AGATHA CHRISTIE’S DARKEST THRILLER.Â
In 1939, ten strangers are invited to a mansion on a remote island off the coast of Devon; none of them knows who their mystery host is, but soon the murders begin… Another adaptation of the oft-filmed Agatha Christie classic, but this miniseries must be ranked as one of the best. Even though it is faithful to the original and many viewers will know the identity of the killer right from the start there is a lot of tension thanks to an almost overwhelmingly dark and ominous atmosphere. The mystery plays out very well, interweaving intriguing flashbacks that reveal the truth of the strangers’ sordid secrets. An excellent cast, especially Charles Dance as the towering but quietly observing judge.
2015-Britain. Made for TV. 175 min. Color. Produced by Abi Bach. Directed by Craig Viveiros. Teleplay: Sarah Phelps. Novel: Agatha Christie. Cast: Maeve Dermody (Vera Claythorne), Aidan Turner (Philip Lombard), Charles Dance (Lawrence Wargrave), Toby Stephens, Burn Gorman, Harley Gallacher… Miranda Richardson, Sam Neill.
Trivia: Originally shown in three episodes.
Last word: “When people think of ‘period drama,’ we automatically think of something that, well, for want of a better word…period drama sometimes feels safe, and it feels like it’s about costumes. And we’ve obviously paid a lot of attention to detail with that, but I really wanted to impart this was actually quite a dangerous – it was a really dangerous time for the world. Agatha Christie wrote very fast. ‘And Then There Were None’ was published in 1939, so you imagine that this is 1939, the summer of 1939. In a few short weeks, war will be declared and the world will once again go hurtling into this terrible, terrible kind of bloodbath.” (Phelps, British Heritage)
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