This essay contains spoilers. Be forewarned.
Angela Lansbury as Miss Jane Marple
Elizabeth Taylor as Marina Gregg
Rock Hudson as Jason Rudd
Kim Novak as Lola Brewster
Tony Curtis as Martin N. "Marty" Fenn
Geraldine Chaplin as Ella Zelinsky
Edward Fox as Inspector Dermot Craddock
Wendy Morgan as Cherry Baker
Charles Gray as Bates
Margaret Courtenay as Mrs. Dolly Bantry, who bears
more than a slight resemblance to Kaye Ballard.
Maureen Bennett as Heather Babcock
Hamilton, while admitting he wasn't a fan of Christie's work (though the producers deemed that to be the reason he was their ideal choice), rightfully recognized that this Marple had to course-correct from Margaret Rutherford's dottier portrayal from the 1960s.
Viewers used to Jessica Fletcher might be shocked
at how cool and dark-humored this Marple is.
In her grand career tradition of playing characters older than herself, Angela Lansbury (at age 55) steps into the role of Miss Marple after playing the (comparatively) younger Salome Otterbourne in Death on the Nile. While she's clearly trying in the role, her wig and eyebrows in the film come off as artificial and powdered enough to throw this viewer off. Not helping matters is the script, which makes her out to be oddly cool and detached. It's one thing to be sharp, analytical, and the calm in a mystery's storm, but this viewer has seen enough Marple to know that this interpretation is an oddity if there ever was one.
WHY IS MISS MARPLE SMOKING?!
AND WHY IS SHE MAKING LAME PUNS?!
Chaplin's clipped "American" accent is unusual,
but does help to solidify her character's insecurities.
(I will say, though, that no American would pronounce
"Attila the Hun" like she does at one point.)
Given the emotional core of the film (and its source material) is American movie star Marina Gregg, the producers pulled off a real coup in securing Elizabeth Taylor for the role, her first film in three years. While her character too suffers from the script and being given too little screentime (she's holed up in her room for much of the film), Taylor does what she can with the material.
Not to mention, those bitchy exchanges with Lola,
a.k.a. the only reason people remember this film at all.
An underrated line, TBH.
While written as a touch too one-dimensional given the subject matter, Novak completely throws herself into the role of Lola Brewster, a selfish, uncouth, temperamental rival of Marina's. That said, bitchy remarks aside, I can see how some viewers might find her pretty unlikable, since she has few (if any) redeeming qualities. Not only is it almost jarring once she and husband Marty disappear from the film (given how they entered it), the film also brings up her two prior arrests for (what's implied to be) attempted murder, only to not elaborate on it whatsoever. (More on the script later.)
Enthusiasm counts for a lot in The Mirror Crack'd, and Edward Fox's Inspector Craddock proves to the Colonel Race of the film, giving it a much-needed charismatic push. Like David Niven, Fox can say so much with even just a slight change in facial expression. His being a fan of Marina and Jason's films works to humanize someone you'd expect to be totally serious in the genre.
Curtis, for his great performances but uneven output, does well despite his small amount of screentime. He's exactly who you expect a slightly-sleazy, token American producer named Marty Fenn to be. (The "N" in his name stands for "nothing", in case you were wondering.) It's a better fit for him than his character Blackie in Little Miss Marker, released that same year.
But faring best in this film dramatically is Hudson's Jason Rudd. Because we're given enough time to get to know him, his situation, and the undeniably heavy load on his shoulders, it's easy for the audience to relate to and empathize with him as he tries to just keep everything together.
While it's never stated whether or not Jason and Ella
are having an affair, it's clear from their interactions
that their bond is definitely an emotional one.
Since I mainly know Hudson as the hilarious, sweet-natured frequent guest star on The Carol Burnett Show, it's great to see him have something to work with in this script and pull it off wonderfully. Despite the issues that his wife suffers from, Jason is still the most sympathetic character in the film.
THE ROLE OF ADAPTATION (AND THE SCRIPT)
While most of the changes made for this film aren't bad ideas, I did notice said changes left the story a little empty in terms of motive and rounding out the story.
Margot Bence, a photographer who in the novel had been Marina's
adoptive child until Marina was expecting her own child, is
just a nameless photographer (with no red herring motive) here.
Ella calling random people from the party threatening
to blackmail them is a monumentally stupid thing to do,
even if one takes genre out of the equation.
