Poirot:Murder in Mesopotamia

Capt. Hastings does not appear in the Christie novel, which presents us with the tale of a seemingly impossible murder at an archeological dig in Iraq. In order to accommodate his presence, one character has been eliminated and another has been significantly reduced. With careful scripting, direction, and acting, the change might have been pulled off--but sad to say, no such thing occurs.

The script is unexpectedly weak, and to add insult to injury the writers have also "tweaked" the plot in a failed effort to cover the problems they have created by fiddling with the story in the first place. The direction lacks focus, and most of the actors seem miscast and extremely unhappy about it. When all is said and done, MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA is little short of a mess.

Even so, Suchet and Fraiser manage enough charm to carry the project; they are always entertaining to watch, and I give the film three stars largely on that basis. But if you've already read the book, you'll be disappointed--and if you haven't read the book, you should, and immediately.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

The latest Suchet adaptation, however, is barely faithful to the book. Instead of two murders ingeniously committed and equally ingeniously solved, the viewer is presented with a series of ridiculous sub-plots: to wit, Poirot's infatuation with the Countess Rossakoff (cheap love interest to satisfy the Mills & Boon / Harlequin public); and a completely irrelevant murder not found in the original book. Instead of a problem rationally set out for the reader to solve, there is precious little detection, but a great deal of fluff: simpering performances, hysterical fits, and a plethora of cliches. This sort of thing is embarrassing; and certainly not up to the level of the L.W.T. productions.

I started reading some of Agatha Christie's mysteries this year, and I firmly believe that David Suchet is the best portrayal of Hercule Poirot that ever was. I have seen other notorious actors, such as Peter Ustinov and Tony Randall, play the part, but they do not achieve the full embodiment of the persona (both physical and psychological) that David Suchet does.

MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA has an interesting plot that centers around something very in tune with the interests of the time in which it is set. Then the western world was fascinated by the archaeological digs occurring in Africa, Egypt, and the Middle East, and this story helps to show that fascination with a little mystery twist. However, the twist isn't so little, so Hercule Poirot comes to the rescue. Quite in tune with his character, Poirot merely wants to catch the murderer; he searches for cold, hard facts, but finally, he must work the little gray cells until they reveal the true answer. I think that David Suchet portrays Poirot in the desert quite well; he acts exactly as I suspect Poirot would when visiting the great outdoors. Additionally, Captain Hastings visits us again and serves as a nice, comedic foil for the great Poirot.

I highly recommend any of the David Suchet Poirot films to anyone searching for an interesting, exciting mystery to watch.