Agatha Christie: ¿Por qué no le preguntan a Evans?

What a delightful piece of television entertainment! Tip-of-the-hat to Mr. Laurie for this witty, at times silly (but in a good way) and suspenseful storytelling packed in the technically nicely executed and well acted three part series.

I'm positive Mrs. Christie, knowing what I know about her and admiring her both as a writer and a woman of strong character, excellent sense of humour and great intellect, would love this adaptation of her work.

Again, hugely entertaining, never a dull moment, and, dare I say, quite a brilliantly romantic finale.

8 stars from me, which is as far as I am concerned very high - I gave 10 stars to only a handful of movies, and Only Fools And Horses.

Having been produced for Britbox last year, Hugh Laurie's adaptation of the Agatha Christie story aired on ITV around Easter of 2023, which is when I saw it. There were aspects of it that I loved but I felt one fairly major failing too.

Bobby Jones (Will Poulter) and Lady Frankie Derwent (Lucy Boynton) investigate the 'accidental' death of a man, who fell from the cliffs of the small Welsh town they live in. Their light-hearted probe turns serious when there is an attempt on Bobby's life. They track a man who was in the village that day, Roger Bassington-ffrench (Daniel Ings) back to his family home and decide to go in undercover.

I liked the presentation of this. There's some lovely 1930's cars and clothes. Laurie calls in a few favours with the cast, including a single but impactful scene from Emma Thompson and a couple of scenes with Jim Broadbent as Lord and Lady Derwent. The rest of the performers are really good, and it feels like a classic ITV Agatha Christie ensemble. Morwenna Banks, Conleth Hill, Miles Jupp, Paul Whitehouse, Amy Nuttall and Alistair Petrie round it out. There's a great chemistry between Poulter and Boynton, and Boynton especially is magnetic throughout, funny, and charming and she's clearly a star.

I think the plot of the story is perhaps a little too complicated for the speed that it's run through though. I think I followed what happened and reading the plot of the story again on Wikipedia I did manage it. I do think that perhaps "show rather than tell" would be the way to go, as there are several scenes of Jones and Derwent putting together what happened that could have done with a bit more video explaining who they were talking about.

Unfortunately, I'd have though that with Marvel stardom coming for Poulter, and for Boynton already having a pretty busy film and TV career, were not likely to see the couple reunite for another adaptation, which is sad. What we have is a good, if not perhaps great time, but one that's worth going with, if only for the performances.

I was wary of watching this version of Agatha Christie's story after recent dreadful Sarah Phelps' penned dramatisations. Fortunately this screenplay was written by Hugh Laurie and he did a tremendous job. There is not a wasted line, every word, while not essential to the plot, adds humour and colour, and brings the characters to life. The drama is beautifully shot, and the character acting is top drawer.

I read the book prior to the release of this, and I have to say it isn't a favourite of mine, nor was the awful Marple adaptation some years ago.

Laurie has managed to make the story into a really enjoyable, watchable whodunnit. The acting was great, I thought most of the characters came to life.

The best element, the visuals, it looks incredible, great fashions and cars, plus some sublime location work, surely one of the most picturesque places in The UK.

Nowadays, it's advisable to approach Agatha Christie adaptations with a degree of caution, you have no idea whether you'll find Poirot taming lions, or Jane Marple making ice sculptures, but credit where it's due, it's a faithful adaptation, without any massive changes.

If I'm honest, I thought it dipped a little in the middle, but overall it was very watchable.

Let's hope we get more quality adaptations soon, this was very good, 8/10.

Compared to the initial reviews, it appears I'm in the minority. I thoroughly enjoyed the three episodes and binged them in one night. I found the whole thing fun, charming and a hoot. I loved all the performances as well as the lush locales and cinematography and the performances. Hugh Laurie's direction is smooth. Not everything adds up, but this isn't Agatha Christie's best story, and that's okay overall. There are always too many suspects and shoehorning for things to make sense in the plot. As long as you understand who did it and the basic why in the end, you're good. Just go along for the ride. Pay attention to the clues as they come and you can probably solve it before they do. Sure, there are tons of red herrings and subplots to nowhere that distract, but again, it's lesser Agatha Christie. What do people expect? It's only confusing if you let it overwhelm you. And it needn't. Enjoy!