 |
| ITV |
A Caribbean was the first episode of series 6 and was first broadcast on the 16th June 2013. It was adapted by Charlie Higson and directed by Charles Palmer.
Story
Miss Marple travels to the fictional Caribbean island of St Honore in need of a holiday and to recover from a bout of pneumonia. Whilst there, an elderly major (Oliver Ford Davies) tells her lots of boring tales, including one about a murderer. So when he is found dead the next day, from apparent natural causes., Miss Marple is suspicious. Her suspicions are confirmed when two more brutal murders are committed.
This is one of my favourite Agatha Christie novels, I love the fact we see Miss Marple in unfamiliar territory. Charlie Higson has certainly made a brilliant adaption. His script is funny, action packed and filled with clues. Of course, as with any TV adaption, there have to be changes, and there are a few minor ones here, but they add to the story rather than take away from it. Firstly, some characters are removed , including Dr Graham, Senora de Caspearo and Miss Prescott. The characters of Ian Fleming, James Bond and Mama Zogbe are added. Mama Zogbe in particular helps to add to the whole voodoo set up.
Talking of voodoo, Higson adds an element of the supernatural 'voodoo' into the plot. This is a great addition to the plot as it adds to the scenery and helps to set the scene and bring out the Caribbean feel. One thing that I know has annoyed some fans is the inclusion of Ian Fleming and American ornithologist James Bond. However, I think it's a great addition, it also helps to keep the period feels and gives us a time scale by including real historical characters.
In conclusion, a great script that makes it a fantastic episode. I hope that if there is another series of Marple, which has still not been confirmed, Charlie Higson will be asked to write some more, maybe he could do Nemesis as it't a sequel to A Caribbean Mystery?
READ MORE...
Direction, location, soundtrack
Charles Palmer's direction has great variety, it can be dark when it needs to be and can really show us the perfect Caribbean location. His direction is certainly good for setting the scene, there are some fantastic shots of the island, especially at the very start. Incidentally, it's not actually filmed in the Caribbean, it was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa. The beach scenes were shot at Boulders Beach in Cape Town. The film has a great soundtrack, the Island Theme is available to listen to on YouTube.
Cast and characters
Julia McKenzie is, as always, brilliant as Miss Marple. In this episode, she has quite a lot to do and is in most of the scenes because most of the scenes are either in the hotel grounds or on the beach. She has a fantastic relationship with Jason Rafiel, who is wonderfully played by Antony Sher. He gets the balance right between the grumpy old millionaire and the surprisingly kind old man. By the end it's clear that they both understand each other a lot more than in the beginning. One thing I was disappointed in was that there was no direct reference to 'Nemesis'. Rafiel made no reference to Miss Marple being like Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, which is a shame, but at least we get the poignant scene with Mr Rafiel speaking some Latin to Jane.
The rest of the cast are superb, MyAnna Buring is brilliant as the wild American Lucky Dyson, Charity Wakefield is great as the vulnerable Molly Kendall and Warren Brown plays Jackson very well. Charlie Higson is hilarious as James Bond, I love the way he says 'My name is Bond, James Bond' in a sort of usual, unimportant manor. A great cast.
Talking of voodoo, Higson adds an element of the supernatural 'voodoo' into the plot. This is a great addition to the plot as it adds to the scenery and helps to set the scene and bring out the Caribbean feel. One thing that I know has annoyed some fans is the inclusion of Ian Fleming and American ornithologist James Bond. However, I think it's a great addition, it also helps to keep the period feels and gives us a time scale by including real historical characters.
In conclusion, a great script that makes it a fantastic episode. I hope that if there is another series of Marple, which has still not been confirmed, Charlie Higson will be asked to write some more, maybe he could do Nemesis as it't a sequel to A Caribbean Mystery?
READ MORE...
Direction, location, soundtrack
Charles Palmer's direction has great variety, it can be dark when it needs to be and can really show us the perfect Caribbean location. His direction is certainly good for setting the scene, there are some fantastic shots of the island, especially at the very start. Incidentally, it's not actually filmed in the Caribbean, it was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa. The beach scenes were shot at Boulders Beach in Cape Town. The film has a great soundtrack, the Island Theme is available to listen to on YouTube.
Cast and characters
Julia McKenzie is, as always, brilliant as Miss Marple. In this episode, she has quite a lot to do and is in most of the scenes because most of the scenes are either in the hotel grounds or on the beach. She has a fantastic relationship with Jason Rafiel, who is wonderfully played by Antony Sher. He gets the balance right between the grumpy old millionaire and the surprisingly kind old man. By the end it's clear that they both understand each other a lot more than in the beginning. One thing I was disappointed in was that there was no direct reference to 'Nemesis'. Rafiel made no reference to Miss Marple being like Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, which is a shame, but at least we get the poignant scene with Mr Rafiel speaking some Latin to Jane.
The rest of the cast are superb, MyAnna Buring is brilliant as the wild American Lucky Dyson, Charity Wakefield is great as the vulnerable Molly Kendall and Warren Brown plays Jackson very well. Charlie Higson is hilarious as James Bond, I love the way he says 'My name is Bond, James Bond' in a sort of usual, unimportant manor. A great cast.
No comments:
Post a Comment