gyalemon

The film starts out like a sort of social/political commentary delivered through slow motion acting, sparse dialogue and somber music that's telling us that we are watching Art. Archetypes like the Evil corporation with the inevitable heartless manager and the dehumanized workers, whether they're adapting to the system or resisting it, are delivered heavy handedly enough that the film reaches dangerous levels of kitsch. Our male protagonist is taciturn and slightly woody and curiously unattracted to the beautiful and vulnerable female colleague who approaches him. But just as you're about to lose interest the film takes a violent and strongly erotic turn. There's no actual sex involved, yet the sexual tension between our protagonists is off the charts. Directors of erotic movies take note, *this* is how it's done. It's so exceedingly rare that the movie gets 2 extra stars.

What if you put Agatha Christie into one of her own detective stories? This movie seamlessly weaves historical facts (like Christie's disappearance) with the fictional universe of her writing and creates a story as captivating as anything featuring Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot.

Christie is struggling with writer's block and a failing marriage when she is presented with a murder mystery involving the goddaughter of Florence Nightingale. She concocts a plot with the victim's partner to invite the suspects to a country house to find the killer by luring them with the prospects of an inheritance. An unnatural death brings the police to the house, and the plot develops as we're accustomed to - from one possible suspect to the next.

Brilliant actors, well developed characters and believable (in the sense of no gaping holes) story makes this movie a delight.