Elephants Can Remember
- Episode aired Aug 11, 2014
- TV-PG
- 1h 29m
Ariadne Oliver becomes an amateur sleuth when her goddaughter tasks her to find out the truth behind her parents' mysterious deaths.Ariadne Oliver becomes an amateur sleuth when her goddaughter tasks her to find out the truth behind her parents' mysterious deaths.Ariadne Oliver becomes an amateur sleuth when her goddaughter tasks her to find out the truth behind her parents' mysterious deaths.
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Did you know
- TriviaThe novel "Elephants Can Remember" has a subplot in the fading memories of its aged characters. By the time Agatha Christie wrote the novel, Christie herself was suffering from memory problems. A 2009 study suggested that Christie had actually lost much of the vocabulary which she had used in earlier novels, and concluded that she was likely suffering from some form of late-onset dementia, perhaps Alzheimer's disease.
- GoofsWhen the police drain the bathtub where the doctor is, you can see the actor involuntarily wiggle his mouth to keep the cloth inside it.
- Quotes
Hercule Poirot: You say they lived near to Eastbourne? You have acquaintance there? Well, then go. Allez-y, allez-y. Drive about, ask the questions, be the puzzler with the nose.
Ariadne Oliver: Oh, I see, and someone will remember something.
Hercule Poirot: Always someone remembers something.
Ariadne Oliver: You mean elephants. Sorry, I was thinking of elephants at that dinner last night.
Hercule Poirot: With hesitation, I ask why.
Ariadne Oliver: Because the meringue got stuck in my teeth.
Hercule Poirot: I see. Well, the pathway of logic, it is there somewhere, but...
Ariadne Oliver: Meringue, dentures, ivory, elephants. I must find the elephants. Elephants can remember.
I cannot imagine that it would ruin anything for anyone 13 seasons into Poirot to suggest that of course the dual mysteries of this film are bound to be connected – it is obvious from the start, even if the solution is not. Forgiving the film this device, the rest of the drama unfolds with a brisk pace and reasonably good sense of intrigue. Aspects of it feel like it is rather going through the motions of this in some regards – the wigs, the dog, and some other clues all being a bit obviously "clues" in many cases. Perhaps there is a certain irony in me usually praising the series for making the mysteries accessible, but then complaining that it overdoes it here, but to a point it does. The solution also seems a bit lacking in the pleasure of the big reveal, of all the pieces falling into place – it seems too easy, and a bit too convenient when it happens.
This is not to suggest that the film doesn't work, because it still does have good energy and flow to it, but it is not the most satisfying of mysteries or deliveries. Suchet matches this – it is not his biggest effort. He has some nice comedic touches, and he does his usual work, but it does feel like he gives less – and the involvement of Oliver limits his time too. By contrast Wanamaker gets more time and does well, and the support cast is particularly good, with solid turns from Scacchi, Regan, Dowling, Kirby and others all doing well. Perhaps I am biased due to the strength of his work in Game of Thrones, but I thought Glen was very good – making his supporting character very human and sympathetic. Technically the production is to the usual standard of period detail – just a shame that the back-projection on the cliffs was so poor.
All told, this is not one of my favorite films, but it does have a brisk pace and good energy. The connections are obviously coming in the mystery, and this does make some elements of it feel a bit lacking in effort (as does the conclusion) but it still works and has good turns in the cast and production. Solid, but not the film I was hoping for as it represents the beginning of the end for the series; hopefully Big Four can be a much stronger film.
- bob the moo
- Jun 6, 2015
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- Sheraton Grand London Park Lane Hotel, London, England, UK(Ariadne Oliver is declared Crime writer of the year)
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