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Mon petit doigt m'a dit...

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Mon petit doigt m'a dit... (My Little Finger Told Me) is a 2005 French comedy mystery film directed by Pascal Thomas and starring Catherine Frot, André Dussollier and Geneviève Bujold. It is based on the novel By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie.

Synopsis[]

Plot summary[]

(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)

Comparison with original novel[]

(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)

  • The setting is changed to Savoy, France around 2003 (mention of a heatwave) but otherwise the adaptation is remarkably faithful to the original story. Most of the main characters have parallels although the backstories of some of them are altered slightly.
  • The visit to the nursing home "Coteau ensoleillé" (Sunny Hillside) is much as described in the original, including the encounter with someone who swallows a thimble, Mrs Moody and her cocoa and finally Prudence's encounter with Rose Evangelista (Mrs Lancaster).
  • Like in the original, Belisaire has to attend a security conference, in this case of an organisation called "Securimer". Here he is more diligent and involved in preparing and delivering a paper than in the original. A fair number of screen credits go to the people at this conference.
  • Going to the nursing home to clear Aunt Ada's things after her death is also faithfully depicted. In this case, the desk of of Uncle William is replaced by the organ of Uncle Guilliame. There is, of course the painting of the house and the news that someone (Madame Tanaud) came to take Mrs Evangelista away.
  • Belisaire has to return to his conference. Prudence wants to go hunt for the house, believing that Mrs Evagelista may be in danger. In this case, she has greater motivation to do so because her daughter Marie-Christine, her husband Rudi and their two boys have "invaded" their house and Prudence wants to get away.
  • Unlike the original, Prudence's plan is to travel to every station in Savoy by train and while doing this, she actually spots the house. This house, unlike the original, is not by a canal with a humpback bridge. Its distinguishing feature is a low avenue of walnut trees leading to the front entrance. Prudence alights at the nearest station and a knowledgeable taxi-driver finds the place based on her description.
  • All the key events in the Perry house are faithfully depicted, including the witche's hat, the birds in the chimney and the doll.
  • At Le Châtelard (Sutton Chancellor), Prudence meets the parish priest and Mlle Blayes (Nellie Bligh). Mlle Blayes seems to take a lower profile here. It is the priest who takes Prudence to the Coupelays. Mlle Blayes does not seem to exhibit a lot of curiosity in Prudence. She does not invite Prudence to tea.
  • Like in the original, Mlle Coupelay (and her brother, in this adaptation) are Prudence's main source of information, helped in part by murals which Mr Coupelay has painted on the walls, all depicting notable townspeople, among them are Sévigné (Phillip Starke). There is also a painting in the same style as Aunt Ada's painting of the house. Mlle Coupelay tells her it is by Boscovan.
  • There is no visit to see house agents in Market Basing. Prudence goes to examine gravestones as she had promised the priest she would do, she finds the grave of one "Lili Merrick" and is knocked out. In this case, the attacker removes identifying documents so the hospital is unable to contact Belisaire. Prudence has lost her memory and only regains it later when she hears a painter sing a song which she used to sing with Belisaire.
  • Meanwhile, Belisaire goes through what Tommy did in the original but in a slightly different sequence. His grandchildren play a certain sequnce of notes on the organ and a secret compartment pops open, revealing Aunt Ada's note saying she believes there is a murderer at the nursing home.
  • The meeting with Dr Mauroy (Dr Murray) takes place on a cruise boat on Lake Bauge. In this adaptation, he is accompanied by Miss Aupic (Nurse O'Keefe) whom he appears to have a relationship with. What Mauloy tells Belisiare is similar to what Tommy hears from Murray.
  • There is no need to visit an art gallery here. A parking valet and old war comrade, Maurice, tells Belisaire his painting is by Boscovan. He tells Belisaire how to find his widow. In fact Maurice used to have an affair with her!
  • Over at Mme Boscovan's, Belisaire discovers that "The General" (Josiah Penn) is having a relationship with her (but this is incidental to the main plot). Mrs Boscovan tells Belisaire that the painting was drawn at Le Châtelard. However in this case, there is no clue of an additional boat added to the painting by someone else. Mme Boscovan makes a point that one should not try to change the fate of a house. It might exact revenge. This is slightly different from her point in the original that one should not put a house to a different use from what it was meant for. This is the only appearance of Mme Boscovan in this adaptation. There won't be a meeting at the vicarage where she gives further warnings about the house.
  • Belisaire visits the lawyer Anet at Lyons and gets the same unhelpful answers as Tommy in the original. Belisaire spots a police surveillance van and this leads him to meet up with and old colleague commissaire Richard (Ivor Smith). Like Smith, Richard is interested in Anet because he believes he is behind a diamond robbery.
  • Prudence regains her memory and is reunited with Belisaire. They discover the diamonds in the doll and take them to Richard. From here, events spin to a closure far more rapidly and with greater finality than in the original.
  • First, Richard's men dig up the Lili Merrick grave and find the rest of the loot from the robbery. Anet is taken in for questioning and, realising that he is in a spot, asks to go to the toilet and jumps through a window to his death. Prudence has been watching the interrogation and notes that Anet seems familiar (he looks like Sévigné--in this adaptation, they are twin brothers). Also, looking at police photos of the robbery gang, there is a wedding of the gang "moll" and she has a distinctive tattoo of a dagger on her shoulder. Prudence recognises that the wedding took place at the Perry house.
  • From here the show moves quickly to the finale. We next see Prudence and Belisaire at a village fair. Commissaire Richard comes to fair with his policemen and Belisaire goes to meet them. In the mean time, Prudence wanders off to the Perry House where she meets Rose Evagelista.
  • The confrontation between Prudence and Rose takes place much as in the original. Rose tries to serve her a milk drink and when this doesn't work, she attacks Prudence and here she actually overcomes her. She is about to stab her with a knife but then some flashbacks take place and then she relents. Sévigné turns up to rescue Prudence and discovers that Rose has drunk her own poisoned milk and is dead. He tells Prudence that Rose was his wife. She had gone insane and had been killing children so he moved her into various institutions and nursing homes with the help of Miss Blayes and Anet. Anet is his twin brother.
  • Richard and Belisaire turn up and take Sévigné and Mlle Blayes into custody.

