JasparLamarCrabb
An ingenious supposition of what happened to the writer Agatha Christie during the 11 days she disappeared in the 1920s. In this Michael Apted directed film, Christie checked into a British spa in pursuit of the woman her husband was having an affair with. Vanessa Redgrave plays Christie and Dustin Hoffman is an American reporter who is on to her. Hoffman is woefully miscast but Redgrave is brilliant, playing Christie as a neurotic introvert sorely lacking any self-esteem. What she does have is a very sinister imagination, which she puts to good use. The film is an exquisitely shot (by Vittorio Storaro no less) thriller with great production values & a first-rate supporting cast, including Timothy Dalton as Christie's callous husband. A flop when first released, this film is in dire need of rediscovery.
chrisaltman-1
I bought the movie because you can't even rent it these days. Being a HUGE Timothy Dalton fan it was worth the money. But the story is weak and there is no chemistry between Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman. I'm quite confused as to why Hoffman was chosen to play this part. He certainly doesn't work with this material or this cast. Don't get me wrong.... I think Dustin Hoffman is a FABULOUS actor but just not in this movie. Even though Timothy Dalton is in the movie all too short a time, it's worth seeing if you're a FAN. He's gorgeous (as always!) and well worth watching. I believe it was made just after the mini-series Centennial so I see his physical portrayal of Oliver Seccombe in his character to some extent. Dalton fans.......check it out!
ozthegreatat42330
Although this story is fictional, it is based on a real mystery involving Agatha Christie Mallowen, the most well known mystery writer in the world. Shorty after her book "The Murder of Roger Akyroyd" won a prestigious English award, Christie disappeared for some twenty days, and to this day no one knows what happened to her in that period. This story is a good supposition, however, and worthy of the pen of the queen of mystery writers herself. Redgrave is excellent as Christie, while Timothy Dalton is suitably obnoxious as the insufferable, philandering, abusive and adulterous colonel Archibald Christie, who dismissed his wife's fame and talent as a mere nothing, while carrying on an affair that he did not even attempt to hide from her. If there was a weak character in the film it was Hoffman's American reporter, secretly in love with Christie from afar, who supposedly figures out her intentions in time to stop her. It was because of this weak point in the production that I had to rate this film as less than great. Still, it is the kind of story that mystery fans the world over will enjoy. Worth a watch. Agatha, where were you really?
