Marple: They Do It With Mirrors Review (S4.E3)

©ITV

Julia McKenzie's third outing as Miss Marple was adapted by Paul Rutman and directed by Andy Wilson, who has also directed many Poirot films. It was first broadcast on 1st January 2010. This story was previously adaped into a film starring Helen Hayes under the title "Murder with Mirrors" and for the BBC series starring Joan Hickson.


Story

Miss Marple meets her old friend Ruth van Rydock (Joan Collins), who is concerned about her sister Carrie-Louise Serrecold (Penelope Wilton). Jane agrees to travel to Stony Gates, and meet her old friend Carrie-Louise, but all is not as it seems. She and her third husband Lewis Serrecold (Brian Cox) have converted the stately home into a reforming facilities for corrupt boys. That's not all, when her step-son comes to visit, he is brutally murdered leaving Miss Marple with a very tangled web to untie.

Rutman's script remains faithful to the original story, but does make a number of changes. As always, this part may contains spoilers! Firstly, Mildred and Gina become sort-of sisters: Gina was adopted by Carrie-Louis and Mr Gulbranson and then they had Mildred. Johnnie Restarick becomes Stephen's father not his brother and Jolly Bellaver is in love with him. Edgar Lawson confronts Lewis in the drawing room in plain view of everyone, in the dark though, and mimics Lewis' voice whilst he murders Christian with a army knife not a gun. Mildred becomes a strong Catholic and there is an arson added at Stony Gates in the opening titles.  Some of the changes make it better, the arson doesn't ruin the plot, it just adds more flavour, and the change of rooms in the crucial scene casts the net of suspicion on all suspects. However, although the changes of relation to Gina, Mildred and Carrie-Louise make the complected family easier to understand, I can't think of any reason why they would turn Johnnie into Stephen's father. But all in all, a faithful retelling. Of all the adaptions of this novel, this is my favourite. The Helen Hayes version was just all over the place and the Joan Hickson one was just confusing. The book is confusing itself though, and not the best, but the adaption manages to improve it rather than make a worse version of it, whilst remaining faithful.

©ITV

Direction, locations, soundtrack

Andy Wilson, the man who directed the amazing Poirot adaptions Death on the Nile and The Labours of Hercules and the not-so-great adaption Taken at the Flood, directed this Marple film. Although it's not as dark as Labours (could anything possibly be?), it's still expertly directed. The opening scenes with the fire contrast well with the tea scenes that come immediately after. The end scenes with the death of Lewis and Edgar are well directed, as are the scenes with Mildred and her rosary beads.  The soundtrack is good, Richard Hammerton's score "Wyoming" and "Edgar the Son" can be heard on YouTube.

Cast and characters 

Julia McKenzie shines as Miss Marple here, particularly when she has a conflict with Carrie-Louise over taking action.  Her interactions between characters is good, her Marple adapts her questioning differently depending on the suspect.
There is a strong cast including Joan Collins as the ruthless Ruth van Rydock, Penelope Wilton might struggle with the American accent but gives as a very 3D character and Alexi Sayle plays Dr Maverick as very mad - brilliant and hilarious. 
When Miss Marple arrives at the station, the steward announces the next train arriving at the platform is the '4.50 from Paddington", a nice reference to the Miss Marple case.