Matthew Rhys and Anjelica Huston Lead BritBox’s Engrossing Adaptation of Agatha Christie’s ‘Towards Zero’
Agatha Christie’s 1944 murder mystery novel ‘Towards Zero’ gets an intricate, mature update in a moody BritBox miniseries starring Matthew Rhys and Anjelica Huston.
“I like a good detective story, but they begin in the wrong place,” says lawyer Mr. Treves (Clarke Peters) in the opening scene of Towards Zero, and the three-part series follows his lead. Based on Agatha Christie’s 1944 novel, Towards Zero (streaming April 16 on BritBox) doesn’t get around to its central murder until late in the second episode, but that doesn’t mean it’s not full of intrigue. Christie’s name in the credits and that opening monologue make it clear that someone is going to get killed, and the suspense comes from wondering who that will be, and how.
There are plenty of candidates for both victim and perpetrator in Towards Zero, all of them gathered at fancy seaside estate Gull’s Point, presided over by the wealthy, imperious Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston). She’s been confined to her bedroom since the death of her husband in a boating accident, but she still exerts a strong influence over her dependents, including debonair tennis champion Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), Lady Tressilian’s nephew and primary heir.
Following the initial scene with Treves, the first episode flashes back to eight months earlier, as Nevile is in the middle of a contentious divorce from his wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland), who has accused him of having an affair with the disreputable Kay Elliott (Mimi Keene). It’s 1936, so Audrey has to prove her accusations in court before being granted a divorce, and the packed courtroom gasps at each new revelation like it’s a scandalous murder trial.
Eventually Nevile admits the affair and gets remarried to Kay, but he insists that they travel to Gull’s Point while Audrey is also there, so the three of them can remain on good terms. They’re joined by Lady Tressilian’s paid companion Mary Aldin (Anjana Vasan), who has been secretly corresponding with family outcast Thomas Royde (Jack Farthing), encouraging him to confront Lady Tressilian over the money he believes he’s owed.
For her part, Lady Tressilian decides that Treves must be present as well, to serve as a sort of referee. Treves brings along his own teenage ward Sylvia (Grace Doherty), who’s just been kicked out of school for stealing. There are enough secrets and animosities to fuel an entire series about the rich and resentful, even if no murder took place, and the first episode features plenty of ominous references to past misdeeds among all of the characters.
At first, the disheveled and depressed Inspector Leach (Matthew Rhys) seems like a minor player in the drama, a local functionary who’s surly about being at the beck and call of this haughty old rich lady. “This lack of deference I find very unamusing,” Lady Tressilian tells him when he doesn’t take her complaints about inappropriate behavior at the nearby hotel seriously. Rhys immediately makes an impression, but Leach is such a mess that it’s hard to believe he’ll be able to rise to the standard of iconic Christie detectives like Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple.
One of Christie’s second-tier recurring detectives, Superintendent Battle, is the lead investigator in the novel, but series creator Rachel Bennette has removed him from the story, combining elements of two of the novel’s other characters into the show’s version of Inspector Leach. Leach is a heavy drinker who’s clearly suffering from PTSD from his time serving in World War I, and he narrowly escapes a suicide attempt before the case even begins.
Towards Zero is best in its third episode, as Leach draws on his formidable investigative skills while battling his internal demons. He stands up to the rich and powerful as he interrogates everyone at Gull’s Point, not letting any of them off the hook just because they are influential and intimidating. Bennette adds modern elements to the story without making it too self-consciously dark and gritty, and fans of cozier mysteries can still appreciate the gorgeous period sets and costumes.
Huston brings gravitas to her role even if she almost never gets out of bed, and Jackson-Cohen perfectly embodies the smug privilege of an attractive, wealthy, athletic man who is unable to handle a single thing not going his way. Bennette effectively translates Christie’s typically sturdy mystery, but Rhys remains the main draw, playing the kind of haunted man of action that he perfected on The Americans and Perry Mason. Inspector Leach may not be a Christie regular, but he’d be well worth following if he ever took on another case.
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Josh Bell is a freelance writer and movie/TV critic based in Las Vegas. He has written about movies, TV, and pop culture for the Boston Globe, Vulture, Tom’s Guide, Inverse, Crooked Marquee, and more. With comedian Jason Harris, he co-hosts the podcast Awesome Movie Year.