What a beautiful movie!

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

As with Jeremy Brett's "Sherlock Holmes"; Peter Davison's "Campion"; and Joan Hickson's "Miss Marple" stories, "Poirot" started out with a big budget and good intentions, to faithfully reproduce Agatha Christie's Poirot stories for a society too lazy to open a book.Naturally, "Poirot" had to be altered in places in the change from one medium to another. Unfortunately, as the series moved into novels, it made unnecessary changes. For instance, "Peril at End House" from the early days did an admirable job (with slight alterations) and while it's one of my favorite Christie books it is also one of my favorite "Poirot" dramatizations. Unfortunately, the series grew darker and even changed some of the endings, using different characters as the murderers! However, the producers of "Poirot" made one improvement over Christie. Dame Agatha's Poirot stories started in 1920 and ended in 1975, a span of 55 years where society changes but Poirot doesn't, even though he started out as a retired police detective! When his last mystery appeared he must have been more than 100! Wisely, the "Poirot" series remains set in the 1930s. "The Clocks"--set in 1963--is now given the more exciting setting of Dover on the verge of the second world war, with Hitler across the channel.Another improvement is this: in the original book, Poirot proves his adage that with all the facts one can find the solution without leaving one's chair. This leaves most of the foot slogging to an MI-5 agent (here, altered to be the son of Poirot's old pal Col. Race) and Poirot rarely showing any life. Here, Poirot is summoned from his chair in London and has to go to Dover and interview all the people himself.Apart from these cosmetic changes, the story remains remarkably faithful for a later Poirot. Furthermore, it's beautifully shot in a way almost reminiscent of the earlier Poirots, when he bumbled around with Hastings and Japp. Also unlike some of the later Poirots, the gratuitous swearing is reduced to one "bitch." If there's anything more I didn't hear it.It even has fascinating shots that are supposed to be the secret tunnels dug beneath Dover Castle. Whether they are or not, it's still interesting to think that existed during the war.

"The Clocks" will not go down as one of the classic Poirot mysteries: it does not reach either the emotional or the cerebral heights of other entries in the series. It might also have benefited from the inclusion of Ariadne Oliver - after all, Poirot attends one of her plays near the beginning and a part of it helps him get to the bottom of the case he's investigating. But it's still enjoyable, well-produced, and sometimes delightfully cryptic ("It's not important WHO he is, but who he IS!"), although if you are one of those people who like to pick out the guilty party (or parties) in a whodunit you have a better than usual chance of getting it right this time, since about half-a-dozen of the characters are guilty of....something! One very funny moment: Poirot's allergic reaction to cats. *** out of 4.

I gave this an 8 because it does keep you guessing.While investigating a spy ring for MI6, Lieutenant Colin Race is walking on a street when a young woman races out of house and starts screaming that there is a dead man in the house. Race enters to investigate.The typist is Sheila Webb. She was asked by her boss to go to this particular home and assist the woman living there. She lets herself in as instructed, and finds a dead man on the floor. There are four clocks in the room, all of which say 4:13. When the owner of the home, a Miss Pebmarsh, comes home, she says she doesn't know the man and never asked for a typist. Sheila becomes a suspect.Poirot, working with the local investigators and a friend of Colin's, comes in to investigate. He thinks one of the neighbors had a secret worth a murder, and that Miss Webb was set up.I thought this was good episode if filled with some bizarre coincidences. Poirot as played by David Suchet is perfection, and Poirot himself was very funny as he annoyed the chief inspector with what the inspector considered really dumb questions. Of course, they weren't at all.Enjoyable, set in a time when England was on the brink of war with Germany.

A very faithful adaptation of the Clocks,with brilliant interpretations by Anna Massey as a very menacing,if sweet blind woman,Phil Daniels as a cockney cop in the Philip Jackson mold and Lesley Sharp as a snobbish and haughty secretary,is as usual wonderfully directed and written.The story is rich of hilarious characters(the Cat lady,the middle-aged couple à la George & Mildred) ,and it adds to the novel a spy subplot not too surprising and perhaps a bit old-fashioned,as if a spy melodrama from the 40s (say,The Spy in Black) would have been sewed together with a very modern and highly original whodunit.But the prologue in the Dover Castle underground HQ is so beautifully shot that it saves the too predictable solution of this minor part of the mystery (the mole discovered in the second half of the movie is so suspicious and conspicuous that even Hastings would have guessed the truth on first glance !).Nothing to complain instead with the major mystery,adapted and explained with a deft touch.(The clocks scene with the discovery of the murdered man is a joy in itself,a real masterpiece).Not the best outing of the season(the laurels go to the marvelous Tragedy) and not diabolically clever as the Mark Gatiss adaptations,but a sound,highly amusing adaptation of one of Dame Agatha's minor works