Customer Reviews for
Agatha Christie's Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
A little hokey but true to Christie
The acting was a bit stilted in this one but, all in all, not a bad rendition of a Christie favorite (I'm a HUGE Christie fan). The filming comes off as sort of soap-opera-ie for the indoor shots but the outdoor scenes are A-O-K. I confess (as a Christie apologist) that this is one of Christie's more inplausible mysteries but the director pulled it off darn good, without making his actors look ridiculous. I was especially impressed with the length of this film, quite long, and a good partial afternoon of DVD entertainment as far as I am concerned. To summarize, if you're an absolute Agatha Christie NUT, go ahead and consider this one a 5-star rating... however, if you are randomly looking around for ANY film to watch, regardless of genre, and have never seen a Christie mystery, you might find this to be a THREE.... (or a TWO!). I liked it a great deal and very much recommend it to appropriate fans.Agatha Christie's Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Francesca Annis is Ravishing
After watching this film, I found myself extraordinarily jealous of Ralph Fiennes. He is partnered with truly one of the most beautiful women in the world (even 20 years after this TV film was made).
That said, I spent much of my time watching the DVD in total lust (I probably should mention I'm gay which makes this experience even more extraordinary).
Beyond that, it's a really fun and (very)faithful adaptation of a Christie book. It's well-acted and the costume design and art direction is really beautiful (especially the scenes on the Welsh Coast). I highly recommend this DVD to all Christie fans and aficionados of classical beauty.Agatha Christie's Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
James, Francesca, and Agatha Christie have done it again!!
Playing badly at golf witht the local doctor, starry-eyed Bobby Jones (James Warwick)discovers a body on the rocks below them. Before he dies, the man quietly says "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" Bobby passes the job of waiting for the doctor and some men to carry the dead one back into town to a passerby so that he can play the piano for his father's sermons.
While helping out a friend with a stuttering problem and love of 1920 cars, Bobby meets up with old friend, and secret love interest, Lady Francis "Frankie" Derwent (Francesca Annis). When both join the trial to see if the dead man's death was accidental or not, Bobby points out that a picture isn't the one he saw in the dead man's pocket. Thus, the adventure of a lifetime begins for the three friends (Bobby, Frankie, and Bobby's friend)as they meet up with a crazy doctor, a dashing young man that sweeps Frankie off her feet, a drug addict and his nervous wife, and the doctor's equally crazy wife.
Agatha Christie's made for TV movie is a wonderful adaptation of the book. What I mostly like about it is that you never get bored and it makes you keep guessing right up until the last scene of the movie (which is really a surprise no one would've guessed). James and Francesca have the most interesting and real chemistry I've ever seen. I've seen them in Tommy and Tuppence some years ago, and I feel in love with the characters as well as the actors protraying them. A perfect example is when both are tyed up by the "murderer" in a locked room and Bobby's friend saves them, Bobby becomes upset that Frankie has feelings for another man, but Frankie says "But, Bobby. I did miss you and I do care for you." And the way they look at each other...it's magical. I couldn't even tell if they were acting sometimes.
My favorite short scene in the movie is when Frankie and Bobby, when trying to save someone and have little time to do it, fly to Frankie's estate and borrow her father's car. It's funny because you just see the father and than Frankie and Bobby run by with Franie screaming, "Hi dad. Bye dad. Can't talk now, going to borrow the car."
Anyway, "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" is a wonderful film to me becasue of an interesting story with fake ID's and many twists and turns, thanks to Dame Agatha Christie, and the leads played by James Warwick and Fransesca Annis who play Bobby and Frankie, as well as Tommy and Tuppence, picture perfect. This is a good film to watch if you love Britsh movies or a huge Agatha Christie fan.Agatha Christie's Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
An Amusing, Stylish...And Long...Agatha Christie Mystery
A golf game on a windy bluff above the sea, a cry, a man lying on the rocks below who struggles to say with his dying breath, "Why didn't they ask Evans?" And we're off on a three-hour Agatha Christie tale of family deception, murder, lies and ruthless intrigue. We're also thrust into the Twenties and early Thirties' world of wealthy English bright young things, a world of upper-crust accents, immaculate manners and immaculate croquet grounds, country homes with many rooms and even more servants, and gleaming autos almost as long as a cricket pitch.
