Marple - By the pricking of my thumbs -

I didn't like it. It features Tommy (Anthony Andrews) and Tuppence (Greta Scacchi) Beresford now all grown up, with their three children away, and living alone with Tuppence at home like a bored housewife while Tommy works for secret service or something like that.
I didn't like the changes, I hated Tommy's patronizing attitude towards his wife. His "daaarling" was infuriating, he sounded so much like 'poor ignorant woman, mind your place', and at the end when they make peace, both saying 'I thought I'd lost you' it was annoying at best, giving their (his) previous attitude.
It starts with them going to visit Tommy's aunt in a nursing home. Miss Marple (Geraldine McEwan) is also there visiting a friend. Soon Ada dies and Mrs Lancaster (June Whitfield) disappears. Marple is very intrigued, because her friend says she saw two people take her away sort of against her will. Ada's things are sent to Tuppence, and among everything there's a painting that Mrs Lancaster gave her, and Ada in a letter had mentioned that Mrs Lancaster was in danger and that the painting was a clue. Marple and Tuppence start investigating by themselves, since Tommy is away somewhere, and they try to find the place. I don't remember just how they managed to find out the right town right away, still they go there but apparently nobody seems to know the house in the painting.
Good things: Hannah Beresford was played by Josie Lawrence, and I like her :) Reverend Septimus Bligh was played by Charles Dance, which would have been an even better thing with a better part. His revelation at the end was very, sort of too much theatrical.
Sir Philip (Leslie Phillips)'s wife years ago had taken a child and later killed the poor thing. Absolutely crazy, the woman. I don't know if she killed any other child, what is clear is that everyone who got close to the truth was killed. She was believed to be dead too, but instead she was simply kept hidden in that isolated house portrayed in the painting, and sometimes away in a nursing home under the name of Mrs Lancaster. A man was accused of the crime, but he died innocent. Septimus knew all about it, but his wife Nellie Bligh (Lia Williams) convinced him to keep quiet because Sir Philip was important, or something like that. They arrive at the house while Mrs Lancaster is trying to kill Tuppence, and they stop her.
I'm not bothered by the fact that they put Marple in a Tommy&Tuppence novel, honestly. They could put Marple in all of Agatha's books, I wouldn't mind if they did a good job! But please, come on, this movie was a bit of a mess, wasn't it? Leave out something if you don't have time for everything, and concentrate on the characters that matter, give them life! There's space for everything in a book, plus if the reader forgets something he can always go back and check before going on with the story, while a movie is a different thing!


ITA Sento i pollici che prudono