lyninbyron If you love a good "whodunnit " crime drama then you'll enjoy this. It's well casted and brilliantly acted. Don't read too many reviews or plot spoilers, just watch it. You won't be disappointed. Pass the popcorn please!

Leofwine_draca THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION is another dead-headed drama from the BBC, who seem to have lost the plot when adapting classic fiction for the screen. This one's a two-parter version of the Agatha Christie short story, featuring the acceptable Toby Jones as a lawyer who takes on the case of a young man accused of murdering his female employer. It's a dingy and dismal-looking production, subdued throughout, with poor lighting and mumbled dialogue.Even worse, the performances are nothing to write home about, and that includes Kim Cattrall who seems to be channelling SEX AND THE CITY in her early scenes. Jones is the only one who comes out of this with his reputation intact, and even he's been better elsewhere. The choicest dramatic parts of the story feel rushed through and the emotion rings hollow, particularly at the climax which veers into melodrama.

whitesheik One word sums it up - terrible. I don't know what's more shocking - the silly "reviewers" here who have never seen or read any iteration of Witness for the Prosecution, i.e. the people who like this monstrosity because they have no history and don't even know what the story, play, or subsequent film versions were about, or the fact that legitimate British reviewers heaped praise on this thing.So, let's just start at the beginning. You want to have the chutzpah to call something Agatha Christie's The Witness for the Prosecution, then don't make up the majority of the movie so that it has nothing to do with Agatha Christie. Sarah Phelps, shame on you - Ms. Christie doesn't need your dreary help and you can't even walk in her footsteps let alone her shoes. The teleplay is dreadful - all the additions are moronic. You know, I have no problem with this soap opera story but don't call it Agatha Christie or The Witness for the Prosecution just because you keep Ms. Christie's central plot element. This isn't going back to the short story, this is a whole NEW story and it's not a good story at that. The only thing that works is the twenty minutes or so of the trial. It just goes on and on, one dreadfully dull scene after another, filled with whispery acting and the awful coughing of Toby Jones (bronchitis we finally learn) - I don't blame him for coughing, mind you, given the amount of smoke they're pumping into every single shot and scene. It's not the 90s anymore, kids. And yes, the green - it's like watching Saw or something. Agatha Christie didn't write horror stories, you know. It's so dark and ugly and ineptly directed. Kim Cattrall is embarrassing in this as is her character, which has little to do with Ms. Christie's Emily French. The big finish doesn't happen where it should, the courtroom, because once the verdict happens the film goes on and on for yet another thirty minutes. The big finish occurs in France and then after that the film goes on and on for another fifteen minutes because this movie isn't about Leonard Vole or Emily French or Romaine Vole, it's about John Mayhew - sorry, does not compute, I don't care about the character and all his and his wife's angst - this is not Agatha Christie, this is Days of our Lives. I got the Blu-ray of this because of the reviews - fool me once, but never again.

vicstevinson This version of Agatha Christie's WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION shakes off what can often be goofy about Christie's stories and treats the characters as fully-formed individuals in an historic setting. It's an impressive effort with a shocking cast who inhabit their characters.This is awards season in the U.S. and studios trot out their best efforts in a last minute bid to garner accolades. Were this a feature film, it would surpass many mega-budget films.Director Julian Jarrold -- THE CROWN (2016), BECOMING JANE (2007) and KINKY BOOTS (2005) -- utilizes the strong talent assembled and tells an intriguing story of characters and conflict.Billy Howle as the accused is convincing, constantly eye-catching, fully immersed and impressive. I've seen him in several other projects, including the miniseries GLUE, and he bares great vulnerability on screen, and it's believable.Toby Jones is reliable at being superior and nuanced, he is a huge asset to this series.Andrea Riseborough is enigmatic and surprising. I am accustomed to seeing her in contemporary dramas, and she delivers this character like placid waters with a shark circling beneath, ready to emerge and strike.This version is so satisfying and memorable, I'm almost dreading the big screen, and likely big budget, version coming from Ben Affleck in 2018. His Oscar-bait 2016 film LIVE BY NIGHT shows a love for period pulp, but an inability to stitch it together. This version of WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION should be the standard against which his is judged.