Crooked House (2017)

After her wealthy Greek grandfather (Gino Picciano) dies, his granddaughter (Stefanie Martini) asks an old flame (Max Irons), now working as a private detective, to investigate his death as she believes he was murdered. What worries her now is that she believes the murderer is a family member living in the household. Based on the 1949 novel by Agatha Christie and directed by Gilles Paquet Brenner. CROOKED HOUSE is one of Christie's best novels. It probably isn't better known because it doesn't contain either of her beloved sleuths, Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. It's one of her darker tales and one of her more shocking finales. The screenplay (credited to three writers including GOSFORD PARK's Julian Fellowes) is faithful to the novel and the changes are minor. Paquet-Brenner keeps the focus on the nest of vipers that is the Leonides family, all of them prime suspects with a motive. The period detail is excellent (it takes place in the mid 1950s) thanks to Simon Bowles production design and Colleen Kelsall's costumes. The acting is uniformly good and the cast includes Glenn Close as the spinster aunt, Terence Stamp, Gillian Anderson, Christina Hendricks as the murdered man's wife (her performance is expert), Julian Sands, Amanda Abbington, Honor Kneafsey and Christian McKay.