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- Lifetime
- Dec 26, 2015
- Lifetime
- Dec 26, 2015
Summary Originally aired on the BBC in Dec 2015, the adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel of the same name, begins with eight people invited to a small island off the coast of Devon and at dinner hear a message that accuses them all of murder. One by one, the guests and the two servants of the house are killed.
- Lifetime
- Dec 26, 2015
- Lifetime
- Dec 26, 2015
Summary Originally aired on the BBC in Dec 2015, the adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel of the same name, begins with eight people invited to a small island off the coast of Devon and at dinner hear a message that accuses them all of murder. One by one, the guests and the two servants of the house are killed.
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Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
82
90% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
10% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
82
90% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
10% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
From its first golden images of drowning to the drawing-room showdowns on a dark and stormy night, And Then There Were None is a triumph of atmosphere and an adaptation bold enough to make you uncomfortable to the very last.
A bracingly nasty blast, even doubling-down on the gloom and doom in intriguing ways.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 84 User Ratings
7.4
75% Positive
63 Ratings
63 Ratings
15% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
10% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 84 User Ratings
7.4
75% Positive
63 Ratings
63 Ratings
15% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
10% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
A brilliant adaptation of one of Agatha Christie's best literary works. The acting in this mini series is truly exceptional. If you are a fan of murder mystery, true crime shows, this should be the top of your must watch list. The main star of this show is the screenplay.
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SEASON 1
Perhaps the most astonishing thing about this stylish, wonderfully atmospheric British production is how fresh it seems. It's not as if this is a tale rarely told.
[And Then There Were None] is enormous fun: a lush, lurid, gothic fantasy of a murder mystery. It also has little in common with its source material.
Most of the fun (if it can be called that) of And Then There Were None comes, of course, from trying to work out who the killer is, and how the “game” works (as each member of the household if picked off, a small statuette on the dining table disappears). But the incredible acting talent also makes each guest so unique that seeing them interact (or just wander the house alone--don’t go into that dark corridor!) becomes another kind of pleasure, and also part of the puzzle.
None overdoes the self-conscious creepiness at first. The close-ups of slabs of meat being hacked apart for dinner and a few forced performances from otherwise reliable actors (especially Anna Maxwell Martin as the servant Ethel Rogers) smack of concept getting in the way of common sense.... Once the gathering of the victims has been completed, however, and the murderer goes to work, the series settles into a satisfyingly eerie groove.
And Then There Were None is commendably put-together--and its cast gamely embodies the opposing personalities of the source material--but along the way its seriousness becomes a handicap, its blunt storytelling a crutch. It, unlike Christie’s fiendish little book, forgets to just have fun.
Wow. That is all I can say after such a confident pilot. Near the closing of the episode, everyone (director, writer, and actors) seem to be peaking. The beginning was a little of rushed, it seemed like a show trying to be strange when it does not need to be. The long term plotting and the focus of the writing are my only concern. What is going to be more important; the characters or the whodunit aspect of the show. The overall story seems so familiar that the only way this work is if we (the audience) become deeply invested in or interested in these characters outside of the "they might be the murderer angle." These characters must be fully unique--not cookie cutler. For this to happen, it must be the focus of those running to show if this is not going to be another guilty fun catch the murder for this TV series can be special. I'm definitively staying a while.
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SEASON 1
First of all, this review will discuss plot points, but it will stay spoiler-free.
My first impression was, that it is has good actors who you will probably know from other appearances on tv/in film and who you will pleased to see again.
The show has convincing acting, a good setting and good atmosphere. It gets the mood right.
But after watching it, I must say that, all in all, it's well crafted and solid, but not more.
I may have seen another screen adaptation of the story by Patricia Highsmith a long time ago, but I haven't read the book this miniseries is based upon.
So my following critique may be on the original story or on this adaptation, I don't know.
First of all, given the fact that the murderer has put a lot of effort in getting the 10 people on the island, the degree to which the murder plot itself relies on chance is remarkable.
First case in point: It relies on the weather, yes, it does.
After the second death, the rest of the guests decide to leave the island, but they can't because it's stormy outside and they can't be taken back by the ferry man.
Otherwise, they would have picked up their bags and would have just left the island. End of story. Really?
The one other thing, that bothered me was, that, if not depending on the weather, the murder plot only works because the guests behave in a certain way, when realizing someone is trying to kill them.
If they would have decided that they would stay together and never go anywhere alone, the killer would have had a big problem, even if only a couple of the guests would have followed that rule.
There is one crucial plot point, in which one guest has to behave in a specific way to create a situation, and the rest mustn't do a specific thing or otherwise it would disclose the killer's identity.
Of course it works and that's way too convenient.
And don't tell me the murder knows what kind of people he's dealing with. He never met any of them in person before the arrival on the island. And you can't predict peoples actions when they wind up in that kind of situation, unless you know them personally and you know them well.
One other thing is: the death of Lombard (Aidan Turner) is bugging me.
He's a man of the gun and he brings one with him. But the way he dies is again, a very convenient coincidence. He doesn't get killed by the unknown murderer.
If he hadn't died the way he did, how would the murder have killed him, a man who's been to war, is young and strong and who doesn't panic when in peril, but who stays calm AND bears a gun?
And yet, his death is arbitrary and couldn't have been planned. Yes: too convenient.
Adding to my major points of critique I want to add one thing:
I don't know how the guests got killed in the original book, but the way they get killed simply lacks irony.
Sure, they die in various, violent ways.
But for an intelligent thriller, I would expect that the causes of their deaths would be related to the criminal acts the murderer charges them, adding said irony. No such thing.
So, if you have nothing to do on a Sunday evening, this mini series will do.
It just didn't really convince me.
************ SPOILER ADDITION *************
For all readers who have already seen it, the following is an explanation of the crucial plot point:
The doctor helps the murderer pretend he's dead. If the doctor wouldn't have done it, the murderer would have had a severe problem continuing with his plan.
Then, when he declares the murderer dead, it would have taken only one of the guests checking for him-/herself or noticing that he's still breathing and it all would have ended right there.
Furthermore, after that situation, the doctor could have refused to meet the murderer somewhere out on the island at night in the stormy weather (is he this stupid?) and thus, staying alive.
Or the doctor could have changed his mind and tell the others.
See? It's relying way too much on chance.
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SEASON 1
Very disappointing. First, this adaptation was unnecessarily gruesome and graphic, like a cheap horror flick. Second, it's so dully plotted that I got bored almost immediately. I did like the addition of flashbacks that showed more of the characters' backgrounds and true natures. (There's a particularly good twist with one of them.) Otherwise, the only reason I finished watching was for the costumes and Aidan Turner's gorgeous face! In sum, I'd say, skip this and watch the 1945 version on Amazon video -- or, better yet, bust out your DVD copy of "Clue"!
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SEASON 1
