d.e.katz

Having read Scott Turow's magnificent novel and having watched the excellent 1990 film adaptation, I was disappointed by this limited series adaptation. Given more than seven hours with which to work, the show runners could have delved deeper into the details of the story than the two-hour 1990 film; alas, they did not.

While I applaud the performances of Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Bill Camp, this adaptation departed so much from the source material as to render it nearly unrecognizable. The writers maintained the original premise and the names of some characters, but they eliminated other key characters, added a few new ones, changed the motivations of others, and omitted many critical plot elements that made the story so compelling. Moreover, many characters had little or no back-story, obscuring their motivations; other characters were changed in a manner that rendered their behavior unexplainable.

I understand that some plot points required change in response to developments in forensic science (such as DNA analysis), but that could have been accomplished without ruining Turow's story. This was analogous to having an adaptation of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" with no Tiny Tim, with only the ghosts of Jacob Marley and Christmas Yet to Be, and the discovery at the end that Scrooge wasn't really a miser and Bob Cratchit was gay.

I am a fan of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers mysteries; they are, for the most part, entertaining, well written and suspenseful. The many stage and screen adaptations of stories by these authors have delighted audiences for decades. That said, imitators abound, and some produce a quality product. In the case of "Invitation to a Murder," however, I found no redeeming value. Foolishly, I ignored the reviews and purchased the DVD.

There is nothing good to say about this movie. The dialog is trite; the acting is awful (though that could be the fault of the director); the score is overbearing; even the lighting is uneven. The characters are undeveloped and weak. Their interaction is forced (and, frankly, unbelievable). The story makes no sense at all, and even the denouement is patently ridiculous.

It appears as though the producers intended this to be a pilot for a TV series featuring Mischa Barton as a Miss Marple-type amateur detective. If that is the case, and with all do respect to Ms. Barton, she should run fast in the opposite direction.