“Crooked House” is a British mystery film directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, based on Agatha Christie‘s novel of the same name.
The film stars Max Irons, Stefanie Martini, Glenn Close, Gillian Anderson and Christina Hendricks.
It’s the first film adaptation of Agatha’s Christie’s novel.
Christie’s novels, especially “And then there were none” and “Murder on the Orient Express”, have had several movie adaptations through the years.
It’s odd that no one thought about making a “Crooked House” inspired movie before.
Indeed Agatha Christie herself stated that “Crooked House” and “Ordeal by Innocence” were her favourites novels, the ones she held closest to her heart.
The film follows the classic murder mystery formula: it starts with a murder, a young struggling detective is called to investigate and everybody is a suspect. No one is safe and the killer might stike again.
The classic “whodunnit” formula.
Nevertheless the movie manages to keep the audience entertained.
There are twists and turns and Charles Hayward, the detective, keeps second guessing his intuition.
The movie starts with the murder of a wealthy entrepreneur, Aristides Leonides, poisoned by a family member at Crooked House.
Due to the war, the whole family lives at Crooked House, Aristides’ fancy mansion in the english countryside.
Sophia Leonides, Aristide’s oldest and favorite granddaughter, gets in touch with an old flame, detective Charles Hayward, and asks him to help her unravel the mystery.
The whole family accuses Brenda, Aristide’s second wife, of the murder.
Brenda, a beautiful and much younger woman, is the obvious suspect and Hayward decides to dig deeper, uncovering one secret after another, questioning the already weak alibis of each family member.
Everybody could have done it. Every single family member had a valid reason to want him dead, including Sophia.
Charles Hayward takes one step forward and two steps back, exonerating some family members only to put them back in the game later.
“Crooked House” is a good movie. Mostly due to its dynamic characters and vibrant ensemble cast.
Each character represents a different microcosm of the same world.
“Crooked House” is currently out in Italy.
It’s not a masterpiece or the movie of the year but it’s definitely a good movie to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon or a chill night out with friends.
Lots to say, too little time 