Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Wordiezett So much average

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

henry-plantagenet-04 I may not be able to bring much new to this discussion. People here have already been heaping praise on this episode, and they are completely justified. It is one of the best. I watched this the same day as "Cat Among the Pigeons" and I think I marginally prefer the latter, but both of these are masterful and very different plots, with dramatic integrity and unique styles. "After the Funeral" takes place appropriately after the funeral of one Richard Abernethie (John Carson) as his dysfunctional family gathers at Enderby Hall. They're an interesting lot: less loopy than the Serrocolds from "They Do It With Mirrors" but not as vicious as the Cloades from "Taken at the Flood". Initially all of the characters seem rather unpleasant, but as the story progresses we come to see the good in them. All the characterizations are fully drawn, and even though there are many, I felt as though they had all had an ark of sorts. The best characterization of all is the murderer. Monica Dolan absolutely makes this episode in her dual role as Miss Gilchrist and her victim Cora Gallacio. The performance is simply superb, character, motivation, and one of the ingenious plots in the series all seem inextricably linked. The reveal at the end comes courtesy of an extra chilling detail, which I won't spoil here. I'm sorry I gave away the murderer's identity but I think many of the other reviews already have. The cinematography in this episode is also stunning. Very bright colors particularly greens at Enderby Hall, where there is also a stark contrast with the jet black cars from the funeral procession, and the smart suits of the guests. Then in the final drawing room scene, there is an aura which seems almost as if fog was floating through the room. David Suchet is fantastic as usual but I think Dolan actually manages to take his spotlight in the last third. Robert Bathurst makes for a good sidekick, his demeanor and his crush on Helen Abernethie (Geraldine James) are very endearing. Michael Fassbender who would go on to be nominated for two Oscars, turns in a very early performance yet he already shows great potential. (Suchet claims to have anticipated a great career for him and several others.) If you like the Poirot series, see this episode, but, let's face it, you probably have already.

faterson I enjoyed the TV version of _After the Funeral_ more than the book, but that's not saying much, because I didn't appreciate the novel very much. It features one of the best plot devices, in terms of the whodunnit, from among all of Agatha Christie books. Yet that is, at the same time, a pitfall: the whodunnit is so memorable that if you've only watched or read it once, you're likely to remember it for the rest of your life. Nope, it's not *quite* as memorable as in _Murder on the Orient Express_ or _And Then There Were None_, but it does belong to that highly memorable category.This means that in order to retain the reader's or viewer's interest for a *repeated* reading or viewing, the book or film in question must offer more than the whodunnit itself. In this respect, I thought that the novel, whose writing I found rather dreary, failed; but the TV rendition succeeded.There is a severe limitation imposed on the episodes of the acclaimed _Poirot_ TV series starring David Suchet: none of the episodes is permitted to exceed 90 minutes or so of runtime. Yet this is definitely not enough runtime for some of Agatha Christie's finest whodunnits, such as _Evil Under the Sun_ or _Death on the Nile_. The David Suchet versions of these mysteries positively suffer due to the necessity of being squeezed into 90 minutes or so of runtime, whereas the same mysteries starring Peter Ustinov, being allowing to extend luxuriously to the full Hollywood greatness of 120+ minutes of runtime, do justice to Agatha Christie's original books.Fortunately, what is a weakness and limitation for bringing Christie's finest mysteries to the screen, is an advantage in relation to her lesser works, such as _After the Funeral_. There is so much non-essential stuff in this novel that the TV makers could very well afford to pick and choose only the most important facets of the story. Even so, you can feel the unwholesome pressure of the 90 minutes of runtime in the too hurried introduction of the various family members a.k.a. crime suspects at the very beginning of the episode. Yet thereafter, the story on the screen "hangs together" much better, to my mind, than the rather unnecessarily sprawling original novel.This is to a great extent thanks to excellent acting performances by the ensemble here. The acting in the TV version is outstanding -- yet Christie's writing in the underlying book is mediocre at best. So even at the pure level of craftsmanship, the film surpasses the book. The main star of this TV episode definitely is not David Suchet but Monica Dolan, delivering the clue(s) to unravel the mystery.At the same time, while watching _After the Funeral_, you can't help feeling you're watching a "parlour game": a smart one, to be sure, but rather removed from real life. The actors' performances are admirable, yet simultaneously somewhat too stagy, theatrical, and stuffy. You're watching an exquisitely crafted *artificial* product here.You might also frequently feel like you're watching a *historical* movie, due to the flawless recreation of the 1930s, mainly in terms of resplendent costuming, period vehicles, etc. Even Monica Dolan's drab costumes are resplendent in how suitably drab they are.In fact, that is another reason as to why the TV version of _After the Funeral_ is more enjoyable to watch than it is to read the original book: the book is engulfed in a depressive post-World War II mood, with Christie constantly lamenting as to the state of the world. You get to hear *some* of it in the TV version, too, but in tolerable doses (mainly from the mouth of a cranky hypochondriac); after all, this is still the inter-war period, and the Great Depression doesn't affect parlour games in English countryside estates all that much.David Suchet's ("French British") enunciation, sudden radiant smiles, and mannerisms are as flawless as ever in this episode. At the same time, I do not see Suchet as the ideal Poirot *physically*: he seems too fat and rotund for my vision of Poirot. Yes, the Poirot I have always envisioned is a rather small, fussy man, but by no means have I ever imagined him to be fat and rotund. Just like Peter Ustinov is too tall to fit Poirot physically, yet he captures him very well *mentally*, in the same way, I find Suchet to be too fat and rotund to fit Poirot physically, yet again, he captures Poirot brilliantly in terms of his mentality. To my eyes, two great actors -- Ustinov and Suchet -- have blessed us with two different portrayals of Poirot, each distinctly their own: and both actors have somehow managed to hit home with their portrayal, despite what one might describe as their "physical incongruities".

