The ITV version of Murder is Easy is after all a good addition to the series.The atmosphere of the haunted village is very good,the culprit is very pleasantly creepy,the acting of Pemberton,Haig,Speer,Henderson,Chancellor absolutely stunning.It could be perfect if only changes wouldn't have damaged the final results as it can happen to Poirot and Marple in the last times.The new motive for the murders is unlikely,melodramatic and very good only if found in a Nineteenth century French feuilleton.It seems more De Montepin or Ohnet than Christie.So,I strongly disagree with other reviewers accusing or defending the writer for his use of "modern adult themes".They are not.They are far older than Christie's books,they are so old that Christie wouldn't ever have used them.The great mistake of the last Poirots and Marples SPOILER is their excessive use or misuse of the illegitimate child theme,sometimes with very ludicrous effects (the very awful Appointment With Death) sometimes in a better,dramatic vein(the excellent Nemesis or here,in Easy) but always with an unpleasant sense of ancient melodrama(babes in the river like Moses,phooey!).And the real problem is that the last four or five solutions are always based on the same trick,they have begun with the abominable Missing Will,and, after some years of peace ,they are using it more and more, wasting even the quite good Third Girl.Third Girl, Sittaford,Appointment,Nemesis,Easy,perhaps next Chimneys if my suspicions are correct...no,it's frankly too much.If the culprit would have commit the murders SPOILER
for revenge,trying to destroy a fiancé having jilted her for her madness,as in the novel, the solution would have been newer and perfect,and the actress would have had the acting skill to render it wondrously.Instead,it's only a Seven Stars for me,as the old inn.It's a pity,because, really,it's an enchanting little gem of a movie,with a very unpleasant flaw in its otherwise highly poetical structure.
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