Agatha Christie: Ordeal By Innocence [DVD] [2019]

Absolutely brilliant actors and storyline - can’t wait to read the story now

Lets's get the elephant out of the room. If you are hoping/expecting a reasonable adaptation of the novel....Forget it! Have an open mind and view it an original story (which it almost is). Well photographed, but directed and edited a bit pretenriously, and the script contains a few unecessary "F" words, this actually isn't bad as a "whodunnit". You may guess! I didn't! The cast do their best, but I found it hard going as there is NOT ONE likeable character. No Hero!. The serial remains with the 3 episode set up with credits each ep. Bill Nighy is on top Bill Nighy form, with Morven Christie and Eleanor Tomlinson giving solid support. Did I enjoy it well it's not perfect by any means, but it did keep me guessing, so a generous 4 stars. Good Subtitles. 16 9 ratio.

Great story, acting and direction

If I had not read how far away this film is from Agatha Christie's story, I might have given it five stars. But since I hate how stories and in particular characters are twisted and changed nowadays for poor political (or popularity) reasons, I cannot give more than 3, and this is because the cast is doing a great job. Had it been called anything else, inspired by Agatha Christie if you will, I could have given it a higher ranking. There is no reason to take preexisting stories and characters and than wash them into something they were not meant to be. It is respectless to anybody. And still, it is - taken on its own - still a better and more elegant film than those recent misattempts like the awful and purely political Knives out. Therefore: 3 stars should be okay. And since I do not know, that this has been twisted as well, I suggest to prefer the film The crooked house instead.

For those who never have read the book this is a very good classic old style "whodunnit" in a big British country home that you probably enjoy.Well acted and well produced but perhaps more a psychological thriller than a game of detection.At the time Dame Agatha's book received mixed reviews and some wrote that a serious socio-psychological approach doesn't suit A.C. somehow and in the story too many people are talking but there isn't enough space to establish them...From what I remember and sorry for the SPOILERS there were several holes in the plot.Dr Calgary goes to the ungrateful family instead of the police and then surprised by the implications of his informations is determined to protect the innocent by finding the real murderer.Police and family and neighbors accept the new amateur detective and answer to his questions till the culprit is founded.She is an old woman who loved Jacko and murdered his mother to steal some money for him but now she realizes how fool she had been and sees the evil in Jacko.That "Evil" conveniently accepted to be the only guilty part and more conveniently died in prison while the police never investigated no other solution.Now Sarah Phelps had some ideas to fill those holes and attempted a better psychological recreation of the characters.She changed several plot elements and proposed even a different murderer!Personaly I have serious doubts if an adaptation can go that far but the book is one of Agatha Christie's minor works and the final product is satisfactory to my taste.As a viewer I give you my positive feedback and invite you to see and judge this dark story by yourself...

Anything with this cast would be good

I enjoyed this dvd of the mini-series as a dark psychological drama in it's own right. The plot and some of the characters are not as in Agatha Christie's original, which I admit I have not read; but as one of her later works it was not typical of her earlier more classic 'whodunnit' style anyway. There is still the mystery of who committed a murder at the heart of the story, but it is also a depiction of how a dysfunctional family copes with the re-opening of the question as to who was really guilty of the murder, and the further stresses this puts on the family members as more secrets are revealed. By the end, you can pick out some weaknesses in this adapted plot, but on the whole it is well acted, filmed, and edited. The dvd is rated as a '15' so don't expect afternoon TV fare, as there is explicit language, some bloody imagery, and sexual references.

I love Agatha Christie and this did not disappoint