Mystery Movie - Agatha & the Truth of Murder

It's no surprise that I not only read mysteries, thrillers, and espionage, but I also watch them.  I will occasionally review a mystery series or movie as a new feature on the blog.  I hope you enjoy it.

 

Today I want to share my thoughts on the 2018 British movie Agatha and the Truth of Murder.  I chose this movie, while not Oscar worthy, because it probably wasn't a movie widely advertised and it was much like a Christie traditional mystery.  

The short description is the author Agatha Christie decides to solve a real murder.  The longer description is based in fact.  On Friday 3 December 1926, the wildly popular Agatha Christie vanished (for real) from her home in Berkshire for 11 days. It sparked a massive manhunt of 1,000 policeman and hundreds of civilians searching for her.  Her car was found abandoned but no sign of Agatha or foul play.  I read a report of the time saying that fellow authors Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers also were enlisted in the search.  For the first time in history airplanes had been used in the search along with dogs on the ground.  

Wild conspiracies abounded from suicide to a publicity stunt and worse murdered by her husband, since he was know to cheat (some reports say she had an argument with her husband right before disappearing).  News spread around the world and the New York Times covered it.  On December 14 she was located safe and sound at a hotel in Harrogate England enjoying herself at the hotel dances.  She has no memory, reportedly, of what happened and she didn't speak of it ever again after that.  Her husband claimed she suffered memory loss from the car accident.  I suspect she ran away for her own sanity and was contemplating the big decision of divorce.  This movie takes place in those 11 days she went missing with the premise that she went undercover to solve a murder.  I found that fascinating and couldn't resist the lure of the movie.

My thoughts:  It is very British, so the slower pace and understated acting are on full display.  With that in mind I found this a fun, traditional mystery in the classic style of Agatha herself.   If you like the BBC Christie television murder movies (Mystery Theater), this will be your cup of tea.  If you don't like the British style of a slower build up in the murder investigation, then you may find this too plodding.  I enjoyed it tremendously and will likely watch it again sometime.

Watch on Vudu: https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/details/Agatha-and-The-Truth-of-Murder/1345125​

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/agathaandthetruthofmurde​

FandangoNow: https://www.fandangonow.com/details/movie/agatha-and-the-truth-of-murder-2018/MMV246A8C722710CC26AA3B1ACDD446F64AB

Movie Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tPlzARevlk