- Get link
- Other Apps
Featured Post
- Get link
- Other Apps
Ordeal by Innocence starring (L to R) Crystal Clarke, Matthew Goode, Bill Nighy, Anna Chancellor and Ella Purnell
(Not Shown ) Morven Christie, Eleanor Tomlinson, Anthony Boyle, Alice Evan, Christian Cooke and Luke Treadway
I know I enjoyed the book, as I did the limited series. It was only three episodes, my husband was out of town so I binged them all in one night.
As I watched I began to remember the book and realized that the series was quite different.
About the book
In the book, Dr. Calgary is intelligent, respected, of sound mind. His intentions are honorable, to help the family come to terms with the fact that their son and brother Jack did not kill their mother, which means one of them did. In the series, he’s dismissed at every turn, the family is disinterested in his point of view and in fact, is finally hauled off to an insane asylum. That’s the only real spoiler I'll include here.‘Published in 1958, the book was one of the author’s personal favorites. It begins with the murder of wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll at her family estate, Sunny Point. Despite vehemently protesting his innocence, her adopted son Jack is arrested for the crime. Eighteen months later, Dr Arthur Calgary appears claiming to hold the alibi that can prove Jack’s innocence. But Jack died in prison before the case could come to trial, and the Argyll family is reluctant to dig up the secrets of the past. However, the shattering implications of Calgary’s story are too big to avoid: If Jack was not the killer, then it must have been somebody else at Sunny Point.
As far as the cast of characters goes, the actors are all top-notch performers extremely familiar to those of us who like our Brit telly, especially those mysteries. What is slightly less familiar to readers of the book is how extreme, and to a certain extent, unlikeable those characters were portrayed as being.
Philip Durrant (Matthew Goode) with his wife Mary (Eleanor Tomlinson)
The most important change from the book is who actually dunnit. Writer Sarah Phelps apparently had no compunction in changing not only whodunnit but why! Her response to critics seems to be something along the lines of, if you want Agatha Christie, read the book.
That major change, mind you, is believable. It’s just not how Christie wrote it and one wonders why Phelps didn’t just go ahead and write her own original script instead of pilfering the great Agatha Christie’s plot and turning it inside out. But of course, Christie is bankable. And remains one of the most bankable writers out there.
What I liked
I actually did enjoy the show despite my reservation about Durant’s character as portrayed by Goode—one of my faves. Any and all of the assembly could be guilty—except for Durrant—and I admit I enjoyed the unfurling of the plot, and how the red herrings worked out. Also intriguing, a subplot featuring a relationship between two of the adopted children, one of them a person of color (Crystal Clarke) to make things extra interesting. Is it incest when the brother and sister have family ties but aren’t blood relatives?
The production design, set decoration, and costume design were outstanding. While I think of Agatha Christie in sepia tones, this production, set in the late 1950s was in full, fabulous modern color. Deep teal walls. The sour yellow of Mrs. Argyle’s dress. And lots and lots of blue throughout.
No rating stars but 3 out of 4
Agatha Christie
Bill Nighy
Eleanor Tomlinson
Ella Purnell
Mathew Goode
Morven Christie
Ordeal by Innocence
review
- Get link
- Other Apps