's home and never allows her husband to forget that for a moment. He's carrying on an affair with an adoring young lady named Ivy (Lucy Brown). But when the airheaded, artistic Miss Madeleine Cranmere (Megan Dodds) takes up residence in town, Dr. Bickleigh becomes infatuated with her. The socially conscious Julia has forbidden Bickleigh from ever seeing Madeleine, though. And Madeleine is not forthcoming with her affections without a promise of marriage. So Dr. Bickleigh decides that murder is the solution. But that's just the beginning of his troubles.

"Malice Aforethought" is black comedy revolving around the sociopathic, self-absorbed, but laughably foolish Dr. Bickleigh. Those traits actually don't distinguish him from most of the townsfolk. The film's characters could be as tiresome to the audience as they are to one another if we didn't see everyone through Dr. Bickleigh's eyes. Ben Miller gives a stand-out performance as this man who is oblivious to ethics and entirely single-minded. But instead of belonging to someone shrewd and ambitious, these traits belong to a dull-witted, passive-aggressive country doctor -who earnestly applies them to his problems. Thus "Malice Aforethought"'s mocking, ironic humor.

Given the very deft hand behind the lens, this was almost too subtle and soft to leave a deep impression. It is an interesting story, but never totally leaps out and grabs you by the throat, leaving you to only minorly care what happens in the end. The production quality is overall well done, and the acting is near flawless, but not fully engaging.

Sink yourself into a comfortable chair and revel in this near perfect depiction of the perfect crime. Wonderful music. Terrific direction and camerawork - and unnervingly solid acting all around. Just be careful that you pour your own drinks, and prepare your own snacks...

Dr. Edmund Brickleigh (played by Ben Miller) is living a life of quiet desperation, trapped beneath the thumb of his domineering wife, and finding little solace among the young ladies that his practice puts him in position to seduce. But, when Madeleine Cranmere (Megan Dodds) moves into town, Dr. Brickleigh falls head over heels in love with this passionate free spirit. Madeleine won't have an affair with Edmund, and wouldn't take him as a divorcé, which leaves him only one course - he must murder his wife. Oh what a tangled web Dr. Brickleigh must weave, and when his plans begin to go astray, he must contemplate even more murders. [Color, released in 2005, with a running time of 3 hours.]

I must say that my wife and I enjoyed this movie immensely! It's something of a murder mystery shot from the other side. That is to say, instead of focusing on the detective and his attempts to bring the murderer to justice, this movie focuses on the murderer and his attempts to get away with murder! I found the change of perspective quite refreshing.

Also, I must say that I enjoyed the movie for itself. The cast does an excellent job of bringing the story to life, and making me believe that they are real people caught up in this drama. Will Dr. Brickleigh be brought to justice? You will be forced to go on watching to find out.

As for the content of the movie, there are some adult situations and conversations, plus one scene with a woman in a revealing outfit. But, that outfit is certainly not less than many women wear to the beach. So, overall I did find this to be an exciting and highly entertaining mystery, one that will keep you glued to you TV. We highly recommend it!

This rogue doctor's mental health is more than a little off-center. His perspective of life is not much improved by the endless humiliations imposed upon him by his notably older and noxious wife. He could simply divorce her were it not for the fact that she's of the rich nobility and he's the spawn of a nefarious quack.

The doctor's over-active libido plunges him (double entendre intended) into even deeper difficulties -- he encounters all manner of trouble in maintaining a professional relationship with attractive, young patients of the opposite sex. When he drops one mistress in pursuit of another, the jilted lady tosses him to the wolves (her vengeful husband!), a result which is particularly inconvenient for the doctor as he has just murdered his wife!

The doctor is the topic of the entire hamlet's gossip and yet he presses forward for love and for status... and to eliminate trouble-making tongue-waggers. Just as life begins to look up for him, a nosey and intuitive Scotland Yard inspector appears on the scene.

This story is set in the early days of 20th Century England and the locations and cinematography could not be better. The filmscore is equally first-class. British mystery enthusiasts are additionally apportioned a more-than-adequate dose of both crusty old village gossips and atmospheric manorial detritus. Think Gosford Park absent Robert Altman's directing shrewdness.

I can't precisely put my finger on it but one is left with a vague impression that these personalities are slightly beyond the fringe of believability, albeit the acting was pretty good -- it must have been the script. Also, while all the necessary elements of the story stand firm this yarn feels a bit abridged, again probably attributable to the screenwriting. That's why I shaved a star off my rating.

Recommended for fans of the genre.