MovieChat Forums > The Witness for the Prosecution (2017) Discussion > I loved it

I loved it

posted 8 years ago by lulahv-at-yahoo-com
3 replies | jump to latest

I've seen the Billy Wilder film, which I also love but for different reasons.
This was dark, grimy and claustrophobic, feeling the effects of the WW1, and the damaged caused to everyone.
It was smoggy and Toby Jones' character was battling through the claustrophobia of grief, loneliness and an oppressive serious illness (with out knowing it at the time).
He was the prefect patsy really, desperate to succeed, somewhere in his life.

I thought all the acting was first class, the writing was excellent, and I loved the sepia & smoggy cinematography.
It was very atmospheric, dark, and showed off Agatha's magic perfectly.

I don't understand the bad reviews, I can only think people were expecting more of a 'cosy crime' story.

[–] caviar1234 8 years ago

The Billy Wilder film was based on Agatha Christie's stage play while the BBC Mini-Series is based on the original short story. They are from different source materials so there is really no need to compare each other.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6349) a month ago

But were the two really all that different?

[–] mme3924-1 8 years ago

I liked it, too, and suspect that I will be haunted by it, for awhile.

It's quite tragic, with a tragic central figure in Mayhew, whose losses, at the end, are too great to bear.

Very different from the film, which has some light moments and comical figures in both Laughton and his caretaker, a role that seemed purposely created for his wife, Elsa Lanchester.