In December 1926, the queen of crime fiction, Agatha Christie, vanished for almost two weeks, provoking a massive manhunt and a frenzy of press activity (speculating that she had perhaps been murdered or committed suicide). To this day, the full truth of her peculiar disappearance remains a mystery. In this 1979 film from director Michael Apted – working from a script by Kathleen Tynan and Arthur Hopcraft – a possible solution to the mystery is offered.
The shy and insecure Agatha Christie (Vanessa Redgrave) is devastated when her husband Archibald (Timothy Dalton) declares that he no longer loves her and wants a divorce so that he can be free to marry his lover, secretary Nancy Neele (Celia Gregory). Initially reluctant to grant his wish, Agatha goes into an emotional meltdown despite this, Archibald leaves her behind at the house and heads off to socialise elsewhere. Later, Agatha disappears suddenly following a car accident. The police and locals gather in huge numbers to search the surrounding countryside for clues, bewildered as to why she should vanish so completely in the wake of the crash. Has she wandered into the nearby marsh, dazed and confused, and drowned? Has she taken her own life? Has her husband murdered her and used the accident as a smokescreen to conceal his crime? In truth, Agatha has fled to a health spa in Harrogate where she has signed in under a false name, 'becoming' one Teresa Neele, a distant South African relative of her husband's illicit lover Nancy. Here she spends her days scribbling ideas in a small notebook – but what exactly is she planning? A new book? A suicide? Perhaps a revenge-murder? Besotted American journalist Wally Stanton (Dustin Hoffman) is determined to find Agatha. He tracks her down to the spa in Harrogate and, under a false name, woos her and finds himself falling in love. Can he get to the bottom of her tangled scheme and fragile psychological state before it's too late?
Agatha is a good-looking film (courtesy, in no small part, of legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro). The 1920s period detail is immaculately captured in the impressive sets, styles and costumes. The mystery at the heart of the story is nicely handled overall, with the truth of Agatha's plan cleverly concealed almost all the way to the climax. At various stages it looks like she might be plotting to kill Nancy out of anger, to take her own life out of depression, or maybe even to humiliate her husband out of revenge. The dynamics of Agatha's state of mind and her intentions generate sufficient intrigue to keep viewer's guessing throughout. Where the film falls down somewhat is in the relationship between Agatha and the American journalist Wally Stanton. Redgrave and Hoffman are perfectly fine in the roles but it's what draws them together, what makes them click as a couple, that never comes across as sufficiently developed or believable. The characters are not fleshed out fully enough to make the audience care, nor feel totally convinced, about their predicament. Nevertheless, this mysterious and intriguing real-life event provides a pretty good premise for a film. Yes, it has its flaws, but Agatha remains an interesting and reasonably well-made film, certainly worth 100 minutes of anybody's time.
The shy and insecure Agatha Christie (Vanessa Redgrave) is devastated when her husband Archibald (Timothy Dalton) declares that he no longer loves her and wants a divorce so that he can be free to marry his lover, secretary Nancy Neele (Celia Gregory). Initially reluctant to grant his wish, Agatha goes into an emotional meltdown despite this, Archibald leaves her behind at the house and heads off to socialise elsewhere. Later, Agatha disappears suddenly following a car accident. The police and locals gather in huge numbers to search the surrounding countryside for clues, bewildered as to why she should vanish so completely in the wake of the crash. Has she wandered into the nearby marsh, dazed and confused, and drowned? Has she taken her own life? Has her husband murdered her and used the accident as a smokescreen to conceal his crime? In truth, Agatha has fled to a health spa in Harrogate where she has signed in under a false name, 'becoming' one Teresa Neele, a distant South African relative of her husband's illicit lover Nancy. Here she spends her days scribbling ideas in a small notebook – but what exactly is she planning? A new book? A suicide? Perhaps a revenge-murder? Besotted American journalist Wally Stanton (Dustin Hoffman) is determined to find Agatha. He tracks her down to the spa in Harrogate and, under a false name, woos her and finds himself falling in love. Can he get to the bottom of her tangled scheme and fragile psychological state before it's too late?
Agatha is a good-looking film (courtesy, in no small part, of legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro). The 1920s period detail is immaculately captured in the impressive sets, styles and costumes. The mystery at the heart of the story is nicely handled overall, with the truth of Agatha's plan cleverly concealed almost all the way to the climax. At various stages it looks like she might be plotting to kill Nancy out of anger, to take her own life out of depression, or maybe even to humiliate her husband out of revenge. The dynamics of Agatha's state of mind and her intentions generate sufficient intrigue to keep viewer's guessing throughout. Where the film falls down somewhat is in the relationship between Agatha and the American journalist Wally Stanton. Redgrave and Hoffman are perfectly fine in the roles but it's what draws them together, what makes them click as a couple, that never comes across as sufficiently developed or believable. The characters are not fleshed out fully enough to make the audience care, nor feel totally convinced, about their predicament. Nevertheless, this mysterious and intriguing real-life event provides a pretty good premise for a film. Yes, it has its flaws, but Agatha remains an interesting and reasonably well-made film, certainly worth 100 minutes of anybody's time.