Looking forward to the BBC’s #TowardsZero starting tonight. The 1944 novel is an astonishing triumph that does everything edgy authors of psychological thrillers did 20 years later, interwoven with a supremely classical puzzle. These aren’t separate elements but enhance one another. - ThreadSky

jcbernthal.com • 3 days ago

Looking forward to the BBC’s #TowardsZero starting tonight. The 1944 novel is an astonishing triumph that does everything edgy authors of psychological thrillers did 20 years later, interwoven with a supremely classical puzzle. These aren’t separate elements but enhance one another.

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jcbernthal.com•3 days ago

I’ve done *no* research on this new version and have avoided all reviews. The temptation in the current landscape will be to go full cozy which I’m expecting in the future, and it might play well but it’s not how Christie wrote. I trust, if only from the choice of source material, that they won’t.

jcbernthal.com•3 days ago

The other pitfall would be focussing on the sex angle to the point of making it seem added on. This has happened before. It comes when you assume (a) Christie and her readers didn’t understand sex and (b) we do now. Sex underscores a lot of the book, but psychology underscores that sex.

jcbernthal.com•3 days ago

For me, Towards Zero is about that line we navigate between life and death. The pursuit of life when the death drive is so attractive. It was written during the war at a time of increased self-reflection for Christie — the same year she wrote her compellingly introspective Absent in the Spring.

jcbernthal.com•3 days ago

The fact that it forces you to engage with extremely weighty questions about sex, suicide, and identity in order to solve a mystery makes it genuinely remarkable. I don’t expect an adaptation to do the same!

jcbernthal.com•3 days ago

But as long as it captures some element of the book without cheapening the source material, I will be very happy indeed. More people need to read, and pretend they’ve always loved, Towards Zero, as they did with Murder is Easy last year.

nickcraw.bsky.social•3 days ago

Streamed it this morning.
Beautifully filmed - strong cast particularly in the supporting roles.

The role of Audrey is dramatically changed. And the story is developed in ways I didn’t expect.
Recommend.

nickcraw.bsky.social•3 days ago

It’s not a “Sarah Phelps” style deconstruction but it’s not a cozy either.

jcbernthal.com•3 days ago

Exciting! I'm going to watch it, or at least Part One, as it airs. Might need to inhale the rest ahead of broadcast...

nickcraw.bsky.social•3 days ago

There’s a scene in episode 2 which will definitely lead to letters to the Telegraph….

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