A gripping tale of murder and one of the best judgements given ever on celluloid.
Written by Agathe Christie (the master teller of suspense stories) and directed by Billy Wilder (an incredible director who has given very memorable films in 40, 50 and 60 decades) as an adaptation of a play by the same name, this is a masterpiece of a courtroom drama. A very intense thriller (if one may call so) that is embedded in high drama. The movie has plethora of exemplary dialogue that has the touch of Wilder. Like when the nurse says to Wilfred, "Lets get on to bed and get undressed" its very funny but has also is right in the context. On the whole the movie is extremely witty filled with the vital thrilling points.
I have not read Agatha Christie's story but for sure I believe this could have been the best possible adaptation of the written work.
This movie ain't about anything except for a murder that is committed by a man accused of it and till the very end we do not know if he is guilty or not. It begins with him being guilty and ends with, Umm, please watch to know this. Filled with dialogues and shot very simplistically as every wilder movie, this tries to permeate into the view point of an audience (as even director and so is every character a viewer except the accused as he and only he knows the truth). Now the choice of a protagonist is a tough one here, coz the one who drives the story is the accused and his wife helps plots a few things but all through movie its Wilfred, the defense lawyer who is shown from first to last frame and how he makes the case out.
It's a wonderful case that has to be seen to decipher the mystery. All actors have done well as Billy Wilder has the knack of extracting the right emotions from the cast but specifically, Charles Laughton as SirWilfred is just outstanding.
Superb drama that is concisely and precisely written as the screenplay though nearly 100 minutes seems to run very quickly. This will standout as a masterpiece for many more years to come. Its 5/5.
No comments:
Post a Comment