Agatha Christie’s The Witness for The Prosecution has recently aired on Pay TV and has just been released on DVD in Australia.
Sarah Phelps is a screenwriter known for Great Expectations, The Casual Vacancy, And Then There Were None and now she can add Agatha Christie’s The Witness for The Prosecution to that list.
The cast includes Toby Jones of Detectorists and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Andrea Riseborough of Bloodline and National Treasure, David Haig of the Thick of it and Mo, Billy Howle of The Sense of an Ending and Cider with Rosie, Monica Dolan of Appropriate Adult and The Casual Vacancy and Kim Cattrall of Sex and the City and Sensitive Skin.
It is London in the 1920s and the glamorous heiress Emily French, played by Kim Cattrall, is found brutally murdered in her gorgeous home. Leonard Vole, played by Billy Howle, is accused of the crime and it seems like an open and shut case. John Mayhew, played by Toby Jones, is the penniless solicitor hoping Leonard’s wife will provide him an alibi. Unfortunately the enigmatic chorus girl Romaine, played by Andrea Riseborough, is not a reliable witness.
As Mayhew starts to connect with Leonard, his need to prove the young man’s innocence becomes more than a professional obligation. Betrayed by his wife and with the odds stacked against him, all seems lost for Leonard until a piece of evidence surfaces that could change everything.
Check out the trailer here:
Thanks to Acorn Media we were able to get a copy of the DVD to five of our Beauty and Lace Club members to review. We look forward to hearing what they think in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
I am a fan of murder mysteries so this was very enjoyable for me to watch. From the very first few minutes I was glued! The 120-minute storyline in this video took some big curly twists and turns that’s for sure. Completely unpredictable, it really did keep me guessing who the most sinister character could be – and I won’t give away any clues or spoilers!
I actually ended up watching this twice and found I could appreciate bits and pieces even better on the second round!
I loved that Kim Cattrall was an actress in this video and I loved her posh cat too. The other actors played their parts very well and though I’m not familiar with them, they suited their roles and did a great job.
After watching this I would be fully inclined to watch more in this type of ‘shocking thriller’ Agatha Christie movies on DVD. I will keep a look out for them in the shops!
I loved that I could click the pause button until I could watch the rest later – and I couldn’t wait to get back to it – it was exciting and gripping. I found my hubby and two older daughters were engrossed in the tale as well.
I don’t enjoy swearing in movies and there was only once that this happened even though it warns about ‘coarse language’ on the cover. The swear word really suited a particular character at the particular moment in the video and it was kind of a relief at the moment because it revealed her inner character in a very public moment and I was actually relieved she lost control of her fake facade and showed the world her inner side, blowing her cover well! Though the video warns of other things like ‘mature themes’ ‘violence’ and ‘sex scenes’ they were minimal and short-lived and actually worked in with the character when it was shown. So it wasn’t very bad at all in this way – but I suppose they do have to warn all audiences by placing it on the cover and I’m glad they do because I was prepared for it but also happily surprised that it was extremely minimal and ‘appropriate’ for the situation/character.
Agatha Christie’s – Witness for the Prosecution
I really enjoyed this!!
This is a 1920’s- set murder mystery based on Agatha Christie’s short story of the same name.
At the start we meet Leonard Vole running for his life in the devastated landscape of battle-torn World War 1 in France diving into a bunker waiting for death and looking at the face of Romaine who is also in the same bunker accepting that death is upon her.
They end up in London living together and just scraping by. Then enters on the scene socialite Emily French a wealthy widow living in a Holland Park Mansion with a jealous housekeeper. Of course in true Agatha Christie
form there is a murder.
This is a mesmerizing mystery which becomes much more than a whodunit thanks to it’s mysterious combination of individual psychology, social backgrounds and human relationships.
It is a story of jealousy and resentment but also of many loves – Of Emily’s love for Leonard, of Mayhem’s unrequited
love for his wife, Janet McIntyre’s love for Emily and of course the passion between Leonard and Romaine which results in a surprisingly dark compelling and ingenious twisty murder mystery.
One not to missed!!!
Was a gripping drama/ murder mystery set amidst the lavish elegant elegant 1920’s London. The story is told with an intensity of emotion tightly packed into every scene making it an engrossing whodunit played by a truly fantastic cast of actors. Amid all the elegant surroundings the menace and controlled complexity of emotions between Leonard and Romaine is fascinating. Kim Cattrall as well doesn’t disappoint with a fabulous performance.
The varying social and economic backgrounds of the housekeeper and the young couple against the vastly richer Kim Cattrall (and her truly chilling pet cat!) is beautifully shown and the complex reactions based on these social layers.
Really enjoyed watching it was engrossing and fun and the sets were a real visual delight!
First of all, let me thank Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to review Witness for the Witness for the Prosecution. On the face of it I may never had chosen to watch this movie but am so glad I did. I am an avid movie watcher and would have to say that this movie was most enjoyable, and very memorable.
As expected of an Agatha Christie thriller, there are plenty of surprises. But not just surprises… there are a gamut of emotions . Despite and deepest love; loyalty and betrayal; deception and doubt; intrigue and dread.
It has so many twists that i found myself toward the end saying to myself “Oh no, please let that not be the case.”
I will not outline the plot but just say that if you want to be well entertained, do yourself a favour and watch Witness for the Prosecution.