Agatha Christie's Poirot: Death on the Nile

June 22, 2022 1:49 PM - Season 9, Episode 3

While on a holiday cruise in Egypt, the Belgian sleuth (David Suchet) investigates the murder of a rich heiress who had many enemies.
posted by Carillon (2 comments total)

Emily Blunt as Linnet Ridgeway! Also despite me just posting the Russia House I actually looked up James Fox's life and it's very different than what I was expecting "He became an evangelical Christian, working with the Navigators and devoting himself to the ministry". I'd seen him in a bunch of movies as a kid, Patriot Games and the Prince and Me, but hadn't realized that before.

I'd say this one is a classic and they do it justice, certainly better than the most recent movie adaptation. I actually have read this one as well, so was happy to see it stick pretty closely to the book as the book works so well too. I know they often have to make changes given the length of some of the short stories, and tv being a different medium, etc. but this one works and didn't thankfully need much change.
posted by Carillon at 1:53 PM on June 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

I think this episode could’ve a longer run time; the movies are over two hours. It has a lot of characters, mostly underdeveloped, and needed to give them all plausible motives, not just opportunity. The denouement was rushed…jewel thief?? rosary beads? Where did that come from? so many identical little guns, it was like an NRA convention. So much emphasis on Linnet’s murderer and little by comparison on the two other deaths. And somehow I ended up sympathizing with the murderers and their Romeo and Juliet ending was very sad.

Emily Blunt was gorgeous. James Fox, I always get mixed up with Edward Fox and one of them fathered the deplorable Laurence Fox. Judy Parfitt had top billing but had little to do. I thought the actress playing the maid was overdoing her accent but it turns out, she really is French. Easily the best part of the show was the Egyptian location, stunning, and how wonderful it must have been to film there.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:59 PM on June 23, 2022