tml_pohlak_13 Aunt Cora had always been tactless, and her well-bred family ignored the remark she made after her brother Richard's funeral: "He WAS murdered, wasn't he?". They remembered it the next day, when Cora was found brutally murdered with a hatchet...For some reason, the POIROT movies this year have been far from faithful to the original book. I was disappointed about the changes made in CARDS ON THE TABLE-- my favourite Poirot book. AFTER THE FUNERAL is my 2nd favourite Poirot book, and I was scared the story would be destroyed. It wasn't! The movie was nearly page-for-page faithful throughout, right down to the killer's motive! All the actors were wonderful, but my favourite has got to be Monica Dolan, who gives a great performance as Miss Gilchrist, the companion to the late Aunt Cora. Without a doubt the best Poirot movie ever!

tedg The last episode I have seen of this series was the last made at this writing. And it is the best I have seen, fully cinematic, and a competent mystery after a decade of mostly wasted opportunities. With this episode, I have seen three of the four from season 12 and all are excellent.This one is a contender for the best, based on a very subtle trick that is played on the viewer, a trick that is the cinematic equivalent of the sort of literary clue Agatha would have used. The solution to the murder has to do with a character playing a part, a redhead, incidentally. Two of our suspects are actors, and that allows us to have a scene in the middle of all the suspects, family members who benefited from the will.The scene is wonderful. It is on a stage where a play has just finished with a murder. The characters lounge on the set. This is mirrored at the end with the constant Poirot device where all the suspects are collected, and the murderer (and other villains) revealed. In this case, the room is marvelously overblown but strictly reminiscent of the stage we saw earlier. Lest we miss the clue, that room contains a dollhouse. And yes, that dollhouse contains a clue.One of the red herrings is a pair of nuns who pop up in suspicious places. Guess what we see in the background of the behind the scenes in that play? An actress playing a nun. She's so subliminal you probably wouldn't have noticed her. Its a great, great piece of mystery stagecraft. Notice that the woman suspect's hair (she's in the foreground) though normally brown is lit to be red. Another clue.Overall, the way the camera is managed is very well considered. Half the time it is expository mode. Christie mysteries are very talkie. The other half of the time the camera is in Hitchcock-dePalma mode. Curiously examining as Poirot would.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.