Evil Under the Sun
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Movie Reviews of Evil Under the Sun
Movie Review: Christie's Evil Under the Sun
Summary: 4 Stars
Peter Ustinov is far from the Christie description of Hercule Poirot, but Mr. Ustinov makes him more endearing. A good script, faithful to the original story, great actors in supporting roles and great photography of sea, sand and an island make this film a real winner. I actually prefer this version to the David Suchet one, even though Suchet looks more like Ms. Christie's Poirot. A must for all Christie fans!Movie Review: Great film. A must see!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great film! Glamorous setting. Great cast. Interesting storyline. A must see! One of my favorites.Movie Review: Campy yet "Evil"
Summary: 3 Stars
A mysterious murder, unbreakable alibis, and a stolen diamond... all wrapped up in a glitzy, mildly campy shell.
Yeah, you can't expect "Evil Under the Sun," with its barbed Mediterranean atmosphere, to resemble Agatha Christie's usual cozies. This relaxed murder mystery does succeed at being fun and genuinely befuddling, although the martini-swilling, sunny atmosphere make the entire gruesome murder feel rather too... relaxing. A murder shouldn't seem like a vacation... or should it?
An insurance goof and a stolen gem send Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) to "Daphne's Place," a palace-turned-hotel in a small Mediterranean country. He arrives on the same boat as famed stage actress Arlena Marshall (Diana Rigg) and her new husband and stepdaughter. Arlena openly has an affair with boytoy Patrick (Nicholas Clay) -- and then she suddenly turns up, strangled on a remote beach.
There are suspects galore: her betrayed husband, resentful stepdaughter, an old rival who is attracted to Mr. Marshall, a pair of ugly American producers whom she's bankrupting, a flaming gossip writer who has written a steamy tell-all, and her boytoy's mousy wife. But no one had the opportunity -- everyone has an alibi. So Hercule Poirot exercises the "little gray cells," unravelling the clues of a discarded bottle, a midday shower, a cannon, and perfume in a cave.
Don't expect "Evil Under the Sun" to be any more faithful to its book than Arlena is to Marshall -- several aspects of the plot are rearranged or changed, and the sense of darkness is exchanged for a rhinestoned camp quality. And the plot unfolds at a leisurely pace, dropping in hints, clues and clever deceptions like so many plastic jewels on a beach.
In fact, the clothes say it all -- both Rigg and Maggie Smith wear faux jewels on silver lame, and American Myra resembles a Christmas tree with fur. Everyone swills martinis, sunbathes, and wanders across a lush little island to the hotel. Occasionally the impending murder and its aftereffects seem almost like an afterthought.
That said, "Evil Under the Sun's" campy quality is part of what makes it so much fun. Lots of catty, witty dialogue ("She always could throw her legs up in the air higher than the rest of us... and wider..."), sniping characters with plenty of motives, and a delightfully loathsome victim. You'll want Arlena dead by the time she tells her daughter to go play with the jellyfish, and then you'll want to know who could possibly have done the impossible.
Peter Ustinov has the right combination of smarts and comedy to play Poirot, the Belgian sleuth who saves the day and drives the hotel staff crazy. And while he succeeds in bringing Poirot's eccentricities to life (such as the "swimming" scene), he never takes it over the top to the point where Poirot becomes cartoonish.
The always-awesome Maggie Smith also turns in a wonderful performance as the razor-tongued "maitresse en titre turned hotelier," turning in some touching and funny moments among the sharp dialogue. And Rigg is wonderfully catty, nasty, glamorous and utterly uncaring of anyone else. The supporting cast also does a wonderful job, particularly the two who play the murderers -- and are the last ones you'd expect.
The one flaw is that all the humor, glitz and wit detract a little from the dark atmosphere one expects from a murder mystery. Instead, "Evil Under the Sun" is a campy comedy that happens to have a murder in it.
Movie Review: We don't know
Summary: 3 Stars
It's a story about a murder and it's so good. It's a worth seeing. Now we don't know what to write more and I'll say good BYE!!!Movie Review: Ugly
Summary: 2 Stars
Peter Ustinov's second performance as Hercule Poirot, producers John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin's third adaptation of a Christie novel, "Evil Under the Sun" is way too knowing for its own good. Instead of playing it straight, as in "Murder on the Orient Express" or, to a lesser extent "Death on the Nile," here all concerned seem to be more interested in proving their superiority to the material than in making it into a decent film. Many of the people involved are genuinely talented, but none of them should feel comfortable with this level of condescension.Once again we're in an enclosed situation (this time a luxury hotel on a small island) amongst the rich and famous as a murder occurs. Once again a group of well-known actors have fun doing little impersonations. Once again we follow Poirot as he sorts through the contradictory evidence to arrive at a solution to the crime. Unfortunately, instead of making the mystery interesting, the filmmakers keep winking at us and nudging us in the ribs with way too loud orchestrations of Cole Porter tunes and heavy handed double-takes from the actors. The film is so smugly certain of its cleverness, it never really gets around to proving it.
There are a few pleasures. The Majorca locations are stunning and several of the performances are amusing in themselves. James Mason is always good, and he succeeds here partly by underplaying against the harpies screaming around him. One of them is played by Diana Rigg in a rare movie appearance. Her cat fights with Maggie Smith should make everyone run for cover. More than the scenery is left in tatters after they withdraw their claws, however. Their shenanigans help to turn Christie's novel into a festival for drag queens.
Brittle, too self-conscious, "Evil Under the Sun" is moderately diverting, but increasingly tedious. The very last scene, in which the rich raise a glass of champagne in an ironic toast to the guilty, is downright ugly. It's as if the murderer's real crime is daring to mix with his social "betters." When immensely wealthy and successful filmmakers get this smug, it's time to call the police.