based on the short story by Agatha Christie (DVD Witness)
I’ve never seen the original 1957
film, Witness for the Prosecution, starring Tyrone Power, Marlene
Dietrich and Charles Laughton, despite being a life-long fan of Agatha
Christie. Both that film and this TV-movie, are based on a Dame Agatha short
story, originally published as “Traitor’s Hands” in the UK in 1925, and
subsequently reprinted under the more familiar title. Christie also adapted her
story as a full-length stage play, which premiered in 1953. Billy Wilder and
his creative partners adapted it again for the feature film, and it has been
adapted several times for television in both the UK and US.
This 2016 was written by Sarah
Phelps and directed by Julian Jerrold, and goes places the previous versions
did not. Set in the early 1920s, the mystery revolves around the brutal murder
of a socialite, ostensibly by Leonard Vole, a much younger man (a recent WWI
veteran) who she had been using as a gigolo. Despite the victim’s maid’s
assertions that Vole killed her, he says his “wife”, a dance-hall girl, can
provide his alibi. Vole’s attorney takes the case to court, only to have the
“wife” turn on Vole and provide testimony on behalf of the prosecution in the
case. But there are still more twists and turns to come.
The performances in this teleplay
version of The Witness for the Prosecution were superb, with
great work from Kim Cattrall as the victim, Monica Dolan as the maid, and
Andrea Riseborough as Romaine, the “wife”. Billy Howle as Vole was hit-or-miss.
But the film’s real star is the diminutive Toby Jones as Vole’s desperate
attorney, John Mayhew. The film-makers actually turned this into Mayhew’s
story, more than those more central to the mystery itself. This is a
double-edged sword — Peters easily carries the film as the main character, but
if you’re a purest and wish to see an accurate and fair adaptation of
Christie’s actual story, this misses the mark.
Production design is great, but I had serious issues with how dark and muddy the cinematographers chose to make everything — 2/3rds of the film seem murky and foggy, and I ended up being very frustrated — I wanted to see the actors’ expressions and most of the time that was difficult. Ultimately, I can only give this adaptation of The Witness for the Prosecution a 6 out of 10 on BookGuide’s rating scale — there’s lots to recommend it, but also lots to be annoyed with. Your mileage may vary.
[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the 2015 video adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, by the same production team.] [Also available in traditional print format.]
[
Internet
Movie Database entry for this TV-movie ] | [ official BBC The Witness
for the Prosecution web site ]
Recommended
by Scott
C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service
Have you watched this one?
What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
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Hey mystery fans! Don't miss this month's Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group discussion of the works of Elly Griffiths. The April 2021 Just Desserts meeting, tonight at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts
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