1 of 2

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 3

feelings about the house, walking into a wall assuming a door should be there - she asks for a door to be put there only to find out that there was previously a door which had been boarded over in that exact spot. She wants her future nursery to have poppies and cornflower wallpaper not the dull paper that exists and when the workmen open an old cupboard in the room they find the exact wallpaper Gwenda was imagining for the room. To make it all worse, from the top of the stairs, Gwenda has flashbacks of a woman being strangled at the foot of the stairs. When she goes to the theatre with Hugh and Miss Marple (a trip meant to cheer her up) a scene in the play brings back the memory of the name Helen to her; and here starts her quest to find out what happened all those years ago. I found Myles to be quite charming and convincing in the role and had to look up where I'd seen her before - she played Madame de Pompadour in an episode of Doctor Who The Girl in the Fireplace. She has also appeared in various other TV films/serials such as Mansfield Park, Oliver Twist and Foyle's War and for anyone who saw the 2004 version of Thunderbirds - she played Lady Penelope! Myles as Gwenda is the main character in the film unlike other Miss Marple films where Miss Marple plays the lead role.

Miss Marple was played by Geraldine McEwan as I previously mentioned. Now, with Poirot, I really prefer to see David Suchet in the role but with the character of Miss Marple I don't mind seeing either Joan Hickson or McEwan take on the role. They each bring their own personality into the role somehow and are each enjoyable as the character in their own way. Hickson is more serious a Miss Marple whereas McEwan plays it with a twinkle in her eye which I find quite entertaining. Miss Marple's character does seem to be quite in the background in this film - I'm not entirely sure if it was deliberate because it was the last story her character appears in. Nonetheless she played the role well.

Aidan McArdle plays Hugh Hornbean, the rather bumbling but sweet young man tasked with looking after Gwenda in her fiance Charles' absence. There's a growing attraction between him and Gwenda from quite early on in the film which I couldn't fathom for the life of me. Here she is a newly engaged young woman seemingly falling for this very geeky chap who works for Charles. This wasn't really credible as part of the story. McArdle was credible enough in the role but as a character that isn't in the

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Movie reviews: Sleeping Murder?
We want to hear your view. Write now!