The real revelation though is Lindsay Duncan as Marina, she is brilliant and by far and large the best Marina Gregg I know of. I also loved Caroline Quentin here, her character is tiresome but Quentin is great, plus this is the best developed Heather Badcock I've seen. Hugh Bonneville at the moment seems to be one of the busiest men on television, and he is interesting, and Nigel Harmon is a nice addition. As always, the cast are impeccable, Julia McKenzie is terrific while Joanna Lumley seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself. The music is lovely, some of it is beautiful(the final scene) while some of it is intense and haunting(the scene on the film set about half way through). The production values are superb, I loved everything about how the adaptation looked, from the way it was shot to the house itself. The pacing is bright and breezy, while the final scene is quite poignant. The adaptation also succeeds on its own terms. The script does do justice to the book, there are the red herrings and the charming and witty dialogue that makes her work furthermore engrossing. While there are some changes, the backbone is still intact, in fact in comparison this is one of the more faithful Marple adaptations. Also, it felt like Agatha Christie, the tone was tense when it needed to be, the memorable characters were there and just as interesting and her style was there. That said, the adaptation succeeds as an adaptation. In fact it is almost perfect, though I think the second murder could have been more drawn out than it was and the story of the photographer could have done with more development. The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side is one of the better entries of the series, and I also think it is the best adaptation of the book. But part of me was worried, I was hoping it wouldn't be another Sittaford Mystery or At Bertram's Hotel, in short an adaptation that not only was a complete disrespect in detail and spirit to the Queen of Crime but also on its own terms. Part of me was looking forward to it, seeing as how superb The Blue Geranium was, something that felt like Agatha Christie and had a great tone to it that was missing I think. When I heard about this version, I was curious in both a good and bad way. Likewise with the Joan Hickson adaptation, and the Angela Lansbury film was flawed but enjoyable. The book is not Agatha Christie's best, but it was very good and interesting.
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