The Big Picture

Crooked House
is a dark and twisty tale of money, family, and murder, based on a classic Agatha Christie novel.
The film adaptation, directed by Giles Paquet-Brenner, boasts brilliant performances from Glenn Close and Gillian Anderson.
With intriguing characters, deep secrets, and unexpected twists,
Crooked House
is a must-see for any Agatha Christie fan.

“There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.”

The 19th-century nursery rhyme about the less-than-perfect homeowner, from which Agatha Christie borrowed the title for her 44th novel, perfectly encapsulates the Queen of Mystery’s Crooked House, a dark and twisty tale of money, family, and murder. Crooked House has often been cited as one of her favorite books, with Christie stating that she “found the study of a certain family interesting to explore.” Director Giles Paquet-Brenner’s 2017 film adaptation was overshadowed when it was first released at the same time as Kenneth Branagh’s bigger and flashier adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. Now available on Prime Video, 2017’s Crooked House is getting a second chance to receive the attention it deserves. For one thing, it boasts brilliant performances from Glenn Close and Gillian Anderson at the top of a stellar cast of talented, mostly British, character actors.

Crooked House In Agatha Christie’s most twisted tale, a spy-turned-private-detective is lured by his former lover to catch her grandfather’s murderer before Scotland Yard exposes dark family secrets.Release Date September 6, 2017 Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner Runtime 115 Writers Julian Fellowes , Agatha Christie , Gilles Paquet-Brenner , Tim Rose Price

What Is ‘Crooked House’ About?
The story takes place in 1957 in a rambling spooky British country house called “Three Gables” (although there are a good many more gables than three). The recently deceased owner, Aristide Leonides, a wealthy Greek immigrant industrialist, has supposedly died of accidental poisoning when his insulin was somehow swapped for deadly eye drops. His granddaughter, Sophia (Stephanie Martini), has hired Charles Hayward (Max Irons), an “everyman” kind of private investigator, with whom she has been romantically involved in the past, to find the killer. As the nursery rhyme suggests, three generations — ten in all — of the old man’s family “all lived together,” crammed in one house under the same slanted roof. They include two warring married sons with unhappy wives, a sexy new young widow, three precocious and maladjusted grandchildren, a great aunt, a live-in nanny, a bachelor tutor, and even a scientist with a thorough knowledge of poisons. There are plenty of suspects to work with, all living off the old man’s money, all with ambitions and motives to kill.

Related Every Agatha Christie Fan Should Check Out This Movie Spoof Neil Simon’s ‘Murder by Death’ is a hilarious parody of detective fiction with an all-star cast and a genuine affection for classic crime authors.

Christie published 80 books in her lifetime, mostly detective stories. More than 30 films have been made from her writings, primarily featuring her two most famous characters, Hercule Poirot (her first) and Miss Marple (her favorite). There have been several films (five of Murder on the Orient Express alone) and multiple television series featuring both Poirot and Marple. Even her lesser-known detectives have been translated to screen, like Bobby Jones of Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, and married sleuths Tommy and Tuppence. But it took decades to get one of Charles Hayward and Crooked House. This is the sole film adaptation to date of one of the author’s favorite books. Screenwriter Julian Fellows focused more on the tangled relationships and histories of this large dysfunctional family in their native Britain, more like his series Downton Abbey, than like Branagh’s recent action-oriented Poirot films set in exotic destinations. In this way, Crooked House resembles the best of the expensively-made special two-hour ITV television films made from 1995 through 2013, like Hickory, Dickory, Dock, and Dumb Witness.

‘Crooked House’ Features a Lesser-Known Agatha Christie Detective

We are told that Charles has had wartime experience in the diplomatic corps and is the son of a well-regarded former Scotland Yard Police Commissioner. This gives him a ready-made relationship with the inspector (Terrance Stamp) assigned to the case, a former friend of his late father, who initially gives him a free hand in pursuing the culprit. Charles’ background explains both his tact and strategic thinking and his dogged method of investigating. Throughout his investigation, he tries to reignite his and Sophia’s flame and understand why they broke up so suddenly after meeting in Egypt years before. Charles Hayward is one of Agatha Christie’s most eligible bachelors. Unlike Tommy and Tuppence, he is unmarried and, unlike Poirot and Marple, he is young and free of eccentricities. Yet, Sophia inexplicably resists him.

Much of the film is spent with Charles at the old house searching for clues, interviewing and re-interviewing the many suspects as the pieces of the puzzle of Aristide’s murder slowly begin falling into place. He first meets Sophia’s late mother’s sister, great aunt Edith (Close), entering appropriately enough with a shotgun blast at moles, despoiling her lawn. She, alone among the family, seems old and wise enough to have an objective view of them. The dead man’s sexy, much younger wife Brenda (Christina Hendricks) seems genuinely mournful of his loss, even as she romances the children’s tutor. The favored younger brother and heir to his father’s business (Christian McKay) with the chemist wife, has already pegged Brenda as the killer and is happy to tell anyone who will listen that he has always hated her as a golddigger. The feckless overlooked elder son (Julian Sands), a failed writer, only wants enough money to stage his latest play with his failed, neurotic actress wife Magda (played with marvelous eccentricity by Anderson) in the lead. What binds these people together is envy and greed. All the secrets and animosities here come back to one thing: family.

Glenn Close and Gillian Anderson Lead a Marvelous Cast

The real secret sauce of this banquet is its cast. Close stands out, both fun-loving and regal, as Edith. Anderson is catlike and sympathetically neurotic as Magda and Julian Sands is all weak protest as her failed playwright husband. Max Irons is handsome and sturdy as Charles and his chemistry with Martini as Sophia is palpable. Christian McKay’s deep bass voice and bombast suit him as well here as they did in his iconic portrayal of the famed director in Me and Orson Welles. Young Preston Nyman and Honor Kneafsey stand out as the spoiled grandchildren, and the wonderfully smooth Terence Stamp brings all his 62 years of experience as an actor to bear on his soft-spoken yet commanding Scotland Yard Inspector. The film’s centerpiece is a delightfully vicious formal dinner scene at midpoint with the entire family baring their claws and sniping at each other: all the many motives — envy, jealousy, resentment, wounded pride, greed —put on full display.

Featuring superb performances, a funny and mostly sturdy script, beautiful settings, costumes (except for a couple of unfortunate wigs), and shadowy lighting, this movie is pure Christie: A funny and sad study of human frailty as only she can do, and a surprise to the end that you will not see coming. Until then, the suspense and excitement build steadily. The film takes its place as a worthy addition to the Christie film catalog as a twisty mystery favorite made with style, polish, and surprises. It’s an absolute must-see for any Christie fan.

Crooked House is available to rent on Amazon.

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