Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - Death On The Nile (DVD)

...the screen. Like Sherlock Holmes, Poirot is probably one of the most difficult characters to portray because of people's expectations. Two of the most famous actors to play the role in the last 30-40 years are Peter Ustinov and David Suchet. Much as I love Peter Ustinov (he presented me with my degree!), I don't think he is right in the role of Poirot - his accent is terrible and Poirot is nowhere near as scruffy as he would have us think. David ...
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The plot
Poirot travels to Egypt and comes across a young couple, Simon and Linnet Doyle, on honeymoon. They are blissfully happy, apart from being plagued by an ex-girlfriend of Simon, Jacqueline de Bellefort. Linnet was previously Jacqueline's best friend, until Jacqueline introduced Simon to her friend and Simon and Linnet fell in love and married.

Linnet asks M. Poirot to help her get rid of Jacqueline, especially ... more

Introduction
Having been introduced to Agatha Christie at the young age of 8, I've since read all her books and have seen many of them translated on to the screen. Like Sherlock Holmes, Poirot is probably one of the most difficult characters to portray because of people's expectations. Two of the most famous actors to play the role in the last 30-40 years are Peter Ustinov and David Suchet. Much as I love Peter Ustinov (he presented me with my degree!), I don't think he is right in the role of Poirot - his accent is terrible and Poirot is nowhere near as scruffy as he would have us think. David Suchet, on the other hand, is perfect in the role and for this reason, I love watching this version of the film rather than the Ustinov version.

The author
Agatha Christie was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller in 1890 and spent her childhood in Devon. Her father, Frederick Miller, was American; her mother, Clarissa, was believed to be clairvoyant. Agatha's writing career began early in her life and continued through the end of her first marriage, when she disappeared for several days, and into her second, to an archaeologist, whom she accompanied all over the world, hence the sometimes exotic surroundings. She died in 1976.

The plot
Poirot travels to Egypt and comes across a young couple, Simon and Linnet Doyle, on honeymoon. They are blissfully happy, apart from being plagued by an ex-girlfriend of Simon, Jacqueline de Bellefort. Linnet was previously Jacqueline's best friend, until Jacqueline introduced Simon to her friend and Simon and Linnet fell in love and married.

Linnet asks M. Poirot to help her get rid of Jacqueline, especially after a near death experience when Linnet is almost crushing by a piece of falling stonework. Poirot can do nothing though; there is no proof that Jacqueline has done anything illegal. He is surprised however, when he discovers that Jacqueline has followed the couple on to a cruise ship travelling down the Nile.

No-one is terribly surprised that Linnet is found dead a few days later, having been shot through the head. Yet the perpetrator cannot have been Jacqueline, who, at the time of the shooting, was recovering from the trauma of having shot Simon in the leg, accompanied by another of the passengers. Two more murders follow this one, without the situation being any clearer. Can M. Poirot and Colonel Race, who has been asked to take on the investigation until the boat can dock, solve the crime before anyone else is killed?

The actors/characters
To a certain extent, I don't like to see actors of one nationality portraying characters of another. However, Poirot was invented by an Englishwoman, so in this case, I think it is excusable. David Suchet is the perfect Poirot as far as I am concerned. He sticks closely to the book character, which I appreciate, and he has been considered the most convincing actor in the role by members of Christie's family. Born in 1946, David Suchet studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, before becoming involved in theatre. His early roles included Shakespeare, the Professionals and Blott on the Landscape. He was seen in this later role by Agatha Christie's daughter, who persuaded producer Brian Eastman that Suchet would be perfect in the role. That was 26 years ago and Suchet has still not come to the end of his role in the character.

Although he is clearly in charge of the investigation, the adaptation concentrates mainly on the love triangle of Simon, Linnet and Jacqueline and we find out little about Poirot's background. All three, played by JJ Field, Emily Blunt and Emma Malin, do justice to their roles - Emma Malin is particularly strong as the thwarted lover.

Other characters on the boat, although not major characters in the adaptation, are played by major actors, such as Frances de la Tour, David Soul and Barbara Flynn. Frances de la Tour, most famous for her role as Miss Jones in Rising Damp, plays the deliciously over-the-top writer Salome Otterbourne in a way that is comic, but tragic at the same time - she comes across as being a lonely old woman who craves male attention. David Soul, as Andrew Pennington, manages Linnet's business interests and was totally unrecognisable. I wouldn't have known it was him if I hadn't seen the list of actors. His role in the adaptation is understated, yet mysterious at the same time. Barbara Flynn plays the role of an old busybody who explains to M Poirot who Simon and Linnet are.

Conclusion
There are some parts of the adaptation that don't completely match with the book, but all are understandable changes that are needed for the big screen. I found the whole adaptation excellent from start to finish. There is a tendency to throw as many well-known actors into adaptations of Poirot and Miss Marple, which can sometimes seem over the top. However, in this case, the exaggerated roles suit the book perfectly - the characters are all fabulously wealthy and spoilt and need a certain amount of over-stated characters like Frances de la Tour. A couple of the more minor characters are way too over the top though.

This is just one of the many adaptations of Agatha Christie's Poirot starring David Suchet. Thank goodness it is not the last. David Suchet will be a hard actor to replace. Highly recommended.

I have seen the film version of this adaptation, but the DVD is available from Amazon for £12.99 . The DVD is also available as part of a collection of Poirot adaptations starring David Suchet, published by Agatha Christie Limited (A Chorion Company). Death on the Nile is the first adaptation available and is available for an introductory price of just ₤2.99 from most newsagents for a DVD and a magazine with information about the film, actors and Agatha Christie herself. I haven't seen the magazine, but the DVD alone has to worth that price!
 

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