“And Then There Were None,” the popular 1939 novel by the British “queen of mystery” Agatha Christie, is being revived by BBC. The thriller was adapted as a two-part miniseries that premiered March 13 in the U.S. The limited-series platform is the perfect fit for Christie’s intricate mystery, giving the story the right amount of breathing room to engage and unravel as an extended cinematic experience.
Christie’s storytelling brilliance never fails to resonate. Her expert pacing encourages suspense, her clever narrative gives the story a backbone and her simple writing style leaves room for the imagination. This imaginative space is elegantly harnessed by the dark TV adaptation. The neat and tidy British production perfectly fits the story with a two-episode arc, giving the original story a suitable length.
“And Then There Were None” was the novel that introduced the “survival of the fittest” horror genre often seen in countless thrillers. The BBC miniseries is a period piece that follows an unlikely group of brooding Brits trapped together by their shared guilt as killers. The mysterious and unseen Mr. and Mrs. Owens serve as the deliverers of punishment, playing god by doling out death after death to torture the damned. Trapped on the gloomy Soldier Island, the victims, who are forever haunted by their past sins, must finally face the repercussions. This webbed trap is inspired by the “Ten Little Soldiers” nursery poem, with the deaths mirroring its demented verses until each character is picked off.
The BBC adaptation masterfully respects the material by remaining faithful to Christie’s work while artistically expanding on its foundation. The miniseries gives a newfound edge to the dusty chronicle mainly through the impressive acting performances. Each actor creates such a genuinely tortured portrayal of the character they embody, breathing new life into Christie’s descriptions. Each flawed character presents its own intriguing case study, coping with hysteria, denial, paranoia and hallucinatory visions. They carry the burden of hiding skeletons in the closet, only to be punished for it with twisted brutality. Once the imprisoned guests catch on that the entrapment may have been created by one of them, they become desperate to reveal whoever is behind the curtain, secretly orchestrating the gory dinner party in plain sight. The actors plummet to new psychological depths with bone-chilling performances as their situation gets bleaker and the carpet bloodier. Lies once easily told become harder to mask as they are at each other’s throats, clawing to escape the sinister game.
As someone who has read Christie’s novel, the BBC version is a clear feat of creativity that honors and celebrates Christie’s genius while reveling in artistic liberties. A screen adaptation of a novel is only a true success if it respects the writing, gives further expansion to the original’s vision, and most importantly, gives a deeper appreciation of the initial text. BBC’s “And Then There Were None” does just that, justifying a modern take on a classic tale.
