Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

O.k. I gotta fess up. I'm giving this mini-series 7 stars for having the smarts to hire and feature Lucy Boynton as its female lead. She is everything you want and infrequently get from a lead. The viewer falls for her. And once fallen the viewer cares and cares a great deal about her welfare. And the more peril her character - Lady Franky - is in, the more involved the viewer is. I might not have fully understood everything that's going on, but I fervently hoped that the series would keep Lady Franky safe.

A man is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. Another is found hanged in his home. What is the connection, if any, between these two apparent murders? There is, in fact, an answer. And along the way to that answer there are (a) other deaths (b) look-a-like-ladies (c) photos purloined and (d) hospitals for the mentally unfit.

All well and good. But the problem (for me) was this.

Huh? So much happens and happens so fast that I simply could not keep up. Worse still the climactic scene(s) happens in the dark, an ill-advised decision when the complex story would be hard enough to follow in broad daylight.

And, yes, I could have re-watched the 3-part series before writing this, I could have made notes and put the pieces together. I could have. But isn't that asking too much? Yes, I think so.

So then, I'm saying, See this series if only for the sake of actress Lucy Boynton. And stick around for the story. Maybe you'll be luckier, and more astute, than I.

Maybe you'll 'get it'.

Hugh Laurie has done a fabulous job deftly infusing humour into this script. The cinematography is delightful, with gorgeous costumes, lovely architecture and rugged scenery brought to life. A strong cadre of actors with the wonderful character of Frankie (Lucy Boynton) pulling all the strings, Boynton is in her element with this persona.

It is drawn out at some points, it would have benefited from shorter episodes, also some plot elements are overly contrived.

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.

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.

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.