‘Towards Zero’ review: Agatha Christie meets gender-swapped ‘Challengers’ in this overtly glamorous, seductive miniseries
3/5 tennis rackets
A new Agatha Christie adaptation is always an event, and the BBC’s and BritBox’s Towards Zero is no exception. How will they make the show feel fresh and exciting for avid book readers? What will set it apart from the dozens of other British crime dramas being released every year?
This version of Towards Zero doesn’t hold back. The glam, the glitz, the debauchery, the secrets, and the seductions are all turned up to 11. While most of it works—many beautiful people are being beautiful in this—I found the series’ quieter moments, with powerhouse performers like Matthew Rhys and Anjelica Huston, to be the most impactful. As Towards Zero only consists of three hour-long episodes, however, there were, in my opinion, too few of those moments amid the chaos of the impending murder mystery.
This isn’t your traditional whodunnit
Anyone even remotely familiar with a classic British murder mystery will know that they typically start with someone discovering a body. Not Towards Zero, though. Instead, as explained by Clarke Peters’ wonderfully soothing voice, Towards Zero begins by providing character and narrative background, rather than that background being uncovered by the leading detective once the investigation begins. I’ve never read Christie’s original novel, so I can’t compare it to what happens in the book, but in this case, it was a nice deviation from the norm. It’s interesting to get a sense of all the characters before they’ve been irrevocably altered by the death of a loved one, or, at the very least, someone somewhat close to them.
The narrative begins with a very public celebrity divorce. The steamy, venom-fueled, will-they-won’t-they love triangle between tennis star Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), his ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hedland), and his new wife Kay (Mimi Keene) provides most of the narrative’s drama, as Nevile’s attention flits between the two women with abandon, using his undeniable looks and charm to try and lure them in. Nevile wants to spend his honeymoon with his new wife at his aunt’s lavish hall in Gull’s Point, which would all be well and good if his ex-wife wasn’t set to be there at the same time.
Of course, the hall is haunted by a living, wealthier-than-God matriarch, Lady Tressilian (Huston), a demanding recluse with a telescope. Then there’s Inspector Leach (Matthew Rhys), a man on the brink of a breakdown, a loyal solicitor (Peters), an aggrieved relative (Thomas Royde), and a yearning household manager (Anjana Vasan). All the pieces are set. So who gets murdered?
That’s for you to find out.
The performances are all compelling, but I felt the series was much more intriguing prior to the murder than after. Once the first victim had fallen, it felt like there was a rush toward the finish line, as Leach and his fellow officers moved swiftly from one suspect to the next, uncovering secrets and motives within the blink of an eye. Because of this, I’m not sure three episodes were enough. The flipped structure could have been more effective if the before and after had more time to breathe and connect with the characters.
“Investigating a murder is almost as brutal as the murder itself,” Inspector Leach tells one of his suspects. While that’s undoubtedly true, this particular investigation sadly didn’t feel long enough.
Beauty isn’t everything
This series is stunning to look at; the cinematography, costuming, and sets are all lavish and spellbinding. Beauty isn’t everything, though, as Kay—a welcome return to the small screen for Sex Education’s Mimi Keene—reminds Lady Tressilian when she boasts about the independence she had before marrying Nevile.
There’s a lot to like about Towards Zero. The mystery will suck you in, the chemistry between Jackson-Cohen and Hedland, both sexy and angry, is electric, Inspector Leach is an intriguing enigma, and the love triangle and the athletic showdown in the last episode feel distantly reminiscent of Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers—without the catchy electronic beat. It could have been more, though. I needed extra time with these glamorous, beautiful, angry, jealous, and undeniably tragic characters.
Towards Zero will premiere on BritBox on April 16, with new episodes dropping on April 17 and 18. The series is now on BBC iPlayer in the U.K.
(featured image: BBC/BritBox)
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