Testimone d'accusa

Can definitely see the polarising opinions, the virtues being brought up are understandable and every bit as understandable are the complaints.

Of the adaptations of 'Witness for the Prosecution' it is this 2016 adaptation that fares the weakest, despite being closer to the short story than the play it is not a patch on the brilliant 1957 Billy Wilder film. Also preferred the 1982 version. It is not awful, and there are worse Agatha Christie adaptations around, a most notable recent example being 'Partners in Crime' with a woefully miscast David Walliams. But after being so impressed by 2015's 'And Then There Were None', I was honestly expecting much more.

There are strong things here. Apart from going overboard on the grimness sometimes, particularly in the first half, 'Witness for the Prosecution' is very pleasing to look at, being beautifully shot and with costume and set design that are both handsome and evocative. The music is unobtrusive but still has a presence.

Parts of the storytelling are very compelling, the whodunit and legal stuff is mostly quite riveting, while the conflict of WWI is powerfully evoked and the relationship between Mayhew and his wife having moments of tender pathos. There are some great twists, especially the very clever (though the one of the 1957 film had more edge) final reveal.

'Witness for the Prosecution' benefits from a great cast as well. A brilliant performance from Toby Jones is particularly note-worthy, and more than up to his level are Andrea Riseborough, who captivates in bringing an enigmatic quality to a character that you are not sure whether to trust or not. Billy Howle's performance is enough to make one convinced of his innocence. David Haig and Tim McMullan excel as morally devious barristers, as does a venomous Monica Dolan and a touchingly subtle Hayley Carmichael. Kim Catrall is luxury casting, and is a dream.

It is a real shame however that 'Witness for the Prosecution' is let down significantly by pacing issues, especially for a lot of the first half, which takes too long to set up with scenes that feel over-stretched and go on longer than needed, and the seemingly endless and melodramatic stuff after the final reveal, like there was an indecisiveness as to how to end it. The second half is more gripping and better paced, but again the pace does drag and scenes and subplots feel like padded filler.

Really it would have been better to do 'Witness for the Prosecution' as a one off lasting an hour or something, because the story just doesn't feel long enough to sustain two hour long episodes. So it felt like there was too much padding and stretching in an attempt to sustain it. There is stuff included to give the story a darker tone, but it did feel too often too gratuitously grim and anachronistic, and over-darkened and overshadowed a story that didn't need it.

A few scenes between Mayhew and his wife, despite some tender pathos in others and great chemistry between Jones and Carmichael, felt soapy and overwritten, and personally am another person who found the sex scene unnecessary and in poor taste.

Concluding this review, not an awful adaptation and production, not as bad as said by some, but could have been much better and comes off as uneven. 6/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of those productions that combine really interesting characters within a story that has enough twists and turns to hold your interest, despite its rather tenuous link to real life events. What really drives this show along are the period details, the 'mood' and feel of the thing, and the solid acting by almost everyone involved. I felt 'Leonard' was the least effective character and the actor wasn't that convincing either. But Toby Jones and Ms Riseborough were too-notch in their performances. The pace was slow, filled with tension and showed how the various stratas of society dealt with the aftermath of a devastating war. The psychological damage was the most obvious, resulting in murder and an almost carefree attitude about the whole process and planning of it. This is a short story that is probably one of Ms. Christie's most damning condemnations of war and although adapted by Sarah Phelps, has definitely stayed true to the original intent. It's not light entertainment but worth watching, despite the fact that the lighting was just a bit too obvious in trying to create a certain 'atmosphere'.

My anticipation for Witness for the Prosecution has been enormous since reading about its announcement. As a huge Agatha Christie fan I was gutted to see the end of Poirot and to some extent Marple. The BBC dazzled us this time last year with their stunning adaptation of And then there were none, and if we're using that as a benchmark then the bar is set very high.

Witness for the Prosecution was one would expect has beautiful production values, it looks suitably gloomy, yet meticulously detailed from the sets to the fashions.

So very different from the excellent adaptation featuring Marlene Dietrich and Tyrone Power, it felt very dark, atmospheric and full of genuine intrigue, had you not read the book, you'd be constantly asking yourself is he guilty or innocent.

Wonderfully acted, huge plaudits for Billy Howle, Toby Jones and Andrea Riseborough, all showing just how good they are. Lovely to see the glamorous Kim Cattrall back in a British production, a historical piece in particular. As a huge fan of Monica Dolan, I must admit it was her I enjoyed enormously, such a venomous performance as Janet McIntyre.

Based on a short story, it's one of Agatha Christie's less well known works, but I felt this adaptation has brought the story very much to life once again.

BBC you've sorted a Christmas mystery for us once again. Please continue this trend. 9/10

This version of Agatha Christie's WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION shakes off what can often be goofy about Christie's stories and treats the characters as fully-formed individuals in an historic setting. It's an impressive effort with a shocking cast who inhabit their characters.

This is awards season in the U.S. and studios trot out their best efforts in a last minute bid to garner accolades. Were this a feature film, it would surpass many mega-budget films.

Director Julian Jarrold -- THE CROWN (2016), BECOMING JANE (2007) and KINKY BOOTS (2005) -- utilizes the strong talent assembled and tells an intriguing story of characters and conflict.

Billy Howle as the accused is convincing, constantly eye-catching, fully immersed and impressive. I've seen him in several other projects, including the miniseries GLUE, and he bares great vulnerability on screen, and it's believable.

Toby Jones is reliable at being superior and nuanced, he is a huge asset to this series.

Andrea Riseborough is enigmatic and surprising. I am accustomed to seeing her in contemporary dramas, and she delivers this character like placid waters with a shark circling beneath, ready to emerge and strike.

This version is so satisfying and memorable, I'm almost dreading the big screen, and likely big budget, version coming from Ben Affleck in 2018. His Oscar-bait 2016 film LIVE BY NIGHT shows a love for period pulp, but an inability to stitch it together. This version of WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION should be the standard against which his is judged.

Tightly written and beautifully directed, a complex mystery, with enjoyable twists throughout. Artfully expanding on the original short story, but don't read it ahead of time! Ignore the negative comments and enjoy a very classy movie-length period mystery. Wonderful, distinctive and nuanced performances by the cast as well, especially Toby Jones and Andrea Riseborough, with Julian Jarrold's meticulous direction.