Pension Vanilos
- Episode aired Aug 28, 2015
- 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
207
YOUR RATING
Marlène asks for Laurence's help on a case involving her sister Solange, who runs a boarding house where a young woman dropped dead of poisoning; adapted from "Hickory Dickory Dock".Marlène asks for Laurence's help on a case involving her sister Solange, who runs a boarding house where a young woman dropped dead of poisoning; adapted from "Hickory Dickory Dock".Marlène asks for Laurence's help on a case involving her sister Solange, who runs a boarding house where a young woman dropped dead of poisoning; adapted from "Hickory Dickory Dock".
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaElodie Frenck plays a dual role in this episode: Her usual dumb blonde secretary Marlène (a stereotyped Marilyn Monroe character) and the exact opposite, her sister Solange, an old virgin who runs a boarding house.
- ConnectionsVersion of Poirot: Hickory Dickory Dock (1995)
Featured review
Hickory Dickory Dock
With Agatha Christie being one of my favourite authors for quite a long time now, being someone who likes foreign language detective/mystery series/dramas and as someone who's studied and sings in French and loves the language, 'Les Petits Meurtres D'Agatha Christie', as said frequently, appealed to me straightaway. It is an uneven series but it is interesting and entertaining mostly and it was nice to see something different without disgracing the source material.
Very loosely adapted (with not much resemblance actually) from 'Hickory Dickory Dock', not one of my favourite Christies but any Christie is worth reading at least once, "Pension Vanilos" for me was one of the best episodes of 'Les Petits Meurtres D'Agatha Christie' and a contender for the best up to this point. Also consider it, along with "Cartes Sur Table" (the superior adaptation of 'Cards on the Table'), one of the best Laurence and Avril episodes. Having been mixed on their previous episodes and really missing Larosiere and Lampion. If, if necessary, comparing the far more faithful (with it being far less loose) David Suchet adaptation, actually consider this better and much tighter paced with far less padding.
Like with "Cartes Sur Table", there is very little to criticise with "Pension Vanilos". Would have liked to have seen more of Laurence and Avril together but that is a small personal preference.
Am so glad though that "Cartes Sur Table" was not a fluke with the improved character writing for Laurence and the chemistry between him and Avril being far more harmonious when they are together. In most of their previous episodes, with a couple of exceptions, it was like two flavours of a meal clashing with each other which was not the case here. They are great individually, have never had a problem with Alice and have always considered her a breath of fresh air. She still is, Blandine Bellavoir's charming and spirited acting has a lot to do with it, and in a way that does not distract from the, by 'Les Petits Meurtres D'Agatha Christie' standards, dark story. Really appreciated that Laurence looks more relaxed and less annoying, and Samuel Labarthe does well in even bringing more dimension to the character. "Pension Vanilos" is one of the best paced episodes too, it gets to the point quicker than most episodes of the series and doesn't lose momentum, padding is very little to none and everything felt important.
"Pension Vanilos" boasts one of the more distinguished supporting casts, all giving never less than solid performances with all standing out in some way. What sets the episode apart on top of the other improvements is that it has one of the series' standout supporting/guest turns, a strong contender for the best with it being a challenging dual role. Elodie Frenck is a revelation in both roles (heartfelt and also chillingly cold), especially as Solange. The mystery is one of the series' darkest, so the light-hearted humorous elements are not as prominent in a good way while not making the episode too overly-serious, and there are a lot of suspenseful moments and nice turns. The denouement didn't floor me but it was still well executed and was not obvious in reveal or too obvious too early.
The production values are handsome and makes one nostalgic for the period with it being so lovingly recreated, while also appropriately darker than usual to complement the darker tone of the story. The beautiful photography complements more than nicely. The music matches the light-hearted and at times very atmospheric tone very well. The script is class personified and the story avoids being over-complicated and is far from safe or tame like some of the previous Laurence and Avril episodes were.
In conclusion, great. 9/10
Very loosely adapted (with not much resemblance actually) from 'Hickory Dickory Dock', not one of my favourite Christies but any Christie is worth reading at least once, "Pension Vanilos" for me was one of the best episodes of 'Les Petits Meurtres D'Agatha Christie' and a contender for the best up to this point. Also consider it, along with "Cartes Sur Table" (the superior adaptation of 'Cards on the Table'), one of the best Laurence and Avril episodes. Having been mixed on their previous episodes and really missing Larosiere and Lampion. If, if necessary, comparing the far more faithful (with it being far less loose) David Suchet adaptation, actually consider this better and much tighter paced with far less padding.
Like with "Cartes Sur Table", there is very little to criticise with "Pension Vanilos". Would have liked to have seen more of Laurence and Avril together but that is a small personal preference.
Am so glad though that "Cartes Sur Table" was not a fluke with the improved character writing for Laurence and the chemistry between him and Avril being far more harmonious when they are together. In most of their previous episodes, with a couple of exceptions, it was like two flavours of a meal clashing with each other which was not the case here. They are great individually, have never had a problem with Alice and have always considered her a breath of fresh air. She still is, Blandine Bellavoir's charming and spirited acting has a lot to do with it, and in a way that does not distract from the, by 'Les Petits Meurtres D'Agatha Christie' standards, dark story. Really appreciated that Laurence looks more relaxed and less annoying, and Samuel Labarthe does well in even bringing more dimension to the character. "Pension Vanilos" is one of the best paced episodes too, it gets to the point quicker than most episodes of the series and doesn't lose momentum, padding is very little to none and everything felt important.
"Pension Vanilos" boasts one of the more distinguished supporting casts, all giving never less than solid performances with all standing out in some way. What sets the episode apart on top of the other improvements is that it has one of the series' standout supporting/guest turns, a strong contender for the best with it being a challenging dual role. Elodie Frenck is a revelation in both roles (heartfelt and also chillingly cold), especially as Solange. The mystery is one of the series' darkest, so the light-hearted humorous elements are not as prominent in a good way while not making the episode too overly-serious, and there are a lot of suspenseful moments and nice turns. The denouement didn't floor me but it was still well executed and was not obvious in reveal or too obvious too early.
The production values are handsome and makes one nostalgic for the period with it being so lovingly recreated, while also appropriately darker than usual to complement the darker tone of the story. The beautiful photography complements more than nicely. The music matches the light-hearted and at times very atmospheric tone very well. The script is class personified and the story avoids being over-complicated and is far from safe or tame like some of the previous Laurence and Avril episodes were.
In conclusion, great. 9/10
helpful•53
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 10, 2019
Details
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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