Je ne suis pas coupable (Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie)

Je ne suis pas coupable (I am not Guilty) is the 6th episode of season 1 of the French TV series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie. It was produced by Escazal Films and France Télévisions, directed by Eric Woreth and first aired on France 2 on 15 September 2010. It is an adaptation of the novel Sad Cypress.

Synopsis
Larosière gets an anonymous letter warning of an impending murder. Lampion goes undercover dressed as a woman to infiltrate a retreat gathering of suffragette women but despite this precaution, two murders take place. All the signs point to a wealthy heiress but not everyone agrees.

Comparison with the original story
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) The setting is changed to Lille in the north of France. The main premise of how the killer plotted to obtain a fortune is retained but the back stories of the main characters are changed, and the mechanics of how the murders are committed, how guilt is cast on the wrong person and how the truth is eventually discovered are all different.

Like in the original and like in the Suchet adaptation, this adaptation begins with Claire (the Elinor Carlisle parallel) being put on trial (and in this case, found guilty). How this came about is then shown in flashback. Towards the end of the episode, events flash forward again with Larosiere and Lampion in a race against time to clear Claire before her execution.

Characters
In this adaptation, Claire is not the niece but the estranged daughter of Elizabeth Laroche Viseul (the Laura Welman parallel). Clemence, the Mary Gerrard parallel is the daughter of the gardener in a close parallel to the original. Nurse Thuleau also has a backstory in close parallel to the original. Louis Servais is the parallel of Peter Lord but here he is not a doctor but is the secretary or personal assistant to Madame Viseul.

There is also an additional character with no parallel, Jeanne Weiss, one of Madame Viseul's house guests, who is also a plausible suspect in the killing of the old lady because she owed her a lot of money. This serves as misdirection for a short time in the middle of the plot.

Plot elements

 * Morphine - this is a major plot element in the original as both murders were committed with it. Here Thuleau repports that morphine from her nurse's bag is missing. However it is not explicitly stated how this tied in with the killings. Madame Viseul is drugged before being suffocated. Louis and Larosiere who took turns watching her were also drugged into a deep sleep. It is not clear if morphine was used. A scene shows the killer dropping red liquid into the coffee pot but morphine is not red. Clemence is not killed with morphine either.
 * Sandwiches and tea - Clemence is not killed by morphine in her food. Here she is stabbed with a pair of scissors.
 * Apomorphine and the rose - this plot element is absent. There is no parallel of it because Clemence is stabbed. The truth is discovered in a different manner and not by examining the apomorphine label carefully.
 * Letters about Mary Gerrard - in the original this is a major plot element hinting at the relationship between Laura Welman adn Mary Gerrard. This is totally absent. However the information is provided in a different way.
 * The old lady had kept a diary describing her having a pregnancy from one "M", someone she could not marry. She gave this journal to Claire and asked her to look after Clemence. Claire read these pages and tore them out.
 * The gardener also knew the secret. In the original, the gardener did say before he died that Mary is not his daughter. In this case Fernand knew the secret and told this directly to the police.
 * The aunt knew that her sister had adopted Clemence because the adoptive mother had written to her.

Cast

 * Antoine Duléry as Jean Larosière
 * Marius Colucci as Émile Lampion
 * Frédérique Tirmont as Élisabeth Laroche-Viseul
 * Léna Breban as Claire Laroche-Viseul
 * Guilaine Londez as Melle Thuleau
 * Yannick Choirat as Louis Servais
 * Noémie De Lattre as Jeanne Weiss
 * Lou de Laâge as Clémence Mouson
 * Lannick Gautry as Mathieu Vidal
 * Philippe Soutan as Fernand
 * Serge Dubois as Ménard
 * Charles-Antoine Decroix as Notaire
 * Thierry Bertein as Médecin
 * Nicolas Jean-Debaene as Domestique
 * Maxence Vandevelde as Reporter
 * Emmanuel Rausenberger as Policier Dutrieux