Towards Zero

Enjoyable tosh I'd say. Love seeing the mega-rich come unstuck. Love Agatha Christie too so this was a must-see. Looks great, lovely photography.

Reviewer kristhebass mentions the Black barrister played by the excellent Clarke Peters, as if this was an anachronism. This reviewer may be interested to know (but probably won't want to know) that the first Black barrister to practice in the UK was in 1884. No, Agatha Christie probably didn't mention any character's ethnic background so basically anyone could be cast. It's not as if it's 'unhistorical' in this instance. Oh and I think the 'maid' is more of a lady's companion, as she quite clearly states in the first episode.

The good thing about this was it was just 3 episodes long and, being bbc who don't spend big bucks on the same old actors allowed me to watch the show rather than thinking "What have I seen them in before?" For me the story was too slow at times with a lot of filler (an hour is an hour on bbc unlike other channels that only need 45 minutes) but it was still engaging.

Waiting a long time for the first murder wasn't helpful but that was the whole point of the story we are told.

I was losing interest until Audrey and Neville became intimate on the stairwell in episode 2.

A strange ending it has to be said after twists, turns and double buffs.

I can see why this hasn't been given the same publicity as on social media that other re went dramas have received.

Watchable but you won't miss anything if you don't.

The ABC Murders was much better.

First the good news: wardrobe and locations are exquisite. The actors are very good, especially Anjelica Huston as the matriarch of a despicable family. Now for the bad stuff: why oh why add absolutely unnecessary characters into one of the finest plots Agatha Christie ever wrote. The dialogues are stilted and absolutely boring. The language, contrary to the setting, is much too modern and sometimes very crude. For the life of me, I don't understand the importance of a cunnilingus scene on the stairs. It just makes no sense. And last, but not least: it's way too long. The whole story could've been told in 90 minutes, it's much too thin for three hours.

Why do the writers always take a perfectly crafted plot from the queen of suspense and trample it to death?

I'll never understand why the main character of the book gets cut out of the televised version every time. Also, why is everything so dark? It's like it was filmed in the middle of the night with a filter.

It's a good try, but Kay is not the 23 year old redhead party girl from the book, and several other characters don't ring true either. I'm just hoping that they haven't changed the murderer too.

Although, I could see the story being updated to the modern day with Kay as a social media obsessed influencer and Audrey as an ex-supermodel.

I'm giving it 5 stars for effort, even though it misses for changing the story unnecessarily.

I love a good Agatha Christie mystery. Years ago when young I reread the books over and over. I was excited about this adaptation, willing to give it a try because I like Angelica Huston and Mathew Rhys. Unfortunately this version had to muck with a really good Agatha Christie "who-dun-it" mystery. This version has changed characters, omitted some characters, overcomplicated their motivations for murder and switched who got murdered first, changing the plot line which dulls the mystery. Even the detective is swapped from Inspector Battle to Leach which is ironic because the name switch symbolises how the story has been dulled down from dramatic to boring. Leach is drowning in alcoholism and is suicidal which makes him overly dark and not compelling to watch. Angelica Huston is too passive, not dominating or caustic enough to murder, only rich. It's dark, not the plot, but rather the filtering chosen for filming is dark & grimy in a weak ploy to create mystery. It's simply annoying as the character's faces are difficult to see in the dark. Dialogue & plot should create the mystery rather than cinematic filters. Sex scenes are used also to create drama which is another by-product of a weak plot line. Christie employed flirtatious characters, but true to her era didn't use overt sex to tell a story, instead Christie always produced a good plot line with witty dialogue. Worst of all, the story is very slow. Christie skilfully wrote Towards Zero with a delayed murder, but this version can't pull that off and when they change the order of the murder plot lines, it jumbles the mystery right out of the story. The few positives are that the setting & costumes are period-rich with details that make the show nice to view.. But even this is dulled by the overused dark filters chosen for this version. Unfortunately setting & costumes can't trump the importance of plot & dialogue for drama. With weak story telling, this version isn't worthy of Dame Agatha Christie. Her descendants promote this film, as it's a money-making legacy for the corporation Christie has become, but I think Agatha the writer would be disappointed.