agatha

Director: michael apted

Actor: dustin hoffman,vanessa redgrave,timothy dalton,helen morse

Data Published: Fri Feb 09 1979

Genres: Drama,Mystery,Thriller

Key Words: 1920s,agatha christie character,begins with text,suicide note,dragging a pond

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078736/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_(film)

Description: Agatha is a movie starring Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, and Timothy Dalton. December 1926, Agatha Christie's husband asks for a divorce. She leaves her car and goes missing 11 days. She books into a hotel as Mrs. Neele....

Plot: The film opens as Agatha Christie (Redgrave) gets a silver cup engraved for her husband Archie, who receives the gift with utter disdain. The couple walks to a publicity event for Agatha’s new novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. They are tailed into the venue by American reporter Wally Stanton (Hoffman). The next morning, Archie demands a divorce, saying he loves his secretary Nancy Neele (Gregory). That night, Agatha drives off from the house and gets into an accident. The next morning, the police find her wrecked car. The press flock to the accident scene and learn that Christie left a letter for her secretary, prompting speculation of suicide. Agatha arrives by train in Harrogate and takes a cab to the Old Swan Hotel, where she books a room for a fortnight. She registers as Theresa Neele from Cape Town. In the lounge, another guest, Evelyn Crawley (Morse) notices Agatha’s ripped stockings and muddy shoes. Agatha makes a note later to “use” Crawley. The next day, Agatha begins receiving treatments at the Royal Baths. Meanwhile, the newspapers are publishing front-page stories about Agatha’s disappearance. The police wonder why Archie is not helping with the search for his wife, but he has gone to Harrogate with Nancy for her slimming treatments. Meanwhile, Stanton interviews Agatha’s secretary. She reveals that Agatha left her a coded message in The Times advertisements.. The ad leads Stanton to the hotel in Harrogate. He makes a big show of checking in while Agatha is on the phone at the front desk. In the billiards parlor, Stanton helps Agatha make a winning triple bank shot. He introduces himself as Curtis Shacks Jr., an American seeking treatment for constipation. They spend the evening together, and he makes a pass at her, which she declines. In his room, he types up notes about her behavior. Agatha researches the various spa treatments such as the galvanic bath and the Bergonic chair. She asks the attendants to explain how they avoid making a fatal mistake with the equipment. Stanton follows Agatha to a local electronics shop and begins to work out what she is up to. Agatha peruses a manual for the Bergonic chair and begins to experiment with the rheostat. She also poses as a staff member on the phone and reschedules Nancy’s appointment for an earlier time. Agatha is shown rigging the controls for the Bergonic chair as Nancy undresses for her appointment. When Nancy enters the treatment room, Agatha calls out from hiding to say that the nurse is not there. She asks Nancy to turn on the electricity. Having deduced Agatha’s plan, Stanton is urgently searching for the room where Nancy’s appointment is. Nancy flips the switch, causing a massive spark. Stanton follows the sound of Nancy’s scream to find her all right, but that behind a curtain, Agatha is sitting in the Bergonic chair. Her suicide attempt is nearly successful, but Stanton rescues her with CPR. The Christies claim that Agatha suffered from amnesia from the accident and remembers nothing. Agatha visits Stanton as he packs in his hotel room. He hands her a copy of the story he wrote, confessing that he cannot file it. Agatha stoops to help him pack, and Stanton confesses his love for her. She explains that she will divorce Archie, hinting at a possible future with Stanton. He watches the Christies depart at the train station. The closing credits reveal that the couple divorced two years later, and that Archie married Nancy.