"NEMESIS" (2007) Review

"NEMESIS" (2007) Review

Without a doubt, Agatha Christie's 1971 novel, "Nemesis", is one of her most unusual works. It is not as celebrated as 1934's "Murder on the Orient Express" or her 1926 novel, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd". But it was the last novel she had written. And it possesses a slow, yet melancholic air that I find very rare in her body of work. 

Two adaptations of the novel have aired on British television. BBC aired the first adaptation, which starred Joan Hickson as Jane Marple, in 1987. Twenty years later, the ITV network aired its own version with Geraldine McEwan in the lead. While the 1987 version adhered as close as possible to the novel, this latest version turned out to be a very loose adaptation, thanks to screenwriters Stephen Churchett and Nicolas Winding Refn, who also served as the film's director.

"NEMESIS" begins in 1940, when a German Luftwaffe pilot is forced to bail from his damaged plane during the Battle of Britain. Not long after he reaches the ground, he is spotted by a young, beautiful woman, who comes to his aid. The movie jumps some eleven years to 1951. Jane Marple has received news about the death of a friend - a financier/philanthropist named John Rafiel aka Faber, who was a refugee from Nazi Germany twenty years earlier. Rafiel recruits her from the grave to solve a murder that the murder may or may not have taken place. And the victim is unknown. All that he has given her are two tickets on the Daffodil Tour Company's Mystery Tour. Miss Marple recruits her nephew, novelist Raymond West, to accompany her on the tour. During the early stages of the tour, Miss Marple and Raymond realizes that the other members of the tour had also been "selected" by Rafiel. Miss Marple also discovers that she had been recruited the solve the murder or disappearance of a young woman named Verity Hunt - the same woman who had met the German pilot during the war. And the German pilot turned out to be one Michael Faber, Rafiel's estranged son.

I might as well state it loud and clear. "NEMESIS" is not one of the best Christie adaptations featuring Geraldine McEwan. Refn and Churchett had inflicted so many changes in the plot, it almost left me confused. Not only were some of the characters from Christie's novel eliminated, new ones were created for the film. Refn and Churchett also changed the identity of the murderer and the crime's setting. The pair even changed the identity of the Rafiel character from an English millionaire, whom Miss Marple had met in an earlier novel, to a German refugee from Nazi Germany who had befriended the elderly sleuth (he remained wealthy). And his son transformed from a ne'er-do-well to a former Luftwaffe pilot, embittered by his father's refusal to help him and Verity during the war. 

The addition of World War II as a setting for Verity's death brought about other changes that left me scratching my head in confusion. In the novel, another young woman was murdered, so that her body would be confused with Verity's. In the movie, there was some kind of confusion over the identity of a RAF pilot who had died at the very convent where Verity was serving, when she first met Michael. I wish I could explain the whole matter, but I found it rather confusing. Come to think of it, I found the Verity/Nora body switching rather confusing in Christie's novel. The war did serve the movie's plot in one positive manner - namely the character of Michael Faber and his brief, wartime romance with Verity. Their romance proved to be more poignant and tragic than Verity's literary romance with Michael Rafiel.

The cast for "NEMESIS" proved to be a mixed bag. There were some . . . theatrical performances that I found wince inducing. The worst came from Ronni Ancona, who gave a ridiculously hysterical performance as Verity's half-cousin and Raymond West's former paramour, the aristocratic Amanda Dalrymple. Another over-the-top performance came from Emily Woof, who portrayed Rowena Waddy, the possessive wife of war veteran and former RAF pilot, Martin Waddy. At the other extreme, Amanda Burton gave a disturbingly minimalist performance as Sister Clotilde, one of the two nuns who knew Verity. Perhaps I had been kind by describing Burton's performance as "minimalist". Frankly, she struck me as silent and wooden.

Thankfully, there were plenty of first-rate portrayals that made "NEMESIS" enjoyable. I was impressed by solid performances from Laura Michelle Kelly, who had to portray two characters - Verity Hunt and a young wife named Margaret Lumley; George Cole, who portrayed the former butler of Verity's illegitimate father; Ruth Wilson, who gave a charming performance as the tour's guide and potential paramour for Raymond; Lee Ingleby, who portrayed the main investigator and budding novelist, DC Colin Hards; and Anne Reid, who portrayed Sister Clotilde's older and pragmatic colleague, Sister Agnes. 

But there were at least four outstanding performances from the cast. One came from Will Mellor, whose portrayal of Martin Waddy, the war veteran with the damaged face, struck me as very intense and sympathetic. An equally intense performance came from the future "DOWNTON ABBEY" star, Dan Stevens. He did an outstanding job in portraying the many aspects of Michael Faber's complex personality. Richard E. Grant was a marvelous addition as Miss Marple's nephew and traveling companion, the witty Raymond West. I was amazed at how he managed to create some kind of screen chemistry with more than one cast member - especially Ruth Wilson, Lee Ingleby and Geraldine McEwan. Speaking of Ms. McEwan, she was superb as the quiet and always observant, Jane Marple. She also infused a great deal of wit and warmth into her portrayal of the elderly sleuth.

"NEMESIS" has some aspects of its production to admire. Production designer Michael Pickwoad, costumer designer Sheena Napier and cinematographer Larry Smith all did a great job in contributing to the movie's early 1950s setting and even the 1940 preclude. The movie could also boast some fine performances, especially from Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple. But many of the changes to Agatha Christie's original plot left me shaking my head in confusion. Honestly, it is not one of the better adaptations I have seen. The 1987 adaptation is better . . . but only slightly better.