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Evil Under the Sun (1982)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 1/21

EvilSun
1/21: Marred by bad start, Evil Under the Sun makes a good recovery and finishes well.

The first thirty minutes is awful because there's too much going on at once: the introduction of numerous characters, the poor dialogue, and the outrageous-looking clothes that are full of either glitter or polka dots.

Then, the pace slows down, and everybody acts more normal to let the murder mystery take over. That's when Evil Under the Sun is back to its old self as a true Agatha Christie picture. The cinematography of Spain's Balearic Islands including Majorca (which is also called Mallorca) is amazing.

It may have an all-star treatment, but the cast is of lower quality compared to the first two. I have to say it's annoying to see four returning thespians (Colin Blakely, Denis Quilley, Jane Birkin, and Maggie Smith) play different characters, giving me a hard time to get used to the changes. In terms of Oscars, this one has four wins among fifteen nominations, mostly from the two same people again.

After the dust settles down, it's more fun to watch the show. The mystery is hard to solve, so I never did figure it out. When Hercule Poirot explained how the murder happened, it's ingenious. So, kudos to Anthony Shaffer again for penning a clear screenplay.

Dizzyingly, there are many suspects, and all have the motive to do it. I can't say I feel bad for Arlena who was such a bitch. For a long time, I was expecting her to be killed. At least, Arlena has a racist sense of humor: in response to "It's not right, and it's not fair," she nonchalantly said, "Sounds like a black man's left leg."

As for the cast, everybody is fine. It's the clothes that are distracting. Oddly, they were designed by Anthony Powell who won the Best Costume Design Oscar for Death on the Nile. Initially, Peter Ustinov had me worried because his demeanor changed during the first half-hour. Then, he was back to his usual self. That's when the movie finally worked out. Peter Ustinov is funny during one scene that's related to swimming; he actually designed his own bathing suit.

All in all, now I know all of the characters' names and what's going on, so perhaps Evil Under the Sun will be better the next time I see it.