“Not to me. Just … unheard. Unseen. A respectable person, disrespected in a place where murder is easy.”
I would say that this was a pretty faithful adaptation of the popular Agatha Christie novel, albeit with a few instances of poetic license being taken. And I do mean that this novel is popular. This addition marks the sixth adaptation of this novel, with the previous incarnations being for film, theater, radio, and television, with the previous TV version being adapted for a Miss Marple episode which famously featured Benedict Cumberbatch. This two-episode version features David Jonsson of Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk fame, Morfydd Clark of Rings of Power fame, and Dame Penelope Wilton. And while the series does exercise that poetic license, these changes actually add a degree of depth to the overall adaptation in my opinion. Such as the reinvention of Jonsson’s Fitzwilliam as a Nigerian attaché arriving in 1954 Britain. When done right, these deviations from the source material can act as a fresh commentary on a beloved piece of fiction.
The show’s overall plot follows its source material. On a train ride, charismatic Nigerian attaché Luke Fitzwilliam, traveling to London for a post at the Colonial Office, meets an elderly woman named Miss Lavinia Pinkerton (Dame Penelope Wilton). Miss Pinkerton confides in Luke that a serial killer is active in her quiet village of Wychwood-under-Ashe. She lists several recent deaths that locals dismissed as accidents, but she knows they are murders. She informs Luke she is traveling to Scotland Yard to report her suspicions. Before she can however, Miss Pinkerton is killed in a suspicious hit-and-run before she can reach the police. Devastated and plagued by guilt, Luke decides to travel to Wychwood to investigate the claims himself.
It was an overall intriguing premise, which follows its source material to a tee. I found myself leaning in as Jonsson’s character conducts his investigation. Well, it isn’t just his investigation. Not long after arriving, Luke finds a compatriot in the form of Morfydd Clark’s Bridget Conway, the sharp-witted fiancé of the wealthy and arrogant Lord Whitfield (Tom Riley). Bridget quickly deduces Luke’s true motive, and the two team up to look into the deaths.
So Jonsson is the heart and soul of this production. He is a charming, commanding presence that was needed to propel the story forward. It’s easy to see why Jonsson found his way to the silver screen. He truly broke new ground as the first black actor to portray the lead investigator in an onscreen Agatha Christie adaptation. His performance showcased Luke Fitzwillian as an intelligent, suave Nigerian diplomat navigating 1950s Britain, which aided the series’ outsider-in-a-small-village theme. Coupled with Morfydd Clark’s sharp wit and delivery, the fire of the pair’s chemistry was lit. They certainly shared the spotlight, as Jonsson and Clark both portrayed their characters as a capable, mutual investigative partnership. This was kicked off when Bridget quickly sees through Luke’s cover story, and it translated into a playful, sharp back-and-forth that continued throughout the series’ run. Like the book, series explores the idea of a romantic association before going in a different direction for its conclusion, which I found to be a unique creative choice.
The series isn’t a resounding success, however; the second episode of the two-part serial does lose steam thanks to some pitfalls, such as the replacement of clue-gathering in favor of a revolving door of suspects and motives. The film also employs a red herring trope, which while faithful to the book, does border on the cliché. Thankfully, the killer reveal puts a end to this, and while I was thankful for this, the execution did feel a little clumsy and anticlimactic. Regardless, I did find the series to be an enjoyable mystery experience and in keeping with its source material. Even with the deviations, which include the fate of our detective pair, this was still a very good adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel in my opinion.
