"HALLOWE'EN PARTY" (2010) Review

"HALLOWE'EN PARTY" (2010) Review

Many years have passed since I last read Agatha Christie's 1969 novel, "Hallowe'en Party". Although it is not considered one of Christie's better novels, the story possessed a style that struck me as rich and atmospheric. I never forgot it. So, when I learned about ITV's 2010 adaptation of the novel, I could not wait to see it. 

Directed by Charles Palmer and adapted by actor Mark Gatiss (who appeared in 2008's "APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH"), "HALLOWE'EN PARTY" begins with mystery author Adrianne Oliver visiting a friend named Judith Butler in the small village of Woodleigh Common. Because Mrs. Butler has a young daughter named Melinda, the two women accompany her to a children's Halloween party being held at the home of a widow named Rowena Drake. A young girl named Joyce Reynolds announce that she had once witnessed a murder. Everyone assumes she is lying. A few hours later, Joyce is found drowned in a tub filled with water and bobbing apples. Determined to learn the identity of Joyce's murder, Mrs. Oliver summons another friend, Belgian-born detective to Woodleigh Commons to solve the murder. During his investigation of Joyce's murder, Poirot uncovers a series of murders, mysterious deaths and disappearances that the thirteen year-old girl may have witnessed.

I might as well be perfectly frank. I do not consider "HALLOWE'EN PARTY" to be one of the better written Christie adaptations I have seen. Ironically, the fault does not lay with screenwriter Mark Gatiss. I believe he did the best he could with the material given to him. But I believe that Christie's 1969 novel was not one of her better works. I will be even franker. "HALLOWE'EN PARTY" nearly worked as a mystery. But looking back on it, I realized that it was one of those mysteries that I found easy to solve. Poirot's investigation into past murders, suspicious deaths and disappearances at Woodleigh Common made the story somewhat easy to solve. Even worse, the murderer was nearly revealed some ten minutes before Poirot revealed his solution to the case. Like 2008's "APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH" and 2010's"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS", "HALLOWE'EN PARTY" also touched on the subject of religion. Thankfully, Gatiss managed to keep the subject of religion on a subtle level - including the topic of paganism.

"Hallowe'en Party" was published in 1969 and heavily reflected the late 1960s. I cannot deny that this television adaptation looked very handsome, thanks to Jeff Tessler's production designs, Cinders Forshaw's photography and Sheena Napier's costume designs. All three did an exceptional job of transporting viewers to a small English village in the late 1930s and capturing the mysterious atmosphere of Halloween. I only have two complaints about this. Despite the first-rate 1930s setting, I wish that the movie had been given the novel's original late 1960s setting. I believe this story was more suited for this particular setting. Also, I wish that both Palmer and Gatiss had not included sounds of children chanting "Snap, Snap, Snap", whenever a lone character seemed to be in a threatening situation. These chants brought back annoying memories of a handful of old "POIROT" movies from the 1990s that featured titles from nursery rhymes.

The saving grace of "HALLOWE'EN PARTY" proved to be the cast. David Suchet was in top form as Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. I found his portrayal subtle, humorous and intelligent. Frankly, I consider his performance to be one of his better efforts in the past three or four years. Many "POIROT" fans have bemoaned the lack of Hugh Fraser as Arthur Hastings during the past decade. As much as I had enjoyed Fraser's portrayal, I did not miss him that much, thanks to Zoë Wanamaker's portrayal of Adrianne Oliver, a mystery author who became one of Poirot's closest friends. I have already seen Wanamaker's previous takes on the Adrianne Oliver character in other "POIROT" episodes. She was marvelous in those episodes and I can say the same about her performance in this one. Also, she and Suchet made a surprisingly effective and humorous screen team.

The supporting cast featured interesting performances from acting veterans. There was Timothy West, whose portrayal of Woodleigh Commons' vicar, struck me as wonderfully subtle and complex. Eric Sykes, whom I remembered from the"DARING YOUNG MEN" movies of the 1960s, was in fine form as the elderly solicitor Mr. Fullerton. Fenella Woolgar made a poignant Elizabeth Whittaker, a local schoolteacher who continued to mourn the death of a potential lover. Sophie Thompson gave an interesting, yet slightly melodramatic performance as the religious mother of the dead Joyce, Mrs. Reynolds. I must say that I was surprised that Julian Rhind-Tutt managed to keep it together and prevent his portrayal of landscape gardener, Michael Garfield, from becoming hammy. Mind you, Rhind-Tutt has been more than capable of giving a subtle performance in other productions. But Michael Garfield is somewhat of a showy character. The movie also benefitted from solid performances from the likes of Amelia Bullmore, Phyllida Law, Mary Higgins, Ian Hallard and Georgia King. However, I believe that Deborah Findlay gave the best performance in the movie, aside from Suchet and Wanamaker. She was subtle, yet superb as the ladylike, yet pushy widow Rowena Drake, whose home served as the setting for the opening murder.

I would not consider "HALLOWE'EN PARTY" to be one of the better Christie stories. As I had stated earlier, I believe its main flaws originated from the author's 1969 novel. However, both director Charles Palmer and screenwriter Mark Gatiss did the best they could. Their efforts were not able to overcome Christie's narrative flaws. But I believe they still managed to provide television audiences with an entertaining and atmospheric story, with the help of a first-rate cast led by David Suchet.