Excellent, a Must See

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

"The Mysterious Affair at Styles" was the first novel written by Agatha Christie. As such, it was her first mystery of 80 that she would write in her lifetime. And, it introduces her most famous and appreciated detective, Hercule Poirot. Along, with Poirot, it introduces Inspector (later, chief inspector) Japp of Scotland Yard, and Hastings (first, lieutenant, and later, captain) who would become a sleuthing companion of Poirot in many of his adventures. Christie was just 26 years old when she penned her first story in 1916. It was serialized in The Times of London, and first published in book form in 1920 in America and 1921 in England. This movie is based on that novel. The films of this television series were not produced in the sequence that the stories appeared. But in this series, which began in the late 1980s, David Suchet would set the standard for Poirot's character. Several actors had played Poirot in movies that were made intermittently over the previous five decades plus. Now, Christie's public and fans would finally have a character who was every bit Poirot as created by the author. The setting for this film is England in 1920, in the midst of the First World War. Poirot has fled his native Belgium that, he rues, has been overrun by the "Boche." But it is the beginning of an illustrious career in England in which Poirot will delight readers and audiences of all ages for ages, as the best super sleuth of all time. The various British producers and writers who worked on this series over three decades did superb work. And the cast, from the exceptional regular leads and support, to the many different story characters (almost all are "suspects") make the entire series outstanding entertainment. This introduction of Poirot, Hastings and Japp has all the beguiling intrigue that audiences have come to expect and look forward to from Christie and Poirot. Here are some favorite lines from this film. For more dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb web page of the movie. Hercule Poirot, "You have a good grip on this affair, Hastings." Lieutenant Hastings, "Grasp." Poirot, "Yes?"Hercule Poirot, "We must be so intelligent that he does not suspect us of being intelligent at all." Lieutenant Hastings, "Absolutely..." Poirot, "And there you will be invaluable, mon ami."Madam Evie Howard, "May I ask what's going on?" Inspector Japp, "You may ask, madam. If you get any reply, you might let me know."Lieutenant Hastings, "I shall never understand women." Hercule Poirot, "... Perhaps one day, when this terrible war is ended, we shall work again together, huh? And Poirot will explain all to you."

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a very good example of early Poirot, it's a very good story, but it's the character play and development that's key to the success here. I often think it would have been nice if they'd have run this as a pilot, to set the characters up, and explain Poirot's back story, but it fits in really well nonetheless.It's a wonderfully cosy British murder mystery, you can almost hear the clink of ice in jugs of iced tea. It doesn't have the excitement of many late episodes, but it's still a very enjoyable episode. I really enjoy Michael Cronin's Alfred Inglethorpe and Joanna McCallum's Evie Howard, but the acting in general is excellent. The production values are superb.I know the solution does seem a little far fetched, but it's still cleverly devised, you just need to stretch your imagination a little.

Most of these dramatizations are inadequate and any written by Exton wash the wonder of Christie out of the thing. So the production then has to depend on luxurious sets and supposedly interesting characters.That's not enough for me. But I do have to report that the director here has done some clever things. The lighting is atypically superb for TeeVee. There are some very nicely conceived shots that indicate Poirot's vision.But the most interesting thing is how this director has created Poirot. He's at least slightly different in every episode, and very different in this one. The excuse, probably is that it is the earliest story.Here he is human before being officious. He is tentative, not annoying. He is certain, not vain.Its not played for comedy as usual. He's an earnest inquiring eye (and hand).Most of these are trash. But at least this one is colored well.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

World War One 1917: Lieutenant Hastings (Hugh Fraser) is on sick leave from the army after being wounded in France. His old friend John Cavendish (David Rintoul) invites him to stay at the Cavendish country estate, Styles Court, where there's tension in the family. Cavendish's mother Emily Ingelthorpe (Gillian Barge) has married Albert Ingelthorpe (Michael Cronin) a man twenty years younger than her, and the family believes that he can only be after one thing - her money. That night Emily dies a painful death and the subsequent autopsy reveals that she has been poisoned. In the neighbouring village of Styles St Mary, a number of Belgian refugees have taken up residence including Hastings' old friend Hercule Poirot (David Suchet), the eccentric but clever sleuth who is called in to investigate the murder."The Mysterious Affair At Styles" (1920) was Agatha Christie's first novel and it also introduced her most famous creation to the world, the eccentric little Belgian detective with the egg-shaped head and eccentric mannerisms. This film was made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Christie's birth in 1890 which fell in 1990. The period detail of World War One was superbly depicted in this film (just look at those automobiles!) Ross Devenish directed the film with care and style while David Suchet, Hugh Fraser and Philip Jackson offered their usual excellent performances. Great care was taken with the supporting cast in which Michael Cronin stands out as the somewhat shifty looking Albert Ingelthorpe."The Mysterious Affair At Styles" has recently been reissued on video and DVD, catch it while you can!