MARPLE:

THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 2 out of 5

Because of: homosexuality

Rated:

This recent adaptation of Agatha Christie had fans outraged due to its ridiculous and downright offensive changes to the original. A carefully constructed plot has been demolished in favor of shock value, a partnership reversed from a heterosexual to a homosexual relationship.

Murder has been done in the charming little town of St. Merry Mead. The unidentified body of a young woman has been found in the library of Colonel Arthur Bantry (James Fox). No one in the household, including his fascinated wife Dolly (Joanna Lumley), have ever seen the girl before. While waiting for the established police inspectors to arrive, Dolly sends for her friend Miss Marple (Geraldine McEwan) in order to gather her thoughts. Her presence is not overly appreciated by detective Melchett (Simon Callow). Some investigation by Superintendent Harper (Jack Davenport) turns up the young woman's occupation and family members. She was a dancer at a club in town, and recently adopted into the inner circle of wealthy Conway Jefferson (Ian Richardson).

Having lost most of his family in a bombing raid seven years prior, Jefferson took a liking to the girl's innocence and showed her favor, which encouraged the disapproval of his in-laws, Mark Gaskell (Jamie Theakston) and Adelaide Jefferson (Tara Fitzgerald). As Miss Marple works with the police to unravel the mystery and disprove various alibis, she shows increasing concern for another missing girl. The film is both beautifully photographed and nicely cast. In fact, that is the strength of its presentation, so many impressive names in the same two hours. Davenport, Richardson, Fitzgerald, Callow. The mystery would have also been remarkable were it not for the sickening twist in the second half, which thrusts a shocked audience into blatant lesbianism. Everything until then is marvelous, for it is sheer pleasure to see the actors interact with one another.

It is the little things that make it enjoyable, the subtle humor portrayed in various scenes, such as when dancer Pamela (Florence Hoath) complains about her twisted ankle, and slides her skirt up to her knee to show off the damage. Every man's head in the room cranes for a look, or when Dolly, in response to Miss Marple saying how shocking it is to have found a body in her house, pronounces with glee, "Yes, isn't it marvelous?" But the so-called "molesting" of Christie's books have made many people upset, on both sides of the table. This, and recent Poirot adaptations, have either changed the original ending or turned an innocent same-sex friendship into something deeper. Dialogue implies two women are romantically involved, something easily tolerated, but then the audience is treated to a lengthy flashback of them kissing.

It really is unfortunate because that is pretty much the only content to be concerned about, aside from a flashback of a woman being strangled. Various other plots to murder individuals are either carried out through injections or thwarted. An explosion is shown multiple times, ripping through a house. It's an unfortunate altering of an originally ingenious plot. How the body of a complete stranger wound up in the colonel's library, the reluctance with which the police accept Miss Marple (and later are in awe of her detective skills), and the revelation of what really transpired that night are magnificent. But the "shocks" thrown in to spice up the plot only succeed in disappointing a rapt audience.