Showing posts with label Ordeal by Innocence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ordeal by Innocence. Show all posts
Sunday, August 19, 2018
An Agatha Christie adaptation that's pretty good except for the title
The worst thing about the Agatha Christie 3-part adaptation on Prime is its title; I've watched all 3 episodes over past 3 nights and honestly can never remember the ridiculously abstract title and am looking it up now, it's: Ordeal by Innocence. OK, got it. Title aside, it's a fun and intriguing series w/ the well-known Christie traits of a plot like clockwork (in fact the gears of a huge timepiece are a recurring motif, signaling a flash-back); each of the 10 or so characters is a potential subject in the murder of the wealthy Lady Argyll, each has a motive and in a fun way we're guessing throughout and trying to figure out which one clobbered Lady A to death: Any of her 5 (all adopted) children, her husband, his new wife-to-be, the strange visitor who shows up out of nowhere years after the murder, the corrupt attorney, the maid, am I leaving anyone out? The series has the high production values of practically all British imports; the cast is largely unknown (to me) although I think it had some Downton alums (doesn't every British show?) plus Bill Nighy as the widower. As w/ all Christie works, or so I have heard, every element is accounted for; readers/viewers are never left wondering: But what about this? that? I all makes sense - even if, on some level, it's all pretty much beyond the pale. But worth watching as a mind-teaser and for the fun of the guessing game. (For the record, I guessed wrong - and as always once it's know we think Why didn't I figure that out?)
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