England
wasn’t so merry in the 1930s. The economy was depressed, nativism was on the
rise, and war was brewing. Worst of all, the world’s most famous detective had
lost his mojo. However, a game-playing serial killer just might get Hercule Poirot
back in his groove. The Belgian sleuth must solve his most personal case yet in
Amazon Prime’s three-part miniseries, The
ABC Murders (trailer
here),
directed by Alex Gabassi, which debuts next week.
Poirot
has suffered some bad press and his old comrade at Scotland Yard, Inspector
Japp, has retired. Young Inspector Crome resents Poirot for making the Yard
look stupid—and he isn’t shy about expressing his feelings. Consequently,
Poirot’s reception is decidedly chilly when he tries to report the mocking
poison pen letters he has been receiving from a psychopath simply calling
himself “ABC.”
It
turns out alphabetization is a thing for this killer. He is sequentially
working his way through the alphabet, killing a victim whose initials match the
first letter of the town or municipality where they reside, leaving behind a
copy of the ABC railway guide book. The killer also seems to have a thing for
Poirot, because each murder is committed in a town Poirot visited.
Gone
are the days of Peter Ustinov jovially munching truffles and escargot as the
Belgian detective. John Malkovich’s Poirot is guilt ridden and angsty. He also
has a tragic backstory no fan ever cared to ask for. Poirot should glide
through life enjoying all the finer things, not waste time wallowing in
self-pity.
Malkovich
is excellent as the dour, depressed Poirot. This is some of his best work in
years, but, ironically, he is much more entertaining preening and chewing the
scenery in crummy movies like Unlocked than
when offers up a rigorously disciplined performance, like his Poirot.
Regardless, it is a pleasant surprise to see Rupert Grint looking and sounding
like an adult as the stressed out Crome. Eamon Farren is suitably twitch and clammy
as the ominous Cust, but it is just doesn’t feel right to see Tara Fitzgerald (Sirens, Hear My Song) playing her fifty-ish
age as ailing matriarch Lady Hermione Clarke, Poirot’s greatest fan.
Gabassi
and the design team seamlessly recreate thirties England, but fans do no want a
dark and moody Poirot. They want sly elegance and a chance to vicariously enjoy
the sleuth’s luxurious lifestyle. Frankly, screenwriter Sarah Phelps vastly
overstates the popular following of Oswald Mosley and his fellow black shirted demagogues
during the 1930s in the UK, but at least she refrains from rewriting Dame
Agatha’s original ending, unlike what she did with Ordeal by Innocence. It is compelling to watch Malkovich wrestle
with Poirot’s inner demons, but ABC is
just too dark and didactic to satisfy admirers of Agatha Christie. Recommended
only as a quick fix for British mystery addicts, The ABC Murders starts streaming next Friday (2/1), on Amazon
Prime.
