Maybe it's because I've been watching all these Marple films lately, but "A Pocket Full Of Rye" feels a little too familiar mystery fare; apart from the concept of "long-distance murder", I don't think Agatha Christie presented any other particularly new ideas in this story (of course the fact that I remembered who the killer is from the Joan Hickson version did not help matters - I hope in the next season of the series they film ONLY previously unfilmed stories, maybe expand some of the short ones). The direction is strange - plodding most of the time, but with some surprising jolts every once in a while, including some brief but pretty racy sex scenes. The cast, unfortunately, is a bit bland this time around, with Helen Baxendale adequate but not outstanding as my favorite character in this tale, the intelligent Mary Dove. Julia McKenzie is fine in her debut as Miss Marple, and there is a bitterly ironic ending. **1/2 out of 4.
Review of A Pocket Full of Rye
