Year: 2008
Directed by: Pascal Bonitzer
English version: The Grand Alibi
Based from the novel: Agatha Christie's The Hollow- "Le Vallon"
Set in the countryside, somewhere off Paris was the usual weekend get together
held by the Pages folks.
They all knew each other but not too well, as in every reunion, you get the odds and ends of each person, the awkward and aloof,
the others who may seem out of place, the meek but has deep angst inside him,
the bossy, the talker.
It looks anything but ordinary except for Dr. Collier, a womanizer with a disturbing past, suddenly murdered beside the pool on a quiet afternoon, uttering his final words Debra ( wife's name ), the main suspect as she was holding the smoking gun.
and so begins the mysterious thriller of whodunit.
It was what the french would say comme ci, comme ca, well plotted scenarios
and a great cast.
I watched this film not knowing it was an Agatha Christie inspired novel.
It was when the murder happened and the suspects started lining up that made me realized this seemed all too familiar, like reading it out from the book
and you never miss out on the author's attention to detail if you're a fan. ^-^
It would've been perfect except the famous Hercule Poirot detective wasn't in the picture, tsk, tsk and although, some of the characters and plots have been altered but the gist is still there and with a plausible ending.