The worst cinematic adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel ever.
In Agatha Christie's most twisted tale, a spy-turned-private-detective is lured by his former lover to catch her grandfather's murderer before Scotland Yard exposes dark family secrets.
Julian Fellows’ script should’ve been excellent, but his differentiation from the source material worsens an already dire film. The script is overly dramatic, almost making mockery of Christie’s novel. The acting, even from legends such as Glenn Close and Terence Stamp is pantomimesq and seems to be on par with amateur dramatic societies. The cinematography, especially in the first 30 minutes is so shocking and shaky that I had to check I wasn’t feeling dizzy and it was actually the picture shaking. The lighting too is so dark that at times the characters are hard to make out. Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner has failed to make this film work in any way shape or form, then again it was only ever intended for television (Australia and Israel are the only countries releasing cinematically, it was either release on DVD, online or TV elsewhere).
Overall a mess that would make Agatha roll in her grave.
1 Star
Review by Benjamin Maio Mackay
Screening courtesy of Palace Nova Cinemas