edwagreen Interesting fictional account of the mysterious disappearance of noted mystery writer Agatha Christie. Vanessa Redgrave portrays the gifted writer whose life becomes one of turmoil when her husband announces that he wants a divorce to wed another woman.Christie disappears to a hotel with an adjoining health spa where she plots to kill herself. Dustin Hoffman is the American writer who was to interview Christie on the day of her disappearance.Thanks to the maid, he traces her to the spa and professes love for her. They dance together as he tries to get her out of her depression.To me, height was a problem here. Hoffman is shorter than Redgrave and you felt that in their scenes together.

bkoganbing Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best. Maybe Agatha Christie back in 1926 just wanted to get a way for a bit and at the same time give her estranged husband a bit of a bad time. To this day we don't know what happened to the famed author for those dozen days in 1926 when she left her rather expensive ride abandoned and disappeared. Leaves a lot of room for speculation.Which is what Agatha is, pure speculation. During her disappearance where shortly before she learned that husband Timothy Dalton had been out stepping with his secretary, Vanessa Redgrave as Agatha had an appointment with American gossip columnist Dustin Hoffman who's a Walter Winchell type and so gauche as versus these very well mannered and upper class British.Hoffman turns an investigative reporter, something Winchell never was as he was always relying on press agent tips and proves better than the police as personified by Timothy West.But this is all whole cloth folks, Christie's heirs attempted to sue.It's a nice ensemble piece of work Agatha with both Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman giving most believable performances. Well, it could have happened that way.

billdedman-1 Go, instead, for the gorgeous theme music by Johnny Mandel (Emily, The Shadow of your Smile -theme from "The Sandpiper"-, A Time For Love,) which Paul Willians put words to after they titled it "Close Enough for Love." It has become a jazz standard and has been recorded by every worthwhile artist playing or singing jazz. It's one of Johnny Mandel's best efforts, and that's saying a LOT! Stan Getz has a very nice version (instumental, of course.) The lyrics are some of Paul Williams' best. Starts out, "You and I, an un-matched pair..." Not perfect, no, but "close enough, for love." Bittersweet words... I thought the music, alone was well worth the price of admission. I rented the movie as soon as it came out on VHS (this was 28 years ago(!), and made an audio cassette of the theme so I could learn to play it. Songs that good don't come along very often...

lucy-19 This is one of my favourite films, and not just because I am a fan of Dame Agatha's books. The actors are wonderful: Vanessa Redgrave as Agatha herself, Timothy Dalton as her rotter husband (Christie sowed clues about his ugly personality through her later books and plays), the journalist in his WWI greatcoat, the guests and billiard-players at the hotel, even the troupe of entertainers in the park. Dustin Hoffman is great, and his falling for Agatha is quite believable. I love it when he recites from the Spoon River Anthology when he meets her in a grim Victorian graveyard (great atmosphere and use of location). The evocation of period is spot on: all the right architecture, clothes, hats and manners. There's plenty of humour - eg when the journo is whisked away from his steak and chips, and Redgrave and Hoffman dance together. It's a complex story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. There have recently been some very lame programmes about the author on British television. Forget them, and watch this film.