Review: And Then There Were None
DVD: And Then There Were None (2015)
To celebrate Agatha Christie’s 125th anniversary the BBC produced a new version of her novel for Christmas.
The story is set in 1939, literally just before the outbreak of WW2. A group of ten strangers are invited under different pretences to an isolated Island for a weekend away. One by one they are murdered along the lines of the poem ‘Ten Little Indians’.
The BBC normally offer up something new for Christmas TV viewing, this year we had a usual dose of Dr Who, Sherlock (still have NO idea what that was about) and this new all-star adaptation of And Then There Were None. Agatha Christie is a mainstay on UK TV, with Miss Marple and Inspector Poirrot, you could even accuse Midsomer Murders as heavily Christie influenced. I find that no matter how many times I watch any of these programmes or even the old 1970/80s films with all-star casts, I NEVER remember who did it. So watching this was entertaining as I really couldn’t remember who the culprit was.
Written by Sarah Phelps (who’s also turned into a BBC favourite after The Casual Vacancy and Great Expectations), she’s sexed up Christie for a new generation. Here we have Toby Stephens saying ‘FUCK’ several times (I read an interview with Phelps saying the Beeb wouldn’t let her use ‘Cunt’ because it’s Christmas) we have a sex scene (not graphic) and the main draw, Aidan (Poldark) Turner not just topless, but the towel he has on is pulled RIGHT down….
At 3hrs, I thought it was too long. There is a lot of wistful gazing out to sea and all backstories are told in flashback and at length. Two episodes would have been adequate and the story would have improved for a bit of tightening up.
However, it’s great entertainment and keeps you guessing till the end. It also looks gorgeous and the acting is fantastic.
Review by Tina (co-host of 60 Minutes With) from a disc kindly supplied by Aim Publicity.
And Then There Were None will be released on January 16th 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHzU4Mh5oJ0
