Reviews

One of those yearnings for simpler, happier times led me to reflect on life in the nineties and seeing this a few times lately on ITV3 only helped to foster sentimental memories of a less complex age.

It may only be lightweight, but that's its beauty and delight. Richard Griffiths is excellent and was made for his role as the wise, phlegmatic and unconventional inspector. His portly frame hardly lends itself to much frenetic activity, but his facial expressions are a joy and all you need.

A good mix of stories, not always featuring murder, and the slice of restaurant life is a warm counter to the police activity. Plenty of understated humour from a cast of colourful characters.

In 1995 I thought that the century was ending at a pretty fast and bewildering pace, with technology and media beginning to impose itself in almost every walk of life. But watching "Pie" and remembering it all as if it were only yesterday makes me think that maybe life wasn't so fast after all. Fifteen years on and what I find so curious now is that it was made just before the world went nuts with mobile phones and The Internet. It's a show that has dated well in terms of story, but to never see anybody use a mobile phone and scant mention of computers seems strange and rather sweet.

All in all, a really good example of BBC light drama at its best, when the Corporation considered subtlety and intelligence as important as glamour and ratings.

Opinion of this film is difficult to gauge without comparison to the original "Nikita", and may be influenced by which one is seen first. If I'd watched this first I may have been more impressed but, as things went, I saw Luc Besson's French version first and it blew me away. Thus, for me, the Bridget Fonda remake is nothing more than a sterile copy, lacking all the finesse of the 1990 classic.

Yet I like to think my view of "Point Of No Return" is based objectively on its own cinematic merits and I agree with the general critical consensus: It's really not very good. The original, on the other hand, is outstanding. Camera-work, editing and soundtrack in particular.

Given the dark nature of the tale being told, I was particularly struck by the subtle and paradoxical humour in La Femme Nikita; perhaps this was Luc Bessons way of acknowledging the implausibility of the plot. There was no such dark comedy in John Badham's version, making it simply depressing and one-dimensional.

A fine actress Fonda may be, but Anne Parillaud's original and beguiling rendition of the elfin-like Nikita was of far greater depth. Her portrayal of petulance, vulnerability, stubbornness, terror, anger, determination and intelligence are mesmerising. For example, when the wretched anti-heroine is shot in the leg by the sadistic Bob, Fonda's grunts are feeble compared to the poignant shrieks of agony from the French actress.

For sure, the central character of the reluctant female assassin is not one of virtue, and we should not sympathise. Yet she is alone, scared and just trying to survive. Parillaud lends a tangible humanity to this role which is not replicated sufficiently by the mechanical Fonda.