"THREE ACT TRAGEDY" (2010) ReviewWhen I was in my early teens, I had shifted my attention from Nancy Drew mysteries to those novels written by Agatha Christie. And I have not stopped since. I confess that this shift in reading material was the result of seeing the 1978 movie, "DEATH ON THE NILE", for the first time. Properly hooked on Christie's works, I focused my attention on her 1934 novel, "Murder in Three Acts", also known as "Three Act Tragedy".I have seen two adaptations of Christie's 1934 novel. The first was television adaptation in the mid 1980s, titled "MURDER IN THREE ACTS", which starred Christie veteran Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot. Although I enjoyed it, I had hoped to see an adaptation of the novel in its original 1930s setting. I had to wait many years before the ITV series, "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT" granted my wish with an adaptation that not only retained the original setting, but also the original title, "THREE ACT TRAGEDY".The story begins on the coast of Cornwall, where Hercule Poirot attends a dinner party at the home of famed stage actor, Sir Charles Cartwright. The latter's guests also include:*Dr. Sir Bartholomew Strange - Sir Charles' old childhood friend and a nerve specialist*Lady Mary Lytton-Gore - a Cornish neighbor of Sir Charles, who is from an impoverished old family*Hermione "Egg" Lytton-Gore - Lady Mary's young daughter, with whom Sir Charles is in love*Muriel Wills - a successful playwright also known as Anthony Astor*Captain Freddie Dacres - a former Army officer and gentleman gambler*Cynthia Dacres - Captain Dacres' wife and a successful dressmaker*Reverend Stephen Babbington - the local curate and Sir Charles' Cornish neighbor*Mrs. Babbington - Reverend Babbington's wife near Sir Charles's home in Cornwall.*Oliver Manders - a young Cornish neighbor of Sir Charles', who is interested in Egg*Miss Milray - Sir Charles' secretaryThe guests gather in Sir Charles' drawing-room for a round of pre-dinner cocktails. The party is marred when one of the guests, Reverend Babbington, collapses and dies after drinking his cocktail. An inquest rules his death as a result from natural causes. However, Sir Charles believes that Reverend Babbington may have been murdered, but Poirot is not convinced. About a month or so later, Poirot is vacationing in Monte Carlo, when he encounters Sir Charles. The latter reveals via a newspaper article that Dr. Strange had died from similar circumstances, while hosting a dinner party at his home in Yorkshire. Most of the guests who had attended Sir Charles' party had also been there, with the exception of Mrs. Babbington and Miss Milray. Unlike Reverend Babbington, Sir Bartholomew's death has been ruled as a homicide. Both Poirot and Sir Charles return to Britain to investigate the two deaths.Although "Three Act Tragedy" was one of the first Christie novels I had read, it has never been a favorite of mine. I liked it, but I did not love it. Screenwriter Nick Dear made some changes to the story that I either found appropriate or did not bother me. Dear removed characters like society hound like Mr. Satterthwaite and stage actress Angela Sutcliffe (and one of Sir Charles' former lovers). I did not miss them. One change really improved the story for me. One aspect of the novel that I found particularly frustrating was the minimized presence of Poirot. The lack of Poirot almost dragged the novel into a halt. Thankfully, Dear avoided this major flaw by allowing Poirot's presence to be a lot more prominent. He achieved this change by making Poirot a friend of Sir Charles and removing the Mr. Satterthwaite. Dear also made one other major change in Christie's story, but I will get to it later.Visually, "THREE ACT TRAGEDY" is a gorgeous movie to watch. Peter Greenhalgh, who had passed away last year, provided the production with a colorful photography that I found particularly beautiful. My only complaint about Greenhalgh's photography is that it struck me as a little fuzzy at times to indicate the story's presence in the past. Another dazzling aspect of "THREE ACT TRAGEDY" were the production designs created by Jeff Tessler, who more orless served as the production designer for "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT" between 2005 and the series' end in 2013. Judging by the admirable way he managed to re-create not only the movie's 1930s setting, but also various locations, only tells me that he had been doing something write. I certainly had no complaints about the costumes designed by Sheena Napier. Like Tessler, she worked for "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT" for a long period of time . . . even longer than Tessler. Although I am no expert on early 20th century fashion, I thought Napier excellent job in creating costumes for the production's setting and the different characters.The performances featured in "THREE ACT TRAGEDY" were first-rate. I did not find anything exceptional about David Suchet's portrayal of Hercule Poirot, but I thought he gave his usual more-than-competent performance. Martin Shaw gave a very solid performance as the charming, yet intelligent Sir Charles Cartwright, who was the first to sense something wrong about the first murder. I was also impressed by how the actor conveyed his character's insecurity over a romance with a much younger woman. Kimberly Nixon seemed like a ball of fire, thanks to her portrayal of the vibrant and charming Egg Lytton-Gore, who found herself torn between two men. I also enjoyed Art Malik's portrayal of the extroverted Dr. Sir Bartholomew Strange. Although there were times when his performance struck me as a