Agatha and the Midnight Murders
| Agatha and the Midnight Murders | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
|
| Written by | Tom Dalton |
| Directed by | Joe Stephenson |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Blair Mowat |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers | Carol Harding Tom Dalton |
| Cinematography | Birgit Dierken |
| Editor |
|
| Running time | 93 Minutes |
| Production companies | Darlow Smithson Productions Factual Fiction |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 5 |
| Release | 5 October 2020 |
Agatha and the Midnight Murders is a 2020 British alternative history television drama film about crime writer Agatha Christie. The film premiered on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2020,[1] and on PBS in the United States 25 May 2021.[2] It was directed by Joe Stephenson.[3]
Plot
[edit]Christie is having trouble collecting the American royalties on her published works. In a bid to make a private cash sale of a manuscript, therefore, she decides to kill off her most famous character, Hercule Poirot. She hires a low-life man to accompany her as a bodyguard for a cut of the price. The action takes place in a hotel where Christie expects to complete the transaction. Christie and her bodyguard encounter the prospective buyers and a varied group of hotel guests. The suspense builds as a series of murders takes place in the hotel.
Cast
[edit]- Helen Baxendale as Agatha Christie
- Blake Harrison as Travis Pickford
- Jacqueline Boatswain as Audrey Evans
- Gina Bramhill as Grace Nicory
- Daniel Caltagirone as Eli Schneider
- Thomas Chaanhing as Frankie Lei
- Scott Chambers as Clarence Allen
- Vanessa Grasse as Nell Lewis
- Jodie McNee as PC O'Hanauer
- Elizabeth Tan as Jun Yuhuan
- Morgan Watkins as Rocco Vella
- Alistair Petrie as Sir Malcolm Campbell
Production
[edit]Filming took place in Malta, back-to-back with Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar.[4]
Reception
[edit]The show was poorly received by critics. Writing in The Guardian, Euan Ferguson said: "It was a mess: ill-plotted, playing bits for laughs or for horror without ever achieving either."[5] Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph gave the show 2 out of 5 stars, writing: "All of the characters' behavior felt a little weird, and it was not clear if that was by accident or design. Some were caricatures while others were barely there."[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Carr, Flora (7 October 2020). "Meet the cast of Agatha and the Midnight Murders". Radio Times.
- ^ Agatha and the Midnight Murders PBS, accessed 19 June 2021.
- ^ a b Singh, Anita (7 October 2020). "Agatha and the Midnight Murders, review: this sneaky Christie isn't a patch on the real thing". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Creamer, Jon (14 May 2020). "Emily and Tom Dalton launch docs and drama indie".
- ^ Ferguson, Euan (11 October 2020). "The week in TV: In the Face of Terror; David Attenborough; Deaf U; Agatha and the Midnight Murders". The Guardian.
External links
[edit]- Agatha and the Midnight Murders at IMDb
- Agatha and the Midnight Murders at Darlow Smithson Productions
