Poirot & Marple

[Addison D.]

Posted: 7/23/12 at 10:15am

Taking a break from the news of our troubled age I indulged in an Hercule Poirot/Miss Marple marathon this weekend.

While the Internet, penicillin and Grindr are all well and good in their way, I believe the greatest gift of being alive at this moment in Time is to have been able to enjoy--simultaneously--what History will surely judge as the definitive embodiment of Dame Agatha Christie's two iconic sleuths.

From the fussy poetry of the way he places a handkerchief on a public bench before sitting to the sublime precision of his posture and gait, David Suchet is a joy to watch.

Joan Hickson's Miss Marple is so thoroughly pitch-perfect that one feels compelled to extend a hand of sympathy to any performer who attempts the role in her wake. I am a long-time fan of Geraldine McEwan, but her Miss Marple falls so far short of Hickson's mark that I cannot bear to watch.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 7/23/12 at 5:25pm

"David Suchet is a joy to watch."

Unfortunately the same cannot be said of his current performance in Long Day's Journey into Night, which is regrettably similar to the performance he gave in All My Sons a couple of years ago.