Agatha and the Truth of Murder Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Agatha and the Truth of Murder Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 23, 2022

Dame Agatha Christie has been rightly lionized for having crafted some of the most labyrinthine murder mystery plots ever written, and, to paraphrase another noted British author who kind of hilariously was discussing shuffling off this mortal coil at the time, "Ay, there's the rub". Film and television adaptations of Christie's many mysteries have been legion through the years, but there are an obviously finite number of Christie mysteries to adapt, which has left some latter day scenarists with a few enigmas of their own to unwrap if they have sought to revisit anything that has already seen the light of day either on the large or small screen, since Christie's plots are so memorable anyone having been exposed to them already is no doubt going to know how things are "supposed" to go. The tendency to "rejigger" certain elements in Christie "remakes" has raised the umbrage of (no pun intended, give the murderous impulses at play in Christie's work) diehard fans, and efforts like Agatha Christie's Marple consistently "rewrote" the Christie originals, obviously in order to keep those with a knowledge of the originals in the dark. That said, any offering bearing the imprimatur of Agatha Christie, especially ones with her signature as part of the logo, indicate that Christie's Estate has given its blessing. That blessing is noticeably absent from Agatha and the Truth of Murder, and in fact there's a blatant disclaimer at the end of this interesting "what if" exercise that makes it clear it's a complete work of fiction, even if certain elements of its plot are most definitely lifted from the actual historical record.

As of the writing of this review, there have been three Agatha and. . . made for television movies produced, and in some ways this first one is the best, even if it is (in terms of actual Christie life events depicted in the telefilms) chronologically in the middle, taking place during Christie's infamous disappearance in 1926, which was accorded a previous fictional treatment in 1979's Agatha with Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman. Here, Agatha (Ruth Bradley) is encountering both personal and professional problems, with her marriage to Archie Christie (Liam McMahon) hanging by a thread, and with Christie starting to doubt her abilities as a writer since so many people are guessing the outcomes of her books long before the "Moishe the Explainer" wrap ups that became a regular and expected part of Christie's structural elements. Agatha turns to a certain Arthur Conan Doyle (Michael McElhatton) for advice in just one of this film's more whimsical postulations (there's no evidence the two iconic mystery writers ever met), and kind of weirdly, he suggests she design a golf course to help her through her writer's block. The fact that Archie, an accomplished golfer, evidently entered into a dalliance on a golf course gives this suggestion some unwanted emotional heft for Agatha.

The telefilm actually opens with a murder (of course), though it's not initially clear who the victim is or what exactly is going on. Six years after the event a nurse named Mabel Rogers (Pippa Haywood) shows up at the Christie mansion just as Agatha and Archie are having a showdown about a divorce. Mabel is seeking help solving the (real life) murder of her friend, Florence Nightingale Shore (Stacha Hicks), goddaughter of the legendary Florence Nightingale. Agatha is initially more than resistant, but events seem to be conspiring to get her involved, and soon enough she joins forces with Mabel to try to ferret out what might have happened to Shore. Mabel has already developed a list of potential suspects, and while there's a bit of elision at play, probably to keep people guessing, it turns out Agatha decides to assume the identity of a probate examiner named Mary Westmacott (trivia fans will get this) and summons all the suspects to a private home with the promise of an inheritance if they can answer certain questions.

Suffice it to say that as per any "real" Christie mystery, there are red herrings and incorrect assumptions, with the result being that Agatha and Mabel soon have a corpse on their hands, which is when local policeman Inspector Dicks (Ralph Ineson) gets involved, none too pleased the virtually all of his local constabulary are already consumed with the cause celebre that has overtaken England, namely the mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie. There are arguably a few shortcomings in the writing with regard to all of the suspects, and there's one really curious misstep (in my not so humble opinion) in that Mabel, who is pretending to be the maid at the estate, is still called Mabel, even though there's a cousin of Florence Nightingale Shore among the suspects who is at least aware of someone with the name who knew his cousin. (This is yet another Christie-adjacent piece that introduces a "secret" gay relationship, in this case between Mabel and Florence.)

But there's some surprising emotional immediacy to Agatha and the Truth of Murder, an aspect which frankly is not always at play in the sometimes cold and clinical world of actual Christie mysteries (despite any overheated passions which may lead to murder, of course). While it occasionally stumbles, the writing can often be quite sharp, and in fact there are a couple of delicious vignettes, one with Christie and Conan Doyle, and another with a golf course designer whom Christie goes to visit, that are wonderful, even if both of them unfold before any dastardly subterfuge (other than Archie's affair) takes place.

Ruth Bradley makes for a very appealing Christie, though both her appearance and manner of speaking seem almost willfully evocative of Michelle Dockery in Downton Abbey, a connection which is perhaps subliminally further reinforced by a piano heavy score that can sound quite a bit like John Lunn's memorable work on the series.

Agatha and the Truth of Murder Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Agatha and the Truth of Murder is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Dazzler Media with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1. The IMDb credits the Arri Alexa and I'm assuming the DI was finished in 2K. This is a sometimes intentionally soft, almost gauzy, looking presentation that frequently uses backlighting and similar techniques to almost create effulgent glows in some interior framings. The palette is rather interestingly handled as well, with, for example, the opening vignette documenting Florence Nightingale Shore's murder kind of slightly desaturated but still tweaked slightly toward blue tones. Later scenes find an at least somewhat more robust palette, though there's a kind of wintry aspect to the film that tends to keep things from popping too vibrantly. Detail levels are typically quite good throughout, especially in close-ups, where fine detail levels perk up considerably despite the frequent softness. I noticed no compression issues.

Agatha and the Truth of Murder Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Agatha and the Truth of Murder features an LPCM 2.0 track that capably supports the film's somewhat standard sound design. There are some rather neat moments in the film, though, including the opening murder which has a seeming "absolution of sins" voiced in a whisper as Florence meets her maker, and some of the outdoor material in particular has at least passing attempts to create realistic ambient environmental effects. The bulk of this film is a "parlor" mystery, however, with characters simply engaged in dialogue in interior locations, and in the regard, everything is rendered cleanly and clearly without any issues. As mentioned above, the score by Andrew Simon McAllister bears more than a passing resemblance to John Lunn's work on Downton Abbey, but sounds nicely burnished and full bodied. Optional English subtitles are available.

Agatha and the Truth of Murder Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately there are no supplements of any kind on this disc. I would have loved for some kind of video "index" of all the actual Christie mysteries that are alluded to in this story.

Agatha and the Truth of Murder Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am a huge and unabashed Agatha Christie and I have in fact not always been overly enthused about how "revisionists" have sought to throw curve balls at audiences who are familiar either with Christie's original formulations or prior adaptive efforts. This first of (so far) three Agatha and. . . mysteries at least attempts to deliver something "new" rather than "reimagined" (at least within the context of Christie's own work), and if it's not entirely successful, it's still fun and should appeal to Christie fans for both its inherent mystery as well as its "meta" aspects. Technical merits are generally solid, and Agatha and the Truth of Murder comes Recommended.