Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

I was wary of watching this version of Agatha Christie's story after recent dreadful Sarah Phelps' penned dramatisations. Fortunately this screenplay was written by Hugh Laurie and he did a tremendous job. There is not a wasted line, every word, while not essential to the plot, adds humour and colour, and brings the characters to life. The drama is beautifully shot, and the character acting is top drawer.

What a delightful piece of television entertainment! Tip-of-the-hat to Mr. Laurie for this witty, at times silly (but in a good way) and suspenseful storytelling packed in the technically nicely executed and well acted three part series.

I'm positive Mrs. Christie, knowing what I know about her and admiring her both as a writer and a woman of strong character, excellent sense of humour and great intellect, would love this adaptation of her work.

Again, hugely entertaining, never a dull moment, and, dare I say, quite a brilliantly romantic finale.

8 stars from me, which is as far as I am concerned very high - I gave 10 stars to only a handful of movies, and Only Fools And Horses.

This Agatha Christie story has a gripping, instant hook but a rather underwhelming resolution; by the time you finally learn who Evans is and why they didn't ask him, you may wish that you never wondered in the first place. Hugh Laurie aka Dr. House, who writes, directs and plays a supporting role, does not bring very much new to the table, apart from a flourish here and a photographic trick there, and Will Poulter is merely OK as Bobby Jones. But Lucy Boynton is magnetic as Frankie: beautiful, playful, witty (especially in the first of the three episodes), she really brings the character to life. On the basis of this performance, she totally deserves a regular spot in a possible future Agatha Christie series - one that, hopefully, will resolve its cases in fewer than 175 minutes. *** out of 4.

A partially faithful adaptation of the book, although it rearranges certain lines of dialogue, and changes certain conversations up to include bits of the prose that weren't verbalized by the roles . The opening titles shows characters running through a maze , subsequently the vicar's (Alistair Petrie) son Bobby Jones (Will Poulter) and Dr. Alwyn Thomas play a round of golf, Bobby slices his ball over the edge of a cliff. His ball is lost, but on the rocks below he finds the crumpled body of a dying man. With his final breath the man opens his eyes and gasps, 'Why didn't they ask Evans?'. Becoming convinced the man's death may have been a murder , Bobby and his socialite friend Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent (Lucy Boynton) set about solving the mystery.

This TV movie happens to be a murder mystery in three episodes dealing with dying man's enigmatic last words send vicar's son, Bobby Jones, and his socialite friend, Lady Frankie Derwent, on a crime-solving adventure . It is very well-made, actually looking authentic without being too heavy on scenarios including gorgeous photography , as well gowns and sets that are both sumptuous and brilliant . There are some enjoyable elements to this story, Lucy Boynton and Will Poulter drive the film , they literally are pretty good for the material and script they're given . The dialogue is faithful to Agatha Christie and helps to make the mystery interesting throughout, and the story, while paced slowly but adequately, is both suspenseful and intricate , if seemingly implausible on first viewing . This is a fine decision, as it fits better with the TV format than the novel's version of the scene would . As a result this adaptation is quite good, but there are some problems dragging it down. "Why Didn't They Ask Evans ?" is three hours long, and it really doesn't need to be . There are numerous scenes that could have easily been trimmed . There are a lot of scenes where the camera is just aimlessly surveying its surroundings, or characters are taking forever in walking/sneaking around . The acting in ¨Why Didn't They Ask Evans?¨ is all good , the actors are all British giving sympathetic interpretations , such as : Will Poulter, Lucy Boynton , Daniel Ings, Alistair Petrie , Jonathan Jules , Nicholas Asbury , Richard Dixon and director Hugh Laurie himself , among others .

This nice adaptation with some mistakes was professionally written and directed by Hugh Laurie. This notable actor , producer and director is known for playing : House series (2004), Catch-22 (2019) , Tomorrowland (2015) , The Flight of the Phoenix (2004) , Stuart Little (1999) . And he has written produced or directed various films or television movies , such as : Chance ,The Night Manager , Live On The Queen Mary , The Laughing Prisoner , The Crystal Cube and various episodes of House.

There're other versions about this story : ¨Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1980) with Francesca Annis , John Gielgud , Bernard Miles , Eric Porter , Leigh Lawson. And Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (2009), which was episode 4 of Season 4 of Marple directed by Nicholas Renton with Julia McKenzie , Samantha Bond , Richard Briers , Rik Mayall , Rafe Spall , Natalie Dormer , Warren Clarke , Mark Williams .

Hugh Laurie has done a fabulous job deftly infusing humour into this script. The cinematography is delightful, with gorgeous costumes, lovely architecture and rugged scenery brought to life. A strong cadre of actors with the wonderful character of Frankie (Lucy Boynton) pulling all the strings, Boynton is in her element with this persona.

It is drawn out at some points, it would have benefited from shorter episodes, also some plot elements are overly contrived.