touch too jovial. Ronan Vibert gave a rather insidious, yet oddly charming performance as "gentleman" gambler Captain Freddie Dacres. The one performance that really impressed me came Kate Ashfield who gave a very interesting performance as playwright Anthony Astor aka Miss Muriel Wills. Ashfield did an excellent job in recapturing Miss Wills' secretive, yet uber observant personality. The production also featured solid performances from Anastasia Hille, Tom Wisdom, Anna Carteret, Suzanne Bertish, and Tony Maudsley.I do have a complaint about "THREE ACT TRAGEDY". I really wish that Nick Dear had not changed the murderer's main motive for the killings. I have heard rumors that there are two different versions of the story's resolution. My literary version of "THREE ACT TRAGEDY" questioned the murderer's sanity, making the murders a lot more interesting to me. Unfortunately, Nick Dear used the other resolution, one that struck me as a lot more mundane and not very interesting. Too bad.Aside from changing the killer's motive for the murders, I rather enjoyed "THREE ACT TRAGEDY". I am thankful that screenwriter Nick Dear had made Hercule Poirot's presence in the story more prominent than it was in the novel. After all, he is the story's main investigator. But despite excellent acting and solid direction by Ashley Pearce, I would never regard it as one of my favorite productions from "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT". It was simply a pretty good adaptation of a solid Christie novel. There is nothing else for me to say.
"THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" (1987) Review
The 1987 James Bond movie, "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" featured the first of two times in which actor Timothy Dalton portrayed the famous British spy, James Bond. My family and I saw it at the Grauman Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The theater was so packed that we ended up seated near the screen. I had a headache by the time the movie ended. Yet, watching the movie that night was one of the most enjoyable movie going experiences of my life.
The movie’s title comes from the 1966 short story, ”The Living Daylights” in which Bond is assigned to assassinate a KGB sniper out to kill a MI-6 agent trying to escape from the Soviet Bloc in Berlin. The movie’s director, John Glen, along with screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, took aspects of that short story and used it to set the movie's plot in motion. "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" begins with a military exercise on Gilbratar in which three 00 agents – including Bond – test the British base by infiltrating it. One of the agents is killed by a KGB agent, who leaves a clue behind with the following words, ”Smiert Spionam". The phrase, which means ”Death to Spies”, is repeated by Soviet general Georgi Koskov (portrayed by Jeroen Krabbe), after Bond helps him defect from Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. The Fleming short story was used as source for the defection sequence. But whereas the female sniper turns out to be a genuine killer in Fleming’s version; in the movie, she turns out to be Czech celloist, Kara Milovy. Kara pretends to be a sniper in order to convince MI-6 that Koskov’s defection is genuine. The movie later reveals that Koskov actually had Kara impersonate a sniper in order to set her up to be killed by MI-6, namely Bond. And why? It turns out that Koskov is a military renegade who had allied himself with an American arms dealer named Brad Whittaker. Both men have been using KBG funds to profit from drug dealing, instead of purchasing arms for the Soviet Army. When another Soviet general, Leonid Puskin becomes suspicious, Koskov and Whittaker frame the general for the murder of 002 on Gilbratar in order to MI-6 into terminating him. Thanks to Bond’s suspicions and his alliance with Kara, the CIA and Afghan freedom fighters named the Mujahedeen, he prevents Koskov and Whittaker’s plans from coming to fruition.
First of all, "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" is not a perfect movie. It has its flaws. The movie’s main flaw came in the form of the new Aston Martin Volante used by Bond during his escape from the Soviet authorities in Czechoslovakia to Austria. The car was equipped with all of the essential weaponry that included rocket launchers and lasers mounted in the hubcaps. Now if this had been ”GOLDFINGER”, ”THE SPY WHO LOVED ME” or even ”TOMORROW NEVER DIES” this would not seem out of place. But a gadget laden Aston Martin did seem out of place in a taunt thriller like "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS". And Dalton’s Bond did not seem like the type of guy who would feel comfortable driving such a vehicle.
The Aston Martin sequence emphasized another problem with "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" - namely the humor that accompanied this scene. Some critics had complained of Timothy Dalton’s lack of humor during his tenure as Bond. Actually, Dalton did have a sense of humor – but one that seemed subtle, dry and slightly dark. It was not the type of humor that drew belly laughs like Roger Moore’s. Most of the movie managed to display Dalton’s type of humor very well . . . except during the Aston Martin sequence that featured Bond and Kara’s escape from the Soviet authorities and troops. During this sequence, the producers obviously had not only decided to burden Dalton’s Bond with a gadget-filled car, but also jokes that seemed to fit Roger Moore’s style of humor. I hate to say this but Dalton simply lacked Moore’s talent for broad humor. And it showed during this sequence.
