Ten strangers are lured to a lonely mansion on an island off the Devon coast. They have nothing in common except that each of them harbours a guilty secret and they have all been invited by a mysterious host, U.N Owen, whom none of them has met. After dinner a gramophone recording bursts into live accusing each of them of a past crime. Initially, they treat it as a sick practical joke in the poorest of taste. But, then the killer strikes and they realise that the mysterious U.N Owen is a psychopath delivering retribution for their past crimes and, even more frightening, is the reality that their murderer is one of them. One by one the guests are killed in ways parallel to the old 'Ten Little Soldier Boys' nursery rhyme, but will any of them survive?
No one has ever really come close to filming Agatha Christie's timeless mystery novel as it should be filmed. I had high hopes for this BBC TV production (aired as a mini-series over a three-week period), but the conclusion I reached after seeing it was that it was very much a curates egg. As I have found with many recent adaptations of Christie's works (including, I am sorry to say, some of the later David Suchet Poirots) the film makers have this annoying tendency to shoot them in an unnecessarily pretentious and arty farty style that really does not suit period mysteries such as this. The cinematography is rather flat and dark and this combined undermines the feeling for period detail. In addition, I felt that there was an unnecessary and unpleasant emphasis on drug taking and sex here, which I assume was done to try and update the material. I was simply thinking "Why?" Because, after all, much of Christie's material is strong enough on its own to warrant too much messing around with.
Nevertheless, this version is still worth checking out because there are many positive aspects about it to write home about too. Commendably, it returned the story to its original Devon coastal setting: in previous adaptations we have had the Austrian alps, a luxury hotel in the Iranian desert and an African big game safari. Another big plus about this version is that we get Christie's original climax as opposed to the romantic one from the stage play and so often used in many film adaptations. Without spoiling it for you, the novel's ending was very dark and there was no sense of relief at all and the way it is depicted here ensures that the suspense and fright aspect reaches fever pitch just like it did in the book.
The cast are truly superb with Charles Dance of particular note as the intelligent, resourceful and rather cunning and ruthless Judge Lawrence Wargrave. Toby Stephens makes a fine Dr Armstrong; Miranda Richardson is excellent as Emily Brent: a woman whose religious mania brought about the suicide of a pregnant teenager in her charge whom she threw out due to her puritanical beliefs. But, the very best performance comes from Maeve Dermody as Vera Claythorne; a former governess whom has had to live with the horrifying ordeal of a little boy in her charge who drowned. She feels guilty even though she herself nearly died in a desperate attempt to save his life. Not only did the incident cost her her job, but also her lover, the little boy's uncle Hugo. We later discover that that there was a rather more dark and sinister side to her past, but the actress handles both emotional sides to her character beautifully: the fragile, guilt stricken side and the much more cold blooded and unsympathetic one we discover later on.
There is some admirable tension generated in the way that the ten people condemned to die by their invisible murderer keep mulling over in their minds the terrible things they did that landed them into their terrible predicament. All of the actors convincingly portray the manner in which their uneasy alliance to protect each other and unmask their killer gradually falls apart as a result of their fear, paranoia and sense of self preservation getting the better of them. Of course, that is what the cunning U.N Owen was banking on all along.
All in all, this adaptation does have major flaws that will disappoint those who have read and enjoyed Christie's timeless mystery novel. But, it has enough strong points of its own; not least returning to Christie's original harrowing climax and the best efforts of a first rate cast ensure that this is still essential viewing for Christie fans.
No one has ever really come close to filming Agatha Christie's timeless mystery novel as it should be filmed. I had high hopes for this BBC TV production (aired as a mini-series over a three-week period), but the conclusion I reached after seeing it was that it was very much a curates egg. As I have found with many recent adaptations of Christie's works (including, I am sorry to say, some of the later David Suchet Poirots) the film makers have this annoying tendency to shoot them in an unnecessarily pretentious and arty farty style that really does not suit period mysteries such as this. The cinematography is rather flat and dark and this combined undermines the feeling for period detail. In addition, I felt that there was an unnecessary and unpleasant emphasis on drug taking and sex here, which I assume was done to try and update the material. I was simply thinking "Why?" Because, after all, much of Christie's material is strong enough on its own to warrant too much messing around with.
Nevertheless, this version is still worth checking out because there are many positive aspects about it to write home about too. Commendably, it returned the story to its original Devon coastal setting: in previous adaptations we have had the Austrian alps, a luxury hotel in the Iranian desert and an African big game safari. Another big plus about this version is that we get Christie's original climax as opposed to the romantic one from the stage play and so often used in many film adaptations. Without spoiling it for you, the novel's ending was very dark and there was no sense of relief at all and the way it is depicted here ensures that the suspense and fright aspect reaches fever pitch just like it did in the book.
The cast are truly superb with Charles Dance of particular note as the intelligent, resourceful and rather cunning and ruthless Judge Lawrence Wargrave. Toby Stephens makes a fine Dr Armstrong; Miranda Richardson is excellent as Emily Brent: a woman whose religious mania brought about the suicide of a pregnant teenager in her charge whom she threw out due to her puritanical beliefs. But, the very best performance comes from Maeve Dermody as Vera Claythorne; a former governess whom has had to live with the horrifying ordeal of a little boy in her charge who drowned. She feels guilty even though she herself nearly died in a desperate attempt to save his life. Not only did the incident cost her her job, but also her lover, the little boy's uncle Hugo. We later discover that that there was a rather more dark and sinister side to her past, but the actress handles both emotional sides to her character beautifully: the fragile, guilt stricken side and the much more cold blooded and unsympathetic one we discover later on.
There is some admirable tension generated in the way that the ten people condemned to die by their invisible murderer keep mulling over in their minds the terrible things they did that landed them into their terrible predicament. All of the actors convincingly portray the manner in which their uneasy alliance to protect each other and unmask their killer gradually falls apart as a result of their fear, paranoia and sense of self preservation getting the better of them. Of course, that is what the cunning U.N Owen was banking on all along.
All in all, this adaptation does have major flaws that will disappoint those who have read and enjoyed Christie's timeless mystery novel. But, it has enough strong points of its own; not least returning to Christie's original harrowing climax and the best efforts of a first rate cast ensure that this is still essential viewing for Christie fans.