Binge Or Cringe: ‘Murder Is Easy’ Is A Forgettable Adaptation of A Detective Classic
Agatha Christie’s 1939 novel Murder Is Easy is lauded as a magnum opus of the crime genre, yet The BBC’s adaptation doesn’t reach the same echelon. Representing the novel at its most contrived, tedious, and boring, it manages to squeeze out the quirks and idiosyncrasies of Christie’s prose. This detective classic follows Luke Fitzwilliam (David Jonsson) after the death of an elderly woman engulfs him in a game of cat-and-mouse across the village of Wychwood. As death looms around every corner, he must find the killer while traversing through the politics of the aristocratic Whitfield family. The adaptation is anything but concise; it is a jarring culmination of unorganized whodunit tropes hindered by unoriginal stock characters and questionable storytelling. Murder Is Easy fails to capture the novel’s mystery and results in an adaptation driving on autopilot.
Meet Luke and the whitfields
Arriving from Nigeria with prospects of employment, Luke, an empathetic and ambitious man, meets Ms. Pinkerton (Penelope Wilton), an elderly woman who informs him of a killer loose in the village. After her sudden death, Luke poses as a journalist to investigate the Whitfield family; there, he meets Bridget Conway (Morfydd Clark), a witty, confident woman set to marry Lord Whitfield (Tom Riley). They team up in search of the Wychwood Killer when members of their neighborhood and family begin dying one by one. It’s the perfect setup for a murder mystery: a foreboding intro, a large cast of characters, a small village, and a killer hiding among the sheep. However, the story presents overtly hammy characters and exaggerated plot points that border on parody. Each character must be taken at face value, with the series never implying any ulterior motives or deeper backgrounds. Instead, it villainizes characters without nuance and refuses to leave a breadcrumb trail for audiences to follow, resulting in contrived, spontaneous plot twists. Luke has no reason to voluntarily throw himself in harm's way. As danger inches closer, his actions are propelled by the plot, never justified by his characteristics. Lady Conway suffers in the opposite way; she provides exposition as she pulls Luke towards the next scene, also lacking character motivations to drive her forward.
The Whitfield Family and their house workers feel one-note, lacking substance beyond their cartoonish personalities. The killer’s reveal lends itself to underwhelming character writing given the culprit’s random, expository motives. It doesn’t feel like solving a mystery — it feels like being led through an amusement park without the ability to interact with any attractions. The story happens around Luke, and we’re led to believe he’s figured it out when, in reality, he is playing catch up alongside the audience.
was it binge or cringe?
Despite the lackluster characters, the series’ scenery is beautiful, and the costumes amazingly amplify its 1950s nostalgia. However, the writing catalyzes the series’ downfall. The dialogue is incredibly cheesy and exaggerates characters’ eccentricities to unintended hilarity. Tonally inconsistent scenes discussing race are followed by lighthearted scenes with quippy dialogue. The cast’s performances, like their characters, are over the top, completely removing any sense of urgency and suspense. Jonsson’s performance is particularly notable given how little Luke emotes or expresses anything other than stale dismay. More episodes would allow further development of characters and an intriguing trail of clues for audiences to pick up on. Instead, the series rushes its plot at such intense speeds that it gives the audience whiplash. The multiple twists throughout don’t make sense due to the few genuine motivations and characteristics presented. The series refuses to subtly hint at the main culprit. Rather, it jarringly reveals their actions through an obligatory monologue filled with cheesy flashbacks and painful exposition.
Murder Is Easy presents a vapid interpretation of Christie’s classic novel, full of every trope of the genre. The series paints a colorful aesthetic but showcases characters with little motivation and an eye-rolling plot that delves into absurdity. Luke is numbingly empty — less of a detective and more of an onlooker to a story unfolding around him. It’s a mystery how the series manages to portray the most unoriginal characters with such an amazing cast. Ultimately, Murder Is Easy struggles to accurately portray the mystery of Christie’s novel, remaining an uninspired remake void of drama.
who will like it?
The series makes enough changes to differentiate itself from the novel but not enough to satiate avid mystery fans. Murder Is Easy wraps every detective trope into a rushed, two-episode adaptation. While the set and costumes are beyond beautiful, the weak writing leaves much to be desired. The series is flashy, exaggerated, and poorly paced. With enough episodes, the series could have been more than a shell of the novel, but the present adaptation results in a murder mystery without much suspense. All two episodes of Murder Is Easy are available on The BBC.