"Agatha Christie: Poirot" The Hollow (2004)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Simon Langton

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel)
Nick Dear (screenplay)

TV Series:

"Agatha Christie: Poirot" (1989)

Original Air Date:

26 April 2004 (Season 9, Episode 4)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

Poirot stumbles on the murder scene of philandering Dr. John Christow at a country estate as his mistress, his hostess, and his wife (with a revolver) stand over him.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Detective | Country Estate | Revolver | Former Lovers

Cast

David Suchet	...	Hercule Poirot
Jonathan Cake	...	John Christow
Megan Dodds	...	Henrietta Savernake
Sarah Miles	...	Lady Angkatell
Edward Fox	...	Gudgeon
Claire Price	...	Gerda Christow
Lysette Anthony	...	Veronica Cray
Tom Georgeson	...	Inspector Grange
Edward Hardwicke	...	Sir Henry Angkatell
Caroline Martin	...	Midge Hardcastle
Jamie de Courcey	...	Edward Angkatell (as Jamie De Courcey)
Ian Talbot	...	Victor Simms
Angela Curran	...	Frances Simms
Lucy Briers	...	Beryl Collins
Dale Rapley	...	Sergeant Coombes

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Granada Television

Trivia:

When Henrietta doodles, she always sketches a stylized tree that she calls Yggdrasil. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is a giant ash tree that represents Viking cosmology, with the branches standing for different parallel worlds. "Heaven" is at the top and Hel is at the bottom. The world we experience is on one of the middle branches.

Quotes:

John Christow: Would you give it all up, if I asked you to, and come and live with me?
Henrietta Savernake: No.
John Christow: No?
Henrietta Savernake: That's not really what you want.
John Christow: Couldn't you lie to me just once?
Henrietta Savernake: Why?
John Christow: Because I love you, Henrietta, but you're so... you're so detached. Your art, your cars, your friends... I want you to think only of me.
Henrietta Savernake: Isn't that what Gerda does?
John Christow: Don't tell me you care a damn about Gerda!
Henrietta Savernake: Why not? I like Gerda.

Movie Connections:

Version of Kiken na onnatachi (1985)

Another very well-done Poirot murder mystery

Just after having moved into his new cottage in the English country, Hercule Poirot gets an invitation to dinner from Sir Henry and Lady Angkatell, the owners of a large mansion nearby. But the next day, one of the guests is found shot near the pool, and his clumsy wife is holding a revolver a few steps away....

This Agatha Christie mystery is somewhat thin, though the killer's plan is still very clever. It's the exquisite filming and cinematography that elevate the story to a higher level. This episode mostly keeps the serious tone of "Five Little Pigs" and "Sad Cypress", but contains more dark humor than them. The cast includes possibly the two most famous actors to have worked in the series by this point, Edward Fox (as the butler) and Sarah Miles (as Lady Angkatell), though the standout performance is given by the dazzlingly beautiful Megan Dodds as the ahead-of-her-time Henrietta: her one-on-one confrontations with Suchet sparkle and are the highlights of the film. Oh, and since an English police inspector does get involved in the case, I think they could have brought Philip Jackson back for this one. (***)