Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

Written by Sarah Phelps

Broadcast: BBC One
Concluded: 28/12/18
Synopsis: Older and bordering on forgotten, Hercule Poirot has been dragged back into the world of murder and mystery.
Cast: John Malkovich, Rupert Grint, Andrew Buchan, Eamon Farren, and Shirley Henderson.
Episodes: Three

Amidst the many threatening and psycho-baiting letters that come to his home, Hercule Poirot’s (John Malkovich) attention is piqued by one stamped precisely with typewriters ink.

Across the UK murder is afoot – railway stations from A to Z are the main clue but the residents within the areas with alliterated names are the targets. However the murderers motive is more than just quirky rhymes that make headlines.

Hercule is the key, but to solve the mystery he must first unlock his past.

I have mixed feeling about this adaptation. The only Poirot book I’ve read is Murder on the Orient Express – and have also seen the recent movie by the same name where Kenneth Branagh played the mustached lead.

John Malkovich was a compelling and oddly fitting Poirot – I felt for him, a foreigner in a land he isn’t wanted haunted by the past he was forced to leave behind. The series made subtle (sometimes too subtle) references to his ostracisation which also aided in adding context to the times.

Characters wise, aside from Malkovich; Eamon Farren’s A.B.C was the right amount of creepy innocence, Rupert Grint did a good job as the police chief you just wanted to punch in the face and Broadchurch’s Andrew Buchan was a delight. I wasn’t a fan of Shirley Henderson’s role as the skeevy boardhouse owner. Her role felt at odds with the rest of the series as she seemed to be strange for no other reason than to be strange.

In all honesty – by the second episode I was still wondering what the hell was going on. Poirot’s factual methodology wasn’t lining up with the sometimes supernatural-esque visuals we got of A.B.C – who we are immediately told is the murderer. Also some of the side stories revolving around the victims’ families felt pointless as they didn’t aid in thrill of catching the killer.

Sarah Phelps – the writer of the series is well versed in the ways of Agatha Christie, having adapted The Witness for the Prosecution, And Then There Were None and most recently prior to The ABC Murders, Ordeal by Innocence all for the BBC. Of three I have seen, Ordeal by Innocence still stands as my favourite.

Personally I found how slow the pieces moved over the course of the three episodes a little dull, and was dissatisfied by the tidy wrap up in the last half hour.

However I really enjoyed Malkovich as the legend Poirot and applaud the adaptation for some of the incredibly gruesome and outright gross imagery that had me blocking the television with my hands whilst looking away and shouting to those around to inform me when it was bloody over.

Trailer below…