It's incredibly clear watching this film that the loss of Anthony Shaffer as screenwriter is a palpable one, as Mirror lacks a lot of narrative "connective tissue" that could tie together the story's differing perspectives. Jonathan Hales and Barry Sandler take this role here, but the script, coupled with Hamilton's direction (Was the story and setting just not a good fit for him?) and Richard Marden's (competent but unimaginative) editing, really makes one feel the TV movie-esque, "Point A to Point B" pace that's downright glacial at times.
Yes, folks, I'm afraid I owe Death on the Nile a bit of an apology.
At least that film has Poirot and Colonel Race.
While there's no easy "fix" for a script like this, I think a fundamental change that should have occurred at the script level was to expand Miss Marple's role considerably. While her working with another character to solve the case is part of the Marple formula, keeping Miss Marple at home with a sprained leg and Marina at Mrs. Bantry's house fractures the narrative enough to disorient the audience a little. Why not have Miss Marple talk to the suspects alongside Inspector Craddock? That way, we could see her interact with the American movie people more (She never actually meets Marina at any point in the film), as well as give her time to show the warmer, more astute parts of her personality. As is, the film has to strain to switch between the perspectives of Miss Marple, Marina and Jason, Ella, Ella and Jason, Inspector Craddock, Lola and Marty, and Miss Marple and Craddock.
The changes made to Marina's "epiphany" also come off partially empty due to the removal of Margot Bence and her motive (though the camera flash in this sequence remains), and also due to the little given to explain Marina and Lola's rivalry. After all, why would Marina react this way to Lola in particular if she has no problem hurling catty remarks at her just moments later?
While well done, the opening mystery film is
ultimately disconnected (literally) from the main plot,
and doesn't thematically tie into it whatsoever.
While the second shot here is actually pretty good, the manner
in which we find out about Ms. Babcock's death is so mundane
and devoid of tension, it's almost laughable.
Christopher Challis does well with the village setting, finding
much color where an inferior cinematographer wouldn't.
In keeping with the film's utter lack of tension
(save for one or two scenes), Jason simply tells Inspector
Craddock the reason for Marina's breakdown.
As a result, Mirror proves to be an exercise in how not to approach a "cozy" murder mystery: with choppy storytelling and a bizarre mix of exposition and ambiguity.
Arguably the only inspired change from the source material is in its ending. Like in the novel, Miss Marple goes to Mrs. Bantry's house to confront Marina, but Jason says Marina has died, from a poisoned hot chocolate he had given to her, as he was afraid of the toll being caught would have on her sanity.
When he and Marple enter her room, however, the hot chocolate is virtually untouched. It's actually heartbreaking to see the little hope Jason has running around, thinking she's still alive.
But as it turns out, however, Marina had decided to absolve Jason and commit suicide (by an implied overdose) instead.
Ophelia, John Everett Millais, 1851-1852.
The Lady of Shalott, John William Waterhouse, 1888.
It's in seeing this ending (anti-climactic as it still is) that made me think, why wasn't the rest of the movie like this? It wouldn't have been perfect, but it would have been vastly more creative than what we actually got. It's like the passion for this film finally decided to show itself.
AND THE REST...
Charles Lloyd-Pack as the Vicar
Norman Wooland as the Medical Examiner
No no, folks, Charles Gray is the butler in this film!
Pierce Brosnan as "Jamie"
Bros, that bouffant...
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
As much as Luba Goy's Taylor on Royal Canadian Air Farce
was nothing but fat jokes, the show did its homework
in basing her catchphrase on a line from this film.
Cukor directed Taylor in the 1976 disaster The Blue Bird.
Presented without comment.
Also presented without comment.
TIDBITS AND SUCH
Japanese theatrical poster
While the cast of this film were said to have had great fun acting in it, Angela Lansbury was not fond of the finished product, saying in a 1998 interview that she thought the film was "dreadful".
In 1992, Margaret Courtenay (Mrs. Bantry) would appear in the BBC's Miss Marple episode "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side" (the novel's full title) as Miss Knight.
Murder, She Wrote would kick off its twelve-season run in 1984 with the movie-length pilot "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes", which opens with a homage of Mirror's opening, swapping out a mystery movie for a play, and having Jessica Fletcher (like Miss Marple) quickly solve the mystery, much to the playwright's irritation.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't draw your attention to the back cover of this German VHS release of the film. Try and see the problem with it.
I can't say I would recommend The Mirror Crack'd unless you're a die-hard fan of the cast, but as a failure in adaptation, I think it could serve as an interesting case study.
Copyright © Chynna Moore
No comments:
Post a Comment