Nathaniel Parker, formerly the BBC's Inspector Lynley, is the lead in this adaptation of the Louise Penny novel "Still Life." Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the small Quebec town of Three Pines to investigate the murder of an elderly woman, Miss Jane Neal. The movie meanders through its roughly 90 minute length, letting the viewer appreciate a tightknit and attractive small town while throwing out a number of clues. The movie appears to have been intended as a setup for a series, as it devotes some screen time to building up the characters of Gamache and his investigative team. The mystery will turn on an item associated with the murder victim, which may reveal her killer, if anyone can only interpret it. Recommended as decent entertainment. This reviewer did not read the original novel and took the storyline based on its screen presentation.

Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 1) ,the book, was the first of Canadian author Louise Penny's mysteries set in the fictional Quebec town of "Three Pines." As the series has grown--there are now 10--so has Penny's talented writing and the depth of its many plots and continuing characters. I can't compare this DVD's story to the book it's based on because it's 10 years since I read the original, but I can say I enjoyed it a lot. Meantime, I've just finished book #10 in the series "The Long Way Home," and interestingly, the pair of characters at the heart of that one--Clara and Peter Morrow--also have prominent roles here.) As for the dear and hilarious old gal poet Ruth Zardo, the actress who plays her here gets the role just right, even though she has to do it without Ruth's duck. As for Chief Inspector Gamache, the handsome hunk Nathaniel Parker who plays him is good in the role, though not at all like the Gamache in my head who is older, shorter, wiser and not a hunk (but isn't that almost always the case with cops who jump from page to screen?).

The extras are well worth a watch on their own. Particularly the author interviews and insights. Here's hoping this first Gamache DVD won't be the last.

As another reviewer noted, some of the quirkiness (of people and place) and larger than life personalities have been muted significantly, but the acting is fine, and I give 5-stars for having a true-to-the story movie of one of these terrific books... Wish there were more!

Loved this adaptation of the Louise Penny book. It was a bit of an adjustment for me to accept Nathaniel Parker in this role as I do identify him with so many other wonderful works. And I do have in my mind a different Gamache. But after awhile I was able to suspend my sense of disbelief and get involved in what this film wanted to tell me.

I also had to make some mental adjustments about the village of Three Pines. On film, the location seems bigger, more open, more accessible, more "normal" somehow. But the film location is truly beautiful. And the home of Clara and Peter is perfect on the outside and in the kitchen - I found their art studio rooms not nearly cluttered enough! But that is personal and does not detract from the story.

I would truly love to see more of these stories adapted to film. All in all, I thought this was a good adaptation, and stands up well on its own. Very good production values, excellent acting, and I thought the story stood up well. I liked the woods views of the murder scene. And the thoughtful adaptations of the characters came through for me. I had actually forgotten "whodunit" - so the story carried me along as if I were seeing it for the first time. There is some beautiful misdirection in the beginning of the film that makes me smile about myself.

I rented this from Amazon Instant Video.

Being an avid reader of Louise Penny's Three Pines Gamache series of books, it was a given I had to see this movie. The movie is well-done, but perhaps not as compelling as today's movie viewers might prefer. Like Penny's books, there's not much in the way of action and violence, no car chases, no fights, no explosions. Armand Gamache's style of case-solving has more to do with reason and deduction, along the lines of that of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and his "gray cells." In short, this is my style of murder mystery. So for others out there like me, this is a movie for you.

Another reason I wanted to see this movie was to see how close the movie producers' vision of what these favorite long-standing characters (more like friends actually) look and act like. And I think they did an excellent job --- largely spot on with what I was expecting.

Maybe not a block buster, but an enjoying experience viewing it.