Another problem with the movie turned out to be the character of Brad Whittaker, an American arms dealer. Granted, Joe Don Baker turned in a very competent performance. But his character contributed very little to the story. True, his business as an arms dealer served as a catalyst to the story, but as a Bond villain he came off as somewhat weak. Quite simply, he hardly did anything. The movie’s entire plot – using MI-6 to kill off the suspicious Pushkin in order to continue misuse of KGB funds – turned out to be General Koskov’s brain child. It was Koskov who had plotted to get rid of Pushkin. It was Koskov who plotted to get rid of Kara. It was Koskov who plotted to frame Bond for Pushkin’s murder. And I suspect that it was Koskov who had originally created the scheme to misuse KGB funds for drug dealing in the first place. Frankly, I think that Whittaker should have met the same fate as minor villain Hai Fat from ”THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN”. He should have met an early death. Then again, if that had happened, I would have lost the opportunity to enjoy Bond's final confrontation with Whittaker in the latter's Tangier home. Only in that final scene did Baker's Whittaker shine as a villain. Instead of arranging some ridiculous death that would have given 007 an opportunity to escape, Whittaker did not hesitate to try to kill Bond in the most brutal manner possible.
With a somewhat weak villain such as Whittaker, one would expect THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS to fall apart. But it did not, thanks to the movie’s other main villain – Soviet General Georgi Koskov. Many Bond fans tend to dismiss Koskov as another weak villain. I cannot dismiss him. Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbe did a fantastic job in creating a character that seemed extroverted, charming and very likeable on the surface . . . and intelligent, devious, ruthless and cold-blooded underneath. This subtle duality in his personality came to the fore in his relationship with Kara Milovy. He obviously had some kind of affection toward the blond cellist . . . enough to purchase a famous Stradivarius cello for her. Yet, when his deception threatened to be exposed, he cold-bloodedly arranged for her to be mistaken as a KGB assassin by Bond, so that the latter would kill her. After all, Kara knew about his relationship with Whittaker. Honestly? I would prefer to face an obvious villain like Auric Goldfinger than to be unexpectedly stabbed in the back by the likes of Georgi Koskov.
Not only did Jeroen Krabbe contributed to the quality of "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS", but so did the rest of the cast, including the London-born actress of Dutch-Georgian ancestry – Maryam D’Abo, who portrayed the effervescent cellist, Kara Milovy. She seemed like a sister in spirit to Tatiana Romanova, the Bond leading lady of "FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE". Only Kara struck me as a character with a bit of a temper and a little more backbone. D’Abo infuses Kara with a fresh naivety and passion that has not been since Daniela Bianchi in "FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE". Even better, she and Dalton managed to create a magnetic, yet natural screen chemistry. But D’Abo has never been that popular with Bond fans. Apparently, she seemed too ladylike and not sexy enough for them. Another Bond fan had complained that once Bond learned all he could about Koskov from Kara in Vienna and ended up captured by Koskov in Tangiers, her character became irrelevant to the story. This could be true. But if Kara had become irrelevant after Tangiers, what were the writers supposed to do with her? Leave her there? I doubt that Koskov would have allowed a living Kara loose on the world to expose him. No wonder he had brought her along to Afghanistan. But even there, Kara proved to be more than “comic relief” as someone had put it. Thanks to her, Kamal Khan and his Mujahedeen fighters attacked the Soviet airbase and distracted the military personnel long enough to save Bond and give him the opportunity to steal the plane loaded with Whittaker and Koskov’s opium. Kara Milovy may not be the most popular of Bond leading ladies, but thanks to D’Abo’s performance, she is certainly one of my favorites.
I must admit that I found myself rather impressed by the rest of "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" cast. Robert Brown proved to be a more interesting 'M' than he did in either "OCTOPUSSY" and "A VIEW TO A KILL". His stuffy head of MI-6 proved to be an excellent contrast to Dalton’s sardonic Bond, with whom he constantly butted heads. Although Robert Shaw had set the standards for the blond, muscle-bound henchman/killer in "FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE", many have failed to be as memorable as him. As far as I am concerned, only one has come close . . . namely Andreas Wisniewski as Necros, Whittaker and Koskov’s hired killer. Like Shaw before him, Wisniewski had very little dialogue – in fact, probably less than the British actor. But he managed to project menace, intelligence and style without coming off as some muscle-bound clone like the Hans character in "YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE" and the Stamper character in "TOMORROW NEVER DIES". Also included in the cast was legendary character actor, John Rhys-Davies, portraying Soviet General Leonid Pushkin, whose suspicions of the Whittaker-Koskov partnership helped set the plot in motion. Unlike many of his other well-known roles, Rhys-Davies portrayed a more restrained personality. But he managed to project his usual strong presence. Rhys-Davies and Dalton played off each other very well in the famous Tangier hotel room scene, in which Pushkin nearly became one of Bond’s victims. Art Malik from "THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN" and the recent updated "UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS" played Kamran Shah, leader of a local Mujardeen unit. In a way, Malik’s character reminded me of Georgi Koskov – a strong and intelligent man who used a benign persona to hide his true self. And Malik portrayed Shah with a giddy mixture of authority, charm, and mischievous wit. John Terry became the sixth actor to portray Bond's CIA buddy, Felix Leiter. Unfortunately, he barely had a few moments on the screen - not enough to establish a strong on-screen presence. Too bad. He and Dalton had a nice, friendly chemistry and Terry, as he later proved in his career, was a first-rate actor.