This TV movie, originally a three-part British television production, would seem to have everything. So why is it unsatisfying? And why, as unsatisfying as I think it is, is it still amusing to watch? The unsatisfying parts first. 1) The story goes on and on. It easily could have been cut by at least half an hour. 2) The mystery is convoluted and hard to follow. 3) The two sleuths, Lady Frances Derwent (Francesca Annis) and Bobby Jones (James Warwick) got a bit on my nerves. Bobby is brave, a puppy dog around Frankie and not too smart. Frankie is very much the bright young thing, superficially brittle with hidden warmth, clever and, to my taste, a bit too self-satisfied. I never forgot that I was watching actors. 4) The direction is heavy handed, as if the director felt he had to nudge us that we're watching a slightly silly period piece. The background music is frequently used to emphasize things that don't need to be emphasized.
What makes it watchable? Style, story and several of the actors. 1) This production looks great. The stately homes, inside and out, provide wonderful settings for distinctly upper class life. The period clothes for both the men and women look authentic and are often elegant. Dressing for dinner never looked better. 2) While the story is convoluted, it carries within it enough false leads to keep one's interest. The solution to the mystery and the answer to the dying man's question is clever. 3) Despite the artificiality of Annis' performance, she's a good enough actress to keep me watching her. It's style over substance, and she carries off the style handily. One of the important roles, who may be a diversion to the plot or may be a key ingredient, is played by Eric Porter, a fine actor. This was one of his last roles. He plays Dr. Nicholson, who runs a discrete clinic for disturbed relatives of wealthy families. The doctor is solicitous and alarming at the same time. Porter does a great job. If you have a chance, watch him as Soames in the early TV production of the Forsyte Saga. He was, in my view, an exceptional actor. In smaller roles Bernard Miles and John Gielgud show up. Joan Hickson makes an appearance looking utterly different from Miss Marple.
On balance, I think this is a show you might like if you're fond of British mysteries involving the upper class and don't expect a classic. You'll need to appreciate Lady Frances...but as Bobby tells her at the close, "You were so frightfully plucky..."
The DVD transfer is soft but not too bad. There is a filmography of several of the actors.Agatha Christie's Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Is there really an Evans?
Bobby Jones (James Warwick) is pitifully attempting to play golf on ground above the cliff to the sea. He would most assuredly hit someone if the ball just gets that far. He hears a cry but just plays on. That is until the search for the ball takes him to the edge of the cliff where it appears that a hiker fell on the rocks below. Bobby rushes to the aid of the fallen man. The fallen man come conscious just long enough to say "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" then expires.
From here characters pour in from all sides and you need to keep a score card and there are several doctors and mysteriously guilty looking people. You may guess some of the story but not all as they hold back most of clues until the last moment.
Once again Britton has excelled in bringing a great Agatha Christie story to life. They did not try to overstate or rush through the story. Also true to Christies writing they left in the characters instead of trying to homogenize them into fewer numbers for TV's sake.
We recognize the actors for other such stories:
James Warwick who trained at the Central School in London also played Tommy in Agatha Christie's "Partners in Crime" series.
Francesca Annis was Tuppence in the "Partners in Crime" series. But where I remember her most as Lady Jessica in "Dune" (1984).
Sir John Gielgud, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic arts in London played Hamlet on the stage.
The big surprise is the late Joan Hickson who made her stage debut in prudential theater in 1927 and played the best Miss Marple in the Agatha Christie series of movies. You may not recognize her but she was also the landlady in "The Man Who Never Was" (1956)
Agatha Christie's Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
|