Cast[]

Note: Imdb and wikipedia listings do not match all those in the show credits.

Sécurimer

  • Dominique Harispuru - civil servant
  • Joséphine le Gouvello - hostess
  • Daphné Desjeux - hostess
  • Aymar Duvivier - Italian admiral (Admiral Falconetti)
  • Daniel Leibovitz - Leibovitz
  • Bernard Bourbon - Bourbon
  • Claude Delon - Tocanier
  • Charles Filippini - Corsican delegate
  • Chuan Chuen Kwong - Vietnamese delegate

Others

  • Benjamin Dewaele - The taxi driver
  • Pierre Bottolier-Depois - One legged passenger on train
  • Béatrice Champanier - laywer's clerk
  • Yves Nadot - police officer
  • Benjamin Harispuru - police officer
  • Héloïse Wagner - nurse
  • Domique Pozzetto - intern
  • Marc Valéro - painter who sings
  • Georges Chappuis - gardener of the Beresfords
  • Elena Manso - Spanish nurse
  • Virgil Leclaire - receptionist at "Coteau Ensoleille"
  • Gregory Sovereign - Patrick
  • Thomas Sovereign - Pascal
  • Virgile Leclaire - boy on boat
  • Marine Dupoux - Marie-Christine as a child
  • Nicole Gueden (in IMDB but not in show credits, role unknown)
  • Pascal Tréguy - Head Animal Trainer (in IMDB but not in show credits)
  • Uncredited actress as Madame Charvet
  • Tito the monkey
  • Uncredited actor(?) as Alexandre

Mentioned

Filming locations[]

  • Château de Chatillon, Chindrieux - Prudence and Bélisaire's residence.[1][2]
  • Château des Avenières, Cruseilles - Coteau Ensoleillé retirement home (Sunny Ridge parallel)
  • Château de Carron, Francin - Canal House
  • Le Châtelard - the town. The actual name of the town is used. Parallel of Sutton Chancellor
    • On the way to the way to the house of Ms Coupelay, the parish priest takes Prudence along the D911, on Rue Amédée V, heading south, past the junction with Pl. de la Grenette where there is a fountain. Then further south along Pl. du Bourg Vieux (they are going the "wrong" way because this is towards the church not away).
    • The house of Ms Coupelay is the one next to the Refuge du Vieux Bourg B&B which is at 47 Pl. du Bourg Vieux, 73630 Le Chatelard.
    • Chemin du Revel - grassy path with stone walls. Prudence walks along this on the way to the church.[3]
  • Aix-les-Bains
    • Le Grand Port, Place Edouard Herriot - Belisaire boards the Hydra Aix for the meeting with Dr Mauroy and Miss Aupic.[4]
  • Lyons - Quartier Saint-Jean
    • Belisaire is seen crossing the Pont de la Feuillée (going the "wrong" way if he was heading for the cathedral)
    • He then parks at Place Saint-Jean in front of the Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste.
    • The surveillance van is also parked in the Place Saint-Jean, and possibly, the external of Anet's office also.
    • Later Belisaire and Prudence are seen crossing the Pont Alphonse Juin.
    • Supposedly commissaire Ricard is at the Police Academy (l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Police) so some of the scenes where Belisaire meets him (e.g. the stroll on the roof top) are probably filmed there but this can't be confirmed.

References[]

  1. ↑ Auvergne Rhone Alpes Cinema film: Mon petit doigt m'a dit...
  2. ↑ Chateau Chatillon
  3. ↑ This tripadvisor listing for Refuge du Vieux Bourg has a photo of the Chemin du Revel at almost the same spot as Prudence was on.
  4. ↑ See this website of Compagnie des Bateaux d'Aix-les-Bains
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