Murder on the Orient Express, David Suchet Version

Nicely done. More realistic than Sidney Lumet’s entertaining, intriguing movie. The rocky cinematography approximating train movement. The nuanced decision of the denouement unlike the movie’s light, frothier ending. Poirot’s Catholicism and references to God (introduced in previous episodes, coming in the final years of the series) which reflect the uncaricaturizing of the detective and signalling his mature depth and realistic conflictedness. The ending of this version does much more than the movie does in terms of dealing with justice relative to premeditated murder. In the age that we live in, with all vestiges of authority crashing down around us in the West, this ending rings more true, especially for conservatives and traditionalists who feel laws serve a purpose and that standards are standards. The wobbliness of the story’s atmosphere reflects the current chaos and uncertainty within our greatly-changing society and culture. A timely viewing for our “out-of-joint” Hamletian times.

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