Poirot - Hercule Poirot's Christmas
by Edward Bennett
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Catherine Rabett, David Suchet, Philip Jackson, Simon Roberts, Vernon DobtcheffDirector: Edward Bennett
Cinematographer: Simon Kossoff
Editor: Andrew McClelland
Producer: Brian Eastman
Producer: Christopher Hall
Producer: Sarah Wilson
Writer: Agatha Christie
Writer: Clive Exton
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-09-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
Movie Reviews of Poirot - Hercule Poirot's Christmas
Movie Review: We wish you a bloody Christmas
Summary: 5 Stars
When most families get together for Christmas, they can end up wanting to kill each other. Most don't actually do it.
But when a family patriarch is a malevolent old lecher like Simeon Lee, and you have Hercule Poirot as a houseguest, it's no surprise when somebody ends up dead. The adaptationof "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" is a decidedly unsentimental little Yuletide murder mystery, full of snow-covered manorhouses, gruesome noises and the occasional Welsh carol choir.
Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) is all set to celebrate Christmas at home... until his heating dies. Coincidentally, creepy old diamond mogul Simeon Lee calls, asking him to come over for Christmas.
Lee is also gathering his adult children at his house -- a stuffy MP and his slinky wife, a downtrodden son and his increasingly fed-up wife, a globe-trotting "black sheep" and a beautiful Spanish granddaughter Pilar (Sasha Behar). Unfortunately after Lee reveals the intention of changing his will and antagonizes his sons, the house is roused by a gruesome howl -- and he's found with his throat cut in a locked room.
So Poirot lassos Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) from his in-laws' chorale to help local cop Sugden (Mark Tandy) -- especially since Lee has not only been killed, but his uncut diamonds have been stolen. Secrets and lies begin to come out of the woodwork, as the impossible crime's workings become more evident to Poirot's little grey cells. Now he must solve it before another Yuletide murder happens.
In theory "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" has everything a Christmas movie should have -- gifts, mistletoe, a snow-drifted English countryside, a big old house.. Of course, the outer trappings are where the Christmas spirit stops, and the murderous stuff begins -- although it's only moderately hard to figure out the murderer's identity.
There's plenty of suspense and odd little clues strewn through the plot, along with a plethora of suspects who would have liked to see Simeon cold'n'dead, but who couldn't possibly have gotten inside. And while the investigation is pretty straightforward, it's strewn with some surprising revelations about a couple of the family members. Not to mention a strange old lady who comes into town and seems VERY happy about Simeon's demise.
To give it a festive air, Poirot and Japp have some holiday struggles. The Belgian sleuth has to find a present for his Scotland Yard buddy, while Japp is being tortured by his Welsh in-laws' constant caroling ("I have come to rescue you, mon ami"). And the scripting is full of clever little prods ("You two should get on, being foreign," Harry Lee says to the Spanish Pilar and Belgian Poirot).
As always, David Suchet is superb as Poirot -- dapper, precise, with a mind that neatly coils around all the clues and sees where they fit, and a subtle brand of wit ("My family hate me, you know." "It is not hard to see why, Monsieur"). The actors playing the assorted spawn (and in-laws) of Simeon all do a thoroughly solid job, from Andr?e Bernard doll-like Magdalena to Brian Gwaspari's weatherbeaten Harry. Behar is never quite convincing as Pilar, though.
"Hercule Poirot's Christmas" is thankfully devoid of sentimental reason-for-the-season dribbling -- it's all about dysfunctional families, gruesome murder and too-big gloves.
Summary of Poirot - Hercule Poirot's Christmas
This feature-length edition of the TV series popularized on PBS and A&E is the British equivalent of "a very special episode." The incomparable David Suchet stars as Agatha Christie's impeccable Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, whose simple Christmas "repast" is disturbed by an invitation to visit the home of Simeon Lee, a repellent curmudgeon who makes Mr. Potter look like George Bailey. "My life is in danger," he states. Events snowball as Simeon is indeed killed, and a fortune in uncut diamonds stolen. As Poirot observes, a case can be made against any of the family members Simeon gleefully tormented. It is "all very clever, no doubt," even though Barney Fife could probably figure out who's behind this "intricate web of deception." Still, keep your eyes and ears open, as Simeon compels Poirot. "Putting two and two together" is all the confounding fun in this mystery for all seasons. --Donald LiebensonArt House & International DVD Video
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