Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Tony Tilse, Roadshow Films, M 101 Minutes.
The popular TV series ‘Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries’ has been made into a thrilling motion picture by its Australian TV director, Tony Tilse with Essie Davis (of ‘The Babadook’) reprising her role as the daring female detective, Phryne Fisher.
The story is set in 1929 Jerusalem where the feisty Fisher has gone to extraordinary lengths to arrange the escape from prison of the young girl Shirin Abbas (Izabella Yena in her first feature film).
The scene then switches to the lawns of the lavish estate of Lord and Lady Lofthouse – Aussies Daniel Lapaine (of ‘Gozo’) and Jacqueline McKenzie ( of ‘Palm Beach’) for a memorial service for the presumably perished Miss Fisher, only to see her re-emerge.
Following her return to the living, Fisher is reunited with long-time lover, Detective Jack Robinson (Nathan Page of TV’s ‘Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries’) and aunt Prudence (Miriam Margoyles) prior to being introduced to Sherin’s uncle Sheikh Abbas (Egyptian actor Kal Naga of ‘Tyrant’).
Fisher soon discovers that she must solve a decade-old mystery surrounding an ancient curse dating back to Alexander the Great; locate some priceless emeralds; and uncover the suspicious disappearance of Sherin’s forgotten tribe – on top of solving certain unforeseen murders.
With no time to spare and accompanied by Sherin, Jack and the younger Jonathon Lofthouse (Rupert Penry-Jones of TV’s ‘The Strain’), Fisher heads back to the desert in the Lofthouse propeller plane where she starts unravelling each of the mysteries.
Apart from accounting for the disappearance of Sherin’s tribe, Fisher must stop the release of the ancient curse in Alexander’s crypt.
Tilse should be applauded for transforming Miss Fisher’s latest murder mystery adventure into a major feature film, adopting an engaging storyline filled with many entertaining scenes and some spectacular settings that were filmed in Melbourne and Morocco.
Of course, one cannot overlook the delightful performance of Davis as Miss Fisher or the addition of a mostly Aussie cast, including the legendary John Waters and John Stanton – whose portrayal of Malcolm Fraser in ‘The Dismissal’ was simply superb
Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars
