IN FOR A MURDER

Poland, 2021, 104 minutes, Colour.

Anna Smolowik.

Directed by Piotr Mularuk.

This is a Polish entertainment, rather slight, reminiscent of the many television series which dramatise local murder mysteries. In fact, early in this film, there is a reference to Agatha Christie as well is a reference to Hitchcock.

The setting, like many of those British series, is a small town where everybody seems to know each other. The focus of attention is on maker, wife and mother, who works as a vet. She has an obnoxious husband, a tennis coach, flirting with the rich, critical of children walking on the lawn! On a walk with the dog, she discovers a dead body which leads, of course, to a police investigation as well as, of course, her becoming something of an amateur sleuth. Not exactly miss Marple but in that vein.

Which means that there are quite a number of suspects, quite number of eccentrics who live in the town, the older rich man who is flighty young wife is being coached a tennis, a goldsmith who made initial chains which become important for evidence, a retired businessman who has set himself up as something of a psychic, and the friendly vet – as well as the policeman who lives next door but it was set up as a figure of fun, incompetent, following Magda’s leads.

So, most people when they want to relax, enjoy this kind of like to murder mystery, memories of case of 15 years earlier and disappearance and now a dead body, another mysterious initial chain, and a Revelation that a shake visiting the town to some applause is actually the psychic setting himself up.

We follow all the details with Magda, discover the infidelity of her husband, find the villains trapping her in a cage with a vicious bulldog – whom she charms.

She packs her husband back and send him off – which leaves her enjoying her freedom.

The kind of film which is usually part of the series.