Agatha and the Truth of Murder

When I heard the premise, and heard that it wasn't endorsed by Agatha Christie's family, or indeed the estate, I feared the worst, so in truth I watched it with exceedingly low expectations, and is so often the case, I really enjoyed it. I thought the plot, direction, acting, and general vibe were all terrific.

The last time I watched something which tried to explain away Agatha's disappearance it involved The Doctor, Catherine Tate, and a giant wasp, this proposed a slightly more Earthly solution, but was equally as entertaining and witty.

Great acting, I loved Ruth Bradley's interpretation of the great writer, Samantha Spiro and Pippa Haywood were excellent also.

Bravo to those involved, a great Agatha Christie fix, ahead of The ABC Murders.

9/10

A simply wonderful crime film that deserves watching and recommending to everyone. This should be watched as a Double Bill with the recent Murder On The Orient Express. The characters are never just one note as the writers and actors flesh out each part with real sparks of life. Agatha has some wonderful little put downs for the condescending men that she meet throughout the film, very much like Kenneth Branagh's film the dialogue is of the period and not modernised. The direction does look at the period with a modern eye, too how women where and are still treated by men and even other women. By the way i'm a man, make of that what you will. This film was a hoot to watch and a pleasure to recommend.

This is a fictionalized account of prominent novelist Agatha Christie's 11-day disappearance back in 1926. Evidently, Christie never revealed where she was or what she was doing during that time; the writers of this film imagined what it would be like if Christie went off and solved an actual murder.

Christie is approached at her home by a retired nurse who wants Christie to solve her lover's murder. The murder happened several years ago, but the trail went cold, so the police gave up and moved on to something else. Christie eventually agrees to help, disguises herself as a law-firm secretary, and formulates an imaginary will-reading at an old house, that names each of the nurse's murder suspects as heirs.

Another murder does occur (as is generally the pattern of these things), and it's a race against time to discover who the true killer is before they strike again. I enjoyed the overall feeling of this film. I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, and I like to watch film adaptations either about her, or about her books. I solved almost all of the murder by myself (for once) and was immensely proud.

In 1926 the authoress Agatha Christie famously disappeared for eleven days then reappeared claiming no knowledge of what happened; this story imagines what might have happened. Agatha is suffering writer's block and her husband is seeking a divorce; then she is approached to solve a real murder. Initially unenthusiastic she later agrees and starts investigating. Pretending to be a lawyer named Mary Westmacott she assembles the suspects, with the lure of a large inheritance and starts questioning them. She quickly realises that real mysteries and works of fiction are quite different.

I confess I was a little unsure about the premise of putting a real person in an obviously fictional situation... but surprisingly it really works if you can suspend your disbelief somewhat. The story nicely combines known facts about her life at the time with an interesting fiction. The mystery she investigates has the feel of one of her stories, perhaps somewhat helped by the way the time period is captured. There are a good number of suspects, each with their own motives, as well as one or two red herrings. The cast are really good; most notably Ruth Bradley as Agatha Christie, Pippa Haywood, as the woman who brought the mystery to her and Tim McInnerny as one of the suspects. As stated before it is necessary to suspends one's disbelief at times; noticeably towards the end when a local policeman recognises our protagonist but does tell the authorities despite it being made clear that there is a nationwide manhunt for her. Overall though this was a fine murder mystery that could easily have come from the pen of the great women herself.

This was a very enjoyable and engrossing drama that was much better than I had anticipated. The characters were well defined and well acted, the story was engrossing (if a little far-fetched), and the production quality was top-notch. Ruth Bradley was extremely engaging as Agatha Christie and it was lovely to see Pippa Haywood on our screens again. Yeah, it was good!