In recent years, adapting Agatha Christie for the BBC has become popular and has led to reasonable success, and I would firmly put this adaptation somewhere in the middle of the versions based on quality. It is far from a bad show, but it also fails to reach the heights of classic Christie.
The sense of dread is built well throughout, with a mix of witchcraft and old school crime mystery leaving the viewer completely unsure of what is happening and where the story is going, although the issue is that most viewers had the same feeling by the time the two-part show was over, with very little in the way of closure or answers.
The cast is the best thing about the show, with three stars particularly standing out; Rufus Sewell, Kaya Scodelario, and Bertie Carvel. Sewell seems to just get cooler with age, and he looks and acts perfectly for this role of troubled yet suave gentleman. Scodelario broke out in teen hit Skins but as she has grown, has continued to show what a talented actress she is, and here she perfectly plays a young wife with simmering rage under the surface. As for Bertie Carvel, fans of Doctor Foster will find him unrecognisable here, as he is playing a real oddball and sinister character.
I look forward to the next Agatha Christie adaptation that the BBC despite’s to tackle.
Rating = 3/5
Howe's World of Film and TV 