P.D. James - Death in Holy Orders

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Not exactly a haven of sweetness and light, 2008-05-24
This BBC adaptation of P. D. James' "Death in Holy Orders" introduces a new Adam Dalgliesh in the form of actor Martin Shaw. In the role immediately attributable to actor Roy Marsden of the 1980s and 1990s adaptations, Shaw brings a new dimension to Scotland Yard's Commander Dalgliesh, but still preserves the traits long-time James readers love. Shaw is more introspective, it seems, but not as aloof as how Marsden portrayed the character. Despite being a fan of the Marsden versions, I'm beginning to get used to this new face and beginning to appreciate as well Shaw's fine acting talent. As with most BBC adaptations, the production values and acting are first-rate. br / br /This James mystery is a complicated one, teeming with characters and red herrings that could frustrate or delight, depending on the mystery buff's preferences. As in "The Murder Room," which came after this, "Death in Holy Orders" introduces us to a plethora of characters in rapid fire order, 17 to be precise, in just the first half! The story, too, moves at a quick pace and I think it's important to view this DVD without any distractions. It will take every bit of the viewer's attention to keep up with the surge of characters and events, not to mention trying to solve the mystery (as any good armchair detective would instinctively do). br / br /The mystery is set in a theological college, St. Anselm's, in the East Anglian coast. A young student dies in a sandfall that buries him alive. His adoptive father is not convinced of the coroner's verdict of accidental death and, using his influence, he persuades New Scotland Yard to further investigate. Commander Adam Dalgliesh goes to the college, himself doubtful his conclusion would be any different than that of the coroner's. Soon after, however, dead bodies pile up in the small college and it will take every bit of his and his team's investigative prowess to hone in on the killer. There's no shortage of suspects and motives--for a theological school St. Anselm's is, ironically, a hotbed of much hatred and malevolence. br / br /It's a difficult mystery to solve, but that's part of the fun of watching mysteries. Best to just dive in and give the brain cells a workout. Be warned, though, that the story does get rather unwieldy with so many characters (close to 30, I believe), several subplots and false clues. (There's a particularly interesting subplot concerning a religious artifact--a papyrus, purported to have been written by Pontius Pilate, that disproves Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead.) I was a bit disappointed, though, with the ending. I wasn't convinced the killer's motives were compelling and curiously enough, it felt rushed after having taken so much time delving into the characters and their actions. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable 3-hour escape. br / br /(I've added in the comments section a list of characters and brief notes that may help, I hope, in at least getting a firm grip on who's who. For those who'd rather jump into the story cold, kindly just skip it.)

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Martin Shaw is a great fit as Dalgliesh!, 2008-03-17
Roy Marsden's Dalgliesh was very solid and quite good. However Martin Shaw brings the character to life in a very different, and dare I say it, better interpretation. I would order more of this series with Shaw as the protagonist. Hopefully more will be filmed and put on dvd.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

death in holy orders, 2007-09-16
The dvd was exactly what I wanted and expected. The price was reasonable to me and the shipping charges were also reasonable. The delivery was in a reasonable time. The movie was nothing new as I had seen the movie before and I am a big fan of Jesse Spencer who is in the movie but is not listed on its credits. I like this movie because I like many English films. I am a big fan of Agatha Christie books made into movies as well as P. D. James.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

very good James, 2007-09-13
Frankly, I never cared much for Roy Marsden's Dalgliesh. Martin Shaw seems to better capture Dalgliesh as I constructed him from James' stories. His soulful distracted manner conceals a keen mind and he does often seem like a poet trapped in the wrong profession. This story is a good one that seems to wrap you up in the mood of the place and take you away to that isolated foggy coast for a while.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Only one Adam Dalgliesh, 2007-07-20
If you seen all of the P.D. James series, there's only one Adam Dalgliesh and that's Roy Marsden. I couldn't get used to Martin Shaw in the role. In addition it was a pretty complex story, but then all of PD James' stories are pretty complex with the guilty party barely noticed. I got to the point, where I could usually figure out the guilty party from the very first few scenes. It was always the one you least suspected, and s/he generally came on at the beginning of the story. br / br /I generally enjoy all of the TV James mysteries except the fast spoken language is very hard for an American to catch on to, especially those with a dialect. Cockney, etc. Unfortunately there is no option for sub-titles. That sort of thing doesn't bother a lot of people, but it does bother me.