Filmed in the exact same style as "The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar" by director Wes Anderson, you will likely either enjoy it or find it grating. I'm not a fan, and couldn't warm up to the static appearance of that picture or the monotone telling of the story originally written by Roald Dahl. I'd be curious actually, to know what Dahl would have thought about this adaptation, as well as the other stories tacked on to the Henry Sugar tale to form what appears to be a complete movie, though each segment is viewable as a complete story by itself. Of the four stories, this one is the most intense, seeing as how it's about a man, Henry Pope ( Benedict Cumberbatch) essentially immobile in his bed because a highly venomous snake called a krait has silently crawled up on his stomach while he was reading a book. When a friend (Dev Patel) arrives, the man calls for the local doctor who has a serum available to act as an antidote to the snake's poison which can be administered before the serpent even bites.
I have to say, even though the suspense built by this episode is of the nail-biting variety, I couldn't help being disappointed by the outcome. Having successfully received the antidote, Henry Pope lurches out of bed with no sign of the krait, and immediately targets Dr. Ganderbai (Ben Kingsley) with racist insults! His friend Woods is astonished at the effrontery, as the doctor hastens to his car and leaves. Very unsatisfying from the point of view of someone having their life saved.
This Roald Dahl tale has been filmed at least twice before to my knowledge. It appeared as the first episode of Season Four in the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' series, airing on October 5, 1958. Two decades later, the story was adapted for Dahl's own hosted series, 'Tales of the Unexpected' on March 29, 1980. Each of these three versions had a different ending, and so as not to give anything away here, I would recommend checking those out, as well as reading the source material of course.
I have to say, even though the suspense built by this episode is of the nail-biting variety, I couldn't help being disappointed by the outcome. Having successfully received the antidote, Henry Pope lurches out of bed with no sign of the krait, and immediately targets Dr. Ganderbai (Ben Kingsley) with racist insults! His friend Woods is astonished at the effrontery, as the doctor hastens to his car and leaves. Very unsatisfying from the point of view of someone having their life saved.
This Roald Dahl tale has been filmed at least twice before to my knowledge. It appeared as the first episode of Season Four in the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' series, airing on October 5, 1958. Two decades later, the story was adapted for Dahl's own hosted series, 'Tales of the Unexpected' on March 29, 1980. Each of these three versions had a different ending, and so as not to give anything away here, I would recommend checking those out, as well as reading the source material of course.