Invitation to a Murder

This is a murder mystery in a setting similar to films like Murder on the Orient Express and Clue, sadly as much as this isn't a terrible movie, it isn't up there with those classics.

On the plus side, the story is quite compelling and doesn't go in the obvious direction. It's also not stuffed with too much filler.

Unfortunately there are some major criticisms i have with this, not least the atrocious accents that range from Traditional English to Pantomine Dame. However it's the main character where's i have most issues. First off, she looks like she's walked in right off the catwalk, not Mid 20th Century England, but worse than that, is how her character behaves. Are we really to believe a group of Adults, most older than her, are going to be bossed around like school Children by a Florist. She even gives orders to the Detective. Why on Earth would anyone let a normal civilian interrogate and order them around, even if she was good at selling murders. At least Jesscia Fletcher of Murder she wrote had the decency to speak to people with respect, this woman was a trumped up snob that in reality would be laughed at. This is a shame, because it's so distracting from the movie, it means it's quite hard to get into.

Still, if you have 90 mins free and there's no better options, it should prevent boredom.

Set in England (or a small island just off the coast) however none of this movie feels like England, which isn't surprising considering it was filmed in the U. S. Even lacking English accents (accurate ones, anyway), and awkwardly including American idioms throughout (e.g. English police do not carry guns). An uninteresting mystery with an unlikable protagonist and a rather boring conclusion. It sets itself up as the potential first in a series of movies starring the same amateur sleuth, but I will not be interested in anything that follows. It is nothing like the Agatha Christie mysteries it is trying to emulate, and it leaves a rather unpleasant taste, so I'm off to watch something starring David Suchet to cleanse my palate.

Miranda Green (Mischa Barton) is a florist in 30's England. She is skilled in observing and is obsessed with murder mystery books especially those of Agatha Christie. She receives a mysterious invitation from unknown textile tycoon Lord Findley. She joins five other guests on a passenger train to his island estate. There are three staff members but Lord Findley is apparently late in arriving. Soon, Miranda gets her murder mystery to solve.

I liked about two thirds of this movie. It has the Agatha Christie feel. Initially, the main problem is its artificial tone. It doesn't help that these people are going to this place for nothing more than curiosity. Miranda would do it, but only one other seems to have the motivation. It's a murder mystery whodunnit. It's fun. Then the last section tries to solve the mystery quickly and randomly. I don't like a lot of the last third. In the age of streaming, this needs more time and this could be two or three part series. In an aside, I did not recognize Mischa Barton. I assumed that she's some random English actress.

Seems to be a remake of agatha christie's novel "and then there were none". They even mention christie by name in the first minute! Micha barton is miranda green. She notices little details. So when guests at an estate start dying, she's determined to figure it out before the police arrive. Alex hyde white (plays sean, the butler) is the son of wilfrid hyde white, who was in the 1965 version of ten little indians! And in some other pretty big films too. My fair lady, third man. It's mostly good. Never gets too suspenseful, but there are some twists and turns. The guests' stories near the end really slow down the story. They seem to drag on and on. And one demerit for some silly little mistakes that a solid christie fan probably would not make. Directed by stephen shimek.

At first this movie had all the hallmarks of a decent little detective mystery movie in the style of Knives Out or Mourder on the Orient express. It has a decent set up, a coherent plot, it establishes its characters and starts to build on their motives.

Unfortunately, it then suffers from having a beginning, no middle and then ends. Why? Probably due to budget or talent or deadline. Who knows. But right until it had me hooked about an hour in, it started to move toward a conclusion and finished.

It's a shame. Micha Barton was a surprise and the set up was good, so, half a film. Still, better than no film at all.