A twisted family legacy: why the 2017 adaptation of Agatha Christie's Crooked House matters
In short: In a sprawling estate, a patriarch is poisoned with his own eye drops, sparking a hunt for a killer among his resentful kin. Based on Agatha Christie's 1949 novel, this 2017 mystery film explores a dark, claustrophobic world where every family member has a motive and a secret to hide.
The 2017 film adaptation of Crooked House, directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, brings Agatha Christie’s 1949 mystery to the screen with a star-studded cast including Max Irons, Glenn Close, and Gillian Anderson. The narrative centers on the death of Aristide Leonides, a wealthy, manipulative patriarch whose life ends abruptly when his insulin injection is laced with eserine. Private investigator Charles Hayward is tasked by Aristide’s granddaughter, Sophia, to uncover the truth, navigating a household filled with individuals who all stood to gain from the patriarch's demise.
The film’s production history is as complex as its plot. Originally, filmmaker Neil La Bute announced a version in 2011 with a script by Julian Fellowes and a different cast, but the project evolved significantly before principal photography finally commenced in September 2016. The production utilized several historic English locations to capture the atmosphere of the titular estate, including Minley Manor for exteriors, and interiors filmed at sites like Hughenden Manor and Tyntesfield. Simon Bowles served as production designer, while Hugo de Chaire composed the original score.
Critical reception of the film has been mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 57% approval rating from 30 critics, with an average score of 5.2/10, while Metacritic reports a weighted average of 59 out of 100 based on 8 reviews. Critics noted that while the cast delivers capable performances, the film struggles with stylistic pitfalls. Ultimately, the story reveals a chilling truth: the murderer is not the obvious outsider, Brenda, but the young Josephine, whose resentment over cancelled ballet lessons led her to commit a series of calculated crimes, including the poisoning of her own nanny.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Crooked House (film)
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