I have to say that EON Productions has been lucky in its choice of the six actors who managed to bring their own sense of style to the role of James Bond . . . and I mean all of them. And all were smart enough to portray Bond in a way that suited them, instead of adhering to what the public or the producers wanted them to play Bond. That said, I want to say a few things about Timothy Dalton. Even though I was a major fan of Roger Moore, I realized by the mid-80s that it was time for him to retire from the role. With great fondness, I said adieu and breathlessly anticipated Timothy Dalton's debut in "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS". When movie first came out, the media pointed out that Dalton had read all of Fleming’s novels, along with a biography of the author to get a vibe on the James Bond character. It is possible that many fans and critics, used to Roger Moore’s more humorous portrayal, found it difficult to accept Dalton’s grittier Bond. Personally, I feel all of that research had paid off. Dalton’s Bond was a tense and serious man with occasional flashes of grittiness, dark humor and a human heart – very close to Fleming’s literary portrayal of the character. Judging from the success of previous Bond actors, perhaps it was not necessary for Dalton to portray the role in such a serious manner. But hey! It worked for him. Many fans may not have appreciated his efforts twenty-five years ago, but now they do.
In the past twenty-three years since "LICENSE TO KILL"'s release, I have come to appreciate Dalton's contribution to the Bond franchise even more. Whoever said that he was the right Bond at the wrong time was probably right. The man was ahead of his time . . . not just for the Bond franchise, but for many espionage films. People have also stated that Dalton had made a great impact on the franchise. Again, I believe that Dalton not only influenced Daniel Craig's debut as Bond in the early 21st century, but many other espionage characters. Pierce Brosnan was not above utilizing Dalton's darker take on Bond, every now and then. I also suspect that Dalton might be partially responsible for the influx of edgy, angst-filled spy or action/adventure characters that have emerged over the years - characters portrayed by the likes of Matt Damon, Matthew McFaydden, Kiefer Sutherland, Harrison Ford and possibly even Richard Chamberlain and Robert DeNiro. Even the Tangier hotel scene between Dalton and D'Abo in "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" seemed to have been copied in many action movies in the years that followed - including one between Dalton and Carey Lowell in "LICENSE TO KILL" and Harrison Ford and Allison Doody in "INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE". But no one did it better than Dalton and D'Abo, as far as I'm concerned.
Screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, created a taunt thriller, reminiscent of past Bond movies like "FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE" and "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY". Instead of the usual super villain bent upon controlling a major world market or the world itself, or the super terrorist groups up to its elbows in gadgets, Maibaum and Wilson took Fleming’s short story and created a tale of emotions, greed and betrayal. What I especially like about "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" is that it featured a series of excellent scenes and moments:
-the entire defection sequence starting from Kara's appearance in the window and ending with Koskov's departure from Austria
-Necros' attack on the MI-6 safe house
-Bond and Pushkin's confrontation in Tangiers
-the fake assassination of Pushkin
-Bond and Kara's confrontation in Tangiers
-Bond and Kara's escape from the Soviet military jail in Afghanistan
-the Mujardeen's attack on the Soviet air base
-Bond and Whittaker's confrontation in Tangiers
Thanks to the above scenes and the script, the story came close to feeling like a real spy thriller, instead of a quasi-fantasy/action-adventure flick. As I had stated before, the movie’s only misstep seemed to be the use of the gadget-laden Aston-Martin and the insertion of humorous dialogue not suited for Dalton’s acting style in the Czechoslovakia-to-Austria chase sequence. In fact, the sequence's style seemed out of place for such a taunt thriller like "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS". Despite that particular sequence, the cast and the story, combined with John Glen’s competent direction and Alec Mills’ cinematography made "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" one of the finest – in my opinion – Bond movies in the franchise.
Returning back to that night in Hollywood, I remember that the audience went wild over "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS". They especially seemed to take pleasure in the scene in which Bond and Kara managed to escape across the border into Austria. I had enjoyed the movie so much that I saw it at least six or seven more times in the theaters before it was released on video. And for me that is a personal record – especially in regard to the James Bond franchise.
