Entertainment Review: Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials

Set in 1920s England, the Netflix show, Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, is an interesting modernised reimagining of one of the “Queen of Crime’s” more unusual early works. Directed by Chris Sweeney and adapted by Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall, the three-part miniseries is not the cosy mystery expected from Christie, but is closer to an espionage thriller.

The series opens at Chimneys, a once stately, now faded country home rented out by the cash-strapped Lady Caterham (Helena Bonham Carter) to a businessman. At a party in the mansion, two young men decide to prank their friend Gerry Wade (Corey Mylchreest)—a notorious late riser—by lining up eight alarm clocks in his room to go off at small intervals. Gerry has a romantic relationship with Lady Caterham’s daughter, Eileen nicknamed Bundle (Mia McKenna-Bruce).

When morning comes, the prank backfires, when Gerry is found dead. One clock is missing, and the remaining seven are arranged in a row on the mantelpiece. The local cops are quick to dismiss it as a suicide, but the grieving Eileen is not convinced.

Ignoring warnings by her mother, her friends and others, she decides to investigate. Then another friend is found shot in the street and the words Seven Dials are uttered by him before he dies.. It turns out to be a seedy club in the dangerous underbelly of London. As she snoops, Bundle uncovers a secret society, a plot involving a stolen chemical formula, and a conspiracy that suggests Gerry’s death was murder. A shadowy figure, who turns out to be a cop, Superintendent Battle (Martin Freeman) helps Eileen, without revealing what he knows of the crimes, since she won’t curb her curiosity or impulsiveness on his orders.

In Christie’s original 1929 novel, Bundle was a classic aristocratic and spirited young woman, in the three–part series, she is bold and outspoken, at one point, demanding the vote from a man speaking to her condescendingly.

A well-acted period drama shot on sumptuous locations– grand country homes, as well as smoky jazz clubs. The show does not drag, wisely limiting it to three episodes, so that there is no narrative bloat– the story is told and wrapped up before the pace starts to drag. Who the mastermind turns out to be is a big surprise.

The costumes are a lovely feast, authentic 1920s vehicles have been used—and the chase through London’s streets is a visual treat. Worth a binge-watch.