Ordeal by Innocence

Binged in one afternoon. I couldn't remember the book (read all Christie's decades ago!) so got caught up easily in the mystery. Scenery, settings and use of color is GORGEOUS. Loved the twists and turns. Extremely well acted and well paced. If you enjoyed Harlen Corbin's "Safe" and "The Five" you'll enjoy this. Looking forward to seeing more from this director and screenwriter.

There has of course been a lot of controversy surrounding this drama, originally due for transmission at Christmas, The BBC recast and re shot the part of Mickey Argyll and sent it out over Easter 2018.

I'm sure many Agatha Christie fans, like myself, were disappointed by what happened, and the fact that the drama was pulled from Christmas TV, but the BBC of course made the right decision.

Hopes were high, The Annual BBC Agatha Christie drama has become a definite treat, following in the footsteps of Witness for the Prosecution, and the superb And then there were none.

The production values were of course evident, gloriously shot, superb settings and costumes, a truly lavish feel. Acting throughout was superb too, Bill Nighy, Eleanor Tomlinson and Matthew Goode all worthy of a mention.

At times I felt like there were too many cutaways, ticking clocks, wine being poured etc. but they did help set the scene and build the atmosphere.

Ordeal by Innocence seemed rather a brave choice to go with following the previous adaptations, particularly when you take into account that ITV made it back in 2007, and Geraldine McEwan popped up as Marple. In terms of accuracy and bringing a book to life, this wins hands down.

Disappointing that it wasn't shown over three nights as is the custom, the three week span seemed unnecessary, but I'm sure it will prove a ratings hit.

Next up for Sarah Phelps is Poirot, The ABC Murders, that's a whole different ball game, following David Suchet's golden reign in the role will be hugely challenging.

Overall though, Ordeal by Innocence is very good indeed, when you take into account the source material, cast and budget, they were never going to fail.

Evidently the writer thinks critics of her are 'b*****s' and will kick off at you if you dare criticise. Actually she only really borrowed the characters and a few of the story traits. It is nothing like Christie, more TOWIE meets Stephen King. She'd have been better off rebadging this as 'inspired by'. Maybe shed have attracted less flack, but controversy sells! Christies fnas will be very confused, little of the original remains. Overall its not bad but lacks that real understated Christie class. It's brash and tarty. Youll hate everyone and not really care what happens by the end of the first part. Not a good start...

First, I didn't read Agatha Christie and didn't know the story before hand.

I found the whole thing a bit of a mess. The editing, directing, story/script, and acting were all annoying. There was no tension or real suspense, but I did stick through to the end because it was bearable and I did want to see the reveal. I also hoped it would get better...which it did, slightly. The last episode was the best because it had movement, but the whole of the story plodded along with unlikeable characters, flashbacks, and just didn't have anything clever or gripping in the way it was written or acted out IMHO!

5.5 stars for me. Feb2024.

Before you start watching this, you should know that the story has been rewritten, it's not exactly like the one in the book. Now that that's out of the way, without complaining about the fact that this wasn't an adaptation as much as it was a rewrite, I'm just going to say what I thought about it as a movie not as a story.

The actors did their best, there weren't any moments when I found the acting to be questionable. They had depth, were three-dimensional and just made the story interesting. I've got nothing bad to say about the actors or the characters.

The plot was intriguing, but an exciting story is expected from an Agatha Christie adaptation. It had depth, it definitely keeps you on your toes and again, nothing bad to say about that.

The directing wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. It is a bit excusable, considering there was quite a wide variety of scenery and an intriguing plot, so it didn't need some amazing directing, although as I have previously said, it could have been better.

Summing up, it's a great mini-series to watch, I definitely recommend it. You shouldn't watch it if you expect the story to be exactly like Christie's book. I didn't really mind that, it felt like a gust of fresh air. I'm actually giving it a 8.5/10.