How many filmed versions of Agatha Christie's best seller ,with 100 million copies sold world-wide are there ? ;the most famous detective story told ,told and TOLD.
So the screenwriters had to re-think their entire approach ; invent new characters , exit the older ones, hire gritty young actors ,keep a thin outline of the original novel and hope for the best.
In asking whether these moves have wrought the required results ,the first episode might perplex the viewer with their mixed results.
I know the novel by heart but I dare you to identify it before the voice accuses the guests if you haven't seen the "based on...." at the beginning of the episode .The movie is in fact a long flashback with two policemen (a man and a woman) arriving on the island where nobody seems still alive.
The playing is noisy ,cut and dried ,in spite of the presence of good actors (Romane Bohringer, Samuel Le Bihan,etc) and makes this thriller look like a TV reality show ,which the setting on an exotic and apparently heavenly place does nothing to rectify :for good measure,they added a snake pit (questionable ,for the victims are to disappear one by one in a way chosen by their guest).
Imitating the Russian version (1982) ,and the BBC definitive take (2015),they introduce flashbacks in the flashback ,to explain why the "criminals" have to die ,which leads to unseemly action : why punish mom whereas it's sonny who committed rape,leaving the poor girl bruised (but all is forgiven for he was admitted to the ENA,one of the most prestigious schools in France! Rather obnoxious, huh?)
A rather poor start for a series ,but wait and see....
