Saturday 19 May 2018

Crooked House

This is Agatha Christie very much by the numbers, and it's pretty clear that this is only in cinemas because "Murder On The Orient Express" did well at the box office last year. It feels very much like it will live comfortably in the Sunday-or-Friday night slot on the ABC as a not-too-grisly crime tale of a family all controlled by their patriach and the investigation when one of them inevitably kills him - dashing around a grand British country house full of eccentrics played by a bunch of British and American actors who relish the chance to chew a little scenery as suspects.

Which is not to say this isn't fun - Glenn Close enjoys her grand-dame rollicking around shooting voles, Gillian Anderson does good theatrical drunk, Amanda Abbington has a lot of snooty rage and Christina Hendrics does depressed ex-showgirl. And Christie does have a way with clues, plot, and finding the most interesting person to have dunnit (though possibly the most over-the-top motive as well).

Unfortunately this isn't one of the Marple or Poirot stories so we don't get a fun character actor as our lead, instead getting the rather dull stylings of Max Irons as a bland private detective (who strikes no great sparks with the suspect who's supposed to be his love interest, either). So this is satisfying more in a "mild diversion" way rather than a "can actually recommend people hunt it out" way.

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