Based on an Agatha Christie novel from 1944,
Toward Zero is the fifth and final book featuring Superintendent Battle. It's been adapted a few times; I'm most familiar with the two (out of the three that have been made so far) TV adaptations below.
The general premise is the following:
Neville Strange is a famous professional tennis player who is known for being calm and classy. He'd been married to Audrey for nearly a decade. They get divorced due to Neville cheating on her with Kay. He goes on to marry Kay, the now second Mrs. Strange, while Audrey remains single.
For whatever reason, though, Neville and Audrey remain friendly. They agree to visit Gulf's Point, the house of Lady Tressillian (a rich woman who is the widow of Neville's guardian) at the same time. This is borderline scandalous since it means that there will be two Mrs. Stranges (Lady Triessilian is v. old school so the household staff (frex) address Audrey as Mrs. Strange). In any case, Neville, Kay, Audrey, and a few others try to make the best out of an admittedly awkward AF situation only for ppl to start getting murdered…
It's not a fave of my Christie standalones, but I get why it's an alluring story to adapt.
Towards Zero (2008) (Hoopla)
This is a 3rd season episode of ITV's "Marple" series.
Some folks don't like it cuz it's pretty much an AU of a non-Miss Marple book. Don't know why, but ITV thought it cool to start inserting Miss Marple in all kinds of standalone novels to varying degrees of success. I mean, I get they were running out of Marple novels, but Christie did write several short stories they could've worked with.
IMO, this is one of the most successful efforts. Especially when contrasted with the bumbling mess that was
The Pale Horse episode. YMMV.
ANYWHO, in this episode, it's established that Jane (played by Geraldine McEwan) and Camilla Tressilian (played by Eileen Atkins) are childhood friends who have kept in touch throughout the years. Coincidentally,Jane happens to visit Camilla at the same time Neville, Kay, Audrey et all show up.
FWIW, the three most famous actors in the cast are Saffron Burrows as Audrey, Tom Baker as Fredrick Treves, and the late Julian Sands as Thomas (Audrey's cousin.)
I really like Burrow's portrayal of Audrey as a woman who is sweet, cultured, and kind. In addition, her version of Audrey always has an aura of sadness that makes viewers intrigued. Greg Wise as Neville Strange is ridic good in playing a playboy fella who is extremely likable.
The pacing is good, Miss Marple's addition brings a playful vibe to a twisty story, and the omitted bits from the original novel aren't missed.
Do I have any criticisms?Actually none. If you're a fan of Miss Marple, you'll like it. Same if you just like good mysteries.
Do I recommend it?Yes, I do! I watched it on Hoopla (it tends to be available over there every so often.) Sometimes, I've also seen it available on Amazon Prime Video.
I'm giving it a
4 out of 5Queerness levelNone that I could see, unfortch.
Towards Zero (2025) (Britbox)
I'd seen the trailer for this version and was
intrigued enough to keep an eye out for it.
This one follows the same story with the key difference that it's a bit more faithful to the novel. Also, the most famous actor in the cast is the great Angelica Huston as Lady Tressilian. She's AMAZING and one of the best things in the entire mini-series.
The next most famous actor is Matthew Rhys as Inspector Leach. In this instance, he's a functional alcoholic. Unfortch, tho, because he's the second most well-known actor in the cast, the producers keep inserting him into the narrative (by having him talk to other characters and then fade into the background) in a way that is ultimately v. sloppy. I guess they didn't want to wait and bring him in at the logical point (after the murders begin), but there we are.
With the exception of one actor (that I'll talk abt later), everyone in the cast is pretty solid from beginning to end.
Some of the characters are played by actors of color (and, thankfully, the script adjusts with adding some touches abt race and racism that, although light, are welcomed. I detest raceblind casting that ignores how different a character's story would be if they weren't white.) The cinematography is cool as well.
One
Trigger/Content Warning I gotta mention is for attempted suicide. [Character] tries do drown themselves. It's pretty disturbing. FTR, the character is OK afterwards, but still..
Do I have any criticisms?There were some issues…
Firstly, I wonder why this is 3 FREAKING HOURS LONG? A full hour could've been taken out and the story would've worked fine. The excessive runtime means that the pace is GLACIAL for most of the miniseries. Lots of moments of the cameras panning or zooming into a close-up and just
staying on the actor's face for no apparent reason. Things do pick up once the investigation is underway.
Secondly, Ella Lily Hyland as Audrey Strange is full of mixed signals. Her version of Audrey is of an assertive woman of the world. Which clashes with the character's storyarc. Audrey is meant to be the character that viewers are meant to sympathize with the most (even while suspecting her). However, due to Hyland's portrayal, most viewers will basically SHRUG everything off, IJS.
Thirdly, there are two other characters who don't add a single damn thing to the story. I'm guessing they're present to bulk up some of the main cast? But their inclusion into the overall narrative is so forced that I could only ROLLING EYES EMOJI.
Before I go into my fourth complaint, I gotta preface that I'm not a prude, I don't automatically clutch my imaginary pearls whenever there's a sex scene. Ideally, sex scenes (especially when it comes to not having existed in the original material) will make sense.
I say that cuz the team behind this mini-series (just like the 2016 adaptation of
Witness for the Prosecution) decided to add a lot of spice. And so, there's a scene SPOILER in which two characters are making out on the staircase that's in the foyer. Things get heated up to the point that the guy starts to eat out the woman right then and there. Anyone can literally see this happening. END OF SPOILER It's so fucking random cuz it does not fit with the tone/mood of everything that happened in the miniseries. My best guess is that the producers were aiming to go for shocking, but it ends up being nonsensical AF.
Some of the characters' motivations aren't clear and so, when the murders begin, viewers are like ???? abt the goings on. This is weird given that the length of the miniseries. Even weirder is how much infodumping happens. There's more than enough space to show instead of telling!!! IJS.
MOVING ON.
Another actor I had a hard time with was Mimi Keene as Kay Strange, nee Elliot. That character is brash and sensual with just enough charm to keep her from being super unlikable. The problem here is two-fold. For starters, Keene has a limited acting range. She can do angry, vicious, and alluring without any problems. However, she is unable (at least in this version) to do vulnerable or conflicted at all. On top of that, she's got what's casually known as "Instagram/Influencer face". Yes, she's dressed up and styled in the mid-1030s fits, and she looks gorgeous, BUT she gives the impression of being someone on her way to a costume party. Unlike the rest of the cast who look fine, Keene's fits kept me taking out of the story.
And then, there's the end…
FTR, the identity of the murderer and the reasons why they did what they did remains faithful to the novel. However, the mini-series goes past the reveal and decide to show what the surviving characters are gonna do. It was (bad) cheesy.
Do I recommend it?Not really. It was a mostly disappointing viewing experience. The story was slow AND convoluted. Some of the casting was so-so. I'm giving it a
1.6 out of 5Queerness levelThe way Keene (as Kay) shows her jealousy of Audrey's bond to Neville is by REALLY focusing on her. She makes it look like Kay kinda wants to get with Audrey. It was v. ???? cuz Hyland (as Audrey)'s response was to play along. And it's unclear if it's because she's attracted to Kay OR if it's just to further humiliate her? I kept raising an eyebrow at the two or three scenes where the vibes slide into potentially (and deffo toxic) F/F.
Though I do have to say that the two of them had INTENSE chemistry. Like WAY more than either of them had with Neville, LOL.
Le TrailerThis is the artsier of the trailers. It does a really good job on establishing the suspense too.
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