TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

JohnHowardReid Agatha Christie rides again, but, alas, the pleasures of this one are offset by a wildly inappropriate and cursedly intrusive jazz score by Dave Brubeck. Worse still, in order to accommodate Mr. Brubeck, several sequences are lengthened way past their palatable appeal. Some irritating editorial cross-cutting – even when attempting to be inventive – further dampens our enthusiasm, but nevertheless the movie ends up as a fairly suspenseful outing, well acted and atmospherically photographed against some fascinatingly unusual locations. Sutherland is aptly cast as the meddling do- gooder, but Dunaway is wasted in a few brief flashbacks. But the little usherette is delightfully pert. Indeed, most of the players are really excellent. Alas, for some unknown reason, the killer is revealed to the audience well before the actual climax, so that it no longer comes as a surprise. The fakey special effects are also a drawback, but all these points are merely quibbles. It's the outrageously intrusive music score that's the source of most audience irritation.

ragosaal When at the very start of the film Paleontologist Donald Sutherland arrives at the Argyle family's house and it comes out he is the undeniable alibi for one of the members executed for murdering his mother two years ago your sensation is that you are about to watch a top thriller; an innocent man has been convicted and a killer is still around. But as the film runs along your disappointment increases inevitably."Ordeal by Innocence" is a dull and at times even boring film that doesn't raise at any moment. Nothing interesting happens all along and even the final revealing of the facts lacks surprise and intensity (wether you guessed or not).Donald Sutherland, Cristopher Plummer, Faye Dunaway and Sarah Miles (far from her good performance in "Ryan's Daughter") just pass through their roles and not very enthusiastically either.You won't miss much if you skip this one.

dbdumonteil Agatha Christie's books are not easy to transfer to the screen.The main problem lies in the fact that there's not much show and many many questionings ,deductions and explanations.As always ,the director tries to make up for it by gathering an all-star cast (see yourself) :it sometimes worked in the past ("Death on the Nile" "Murder on the Orient Express"),it does not here.The film is much too short and we have not enough time to make acquaintance with the many-characters-who -had -a reason-and -an -opportunity-to -kill-Dunaway.However ,the very subject of the movie could have been interesting:an innocent was hanged and his family does not care when a witness claims that he was his alibi a couple of years later.The ending is terribly disappointing,which is a shame .Dame Agatha Christie would turn in her grave.

jsaari I only watched the movie to see Ian McShane. My only negative comment on the movie is that he wasn't in it "enough". Waste of talent. Otherwise, I actually enjoyed the movie, even though it was very predictable. I loved the scenery. I wish I could live at a place like that, but then again, I'd like to live anywhere in England.