Perhaps Sarah Phelps, the creator of most of the Agatha Christie adaptations to grace our screens recently, is still recovering from writing her heartbreaking masterpiece The Sixth Commandment. Did it emotionally pulverise her as much as it did viewers? Or maybe the Christie fans who hated her departures from tradition finally became too vociferous to ignore.
Whatever the reason, the old BBC Christie kit has been taken down from the loft, dusted off and a full return to pre-Phelpsian form made with Towards Zero, adapted by Rachel Bennette and directed by Sam Yates. Gorgeous prewar clothes are draped on gorgeous people topped with bobs or Brylcreem. The gorgeous people gather at a country estate – let’s call it Denouement Hall – ruled by an embittered widow, while spivs and suspects gather at a vulgar hotel on an opposite hill. A murder occurs. An inspector investigates. An array of persons, possibilities, motives and countermotives have been assembled by the unerring writer’s hand: a love triangle is triangling, a will left half-revised, a family secret is emerging from the shadows, a housekeeper is drugged, a lady’s maid is put upon and a new manservant is a shady sort. Even if you’re no great fan or an arch traditionalist, you find yourself lingering long enough for your mystery glands to start juicing and suddenly find yourself locked in for the duration. Like any character in her books, you are powerless – Agatha will have you right where she wants you.
