Recently, Agatha Christie movies are receiving a bit of a resurgence. Kenneth Branagh has taken on the role of Agatha Christie’s beloved Hercule Poirot in several movies in the last several years, including Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, and the upcoming A Haunting in Venice. Even prior to this series of films, BBC One produced the And Then There Were None miniseries in 2015. Agatha Christie movies and TV shows are once again getting a chance to reach new audiences. Therefore, it’s time for another adaptation of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is generally considered one of Agatha Christie’s best novels. You’ll find the novel on plenty of lists for being just an exceptional mystery novel for how (at the time) it breaks the rules of mystery novels. It also has a memorable ending that leaves readers stunned but impressed. Now is the perfect time to adapt The Murder of Roger Ackroyd -- let me explain why,
It Sets Up A Very Intriguing Mystery
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is told from the perspective of Dr. James Sheppard. Sheppard is a friend of the victim Roger Ackroyd and one of the people who saw him on the night of his murder. Our trusted detective Hercule Poirot becomes involved because he has retired near the scene of the crime and is friends with the victim. He’s also a neighbor of Sheppard, and Roger’s niece Flora Ackroyd asks for his help.
The readers only briefly meet Roger Ackroyd before he’s found dead, but the book does enough to make you care about the outcome of this case. Most of the best mystery movies and TV shows start with a murder. Some of the recent popular mystery movies, like Knives Out, have a similar setup to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. These films often involve a wealthy man being murdered and those closest to him — family members, servants, and friends — all being suspects. It’s a winning cinematic mystery formula, so now is the perfect time for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to capitalize on it.
It Has Great Dubious Characters
Great mystery TV shows or movies really thrive on three aspects: a great lead detective character, a thrilling mystery, and the cast of suspects. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has plenty of great characters, from the slightly incompetent other inspectors to the questionable butler to the somewhat greedy sister-in-law to the very nosey neighbor-type character.
It has plenty of comforting stereotypical mystery characters, but not in a way that makes them feel boring or like caricatures. They’re fascinating. You also change your perspective of them and their motives the more you get to know them. Usually, these Agatha Christie movies and TV shows have plenty of well-known actors as part of the film’s cast. Therefore, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a great story to adapt into a major motion picture because the characters are rich and intriguing enough that many well-known actors will likely love to play them.
There Are Twists After Twists In The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd
Like with any great mystery story, there are so many twists in this story. These twists help implicate and absolve so many of the characters from their crimes. The story makes you think someone committed the murder only to show you how they couldn’t have done it, to then make you think maybe they did do it. It’s a fun roller-coaster of twists with almost every character in the novel seemingly being implicated in the murder at one point or another. You really aren’t sure who committed the crime until the very end.
The Big Reveal Is Actually Shocking
The major reason many readers love The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is because of the ending reveal of the culprit. I can’t say too much about it to not spoil the ending. However, there have already been several different adaptations of this book. One of the most recent is Poirot Season 7 Episode 1, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.” Though the episode is a fairly faithful adaptation of the story, the reveal doesn’t quite land in the way it does in the book.
Therefore, it would be quite exciting to see how a director attempts to capture the murderer's unveiling in a way that makes it exciting for the viewers. Hopefully, if The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is adapted into a new film, it causes another surge in Agatha Christie's book sales, because this is definitely a book worth reading before seeing the film, especially to be able to appreciate the ending.
There Are Plenty Of Funny Moments And Characters
Dr. Sheppard’s sister Caroline may be one of my favorite parts of the novel. She’s just such a funny character. She isn’t just funny because she’s also very intuitive and a good detective in her own right. Caroline adds so many layers to the novel.
She is definitely the funniest part of the novel, but there are other funny moments, including just Poirot being his quirky self and how others react to it. It’s a serious novel that definitely has lighter moments to cut through the drama.
Poirot Is At His Best In The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd
Poirot may be trying to retire in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd but he’s still sharp and a million steps ahead of everyone else. Even if the current set of Agatha Christie movies aren’t the typical Poirot adaptations, it’s still fun to see Poirot in any version, especially when he reminds you of his superior detective skills.
This story really allows Poirot to just expertly show off his skills without coming off as arrogant or cocky. He knows he’s a great detective and shows it in the best way possible: by making you feel dumb for thinking you could hide something from him.
It Doesn’t Have A Lot Of Action But It Has A Lot Of Intrigue
There are plenty more new Agatha Christie adaptations coming, which will be interesting to watch. Mainly to see how faithful they are to the original stories. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has little to no action in it. Therefore, it may not seem like the most exciting book to adapt, but to think that would be a mistake. The book works because of the characters and how it leads the readers to the right answers constantly but makes them doubt themselves.
You can tell a great story without action and I hope that if The Murder of Roger Ackroyd gets adapted again soon, the director and screenwriters don’t make major changes just to have a lot more action in the story. Instead, let the story basically remain intact.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a great mystery novel that probably works best as just a novel. However, I would still like to see a new adaptation of it, if only to see if it’s possible to make the reveal as enjoyable as it is in the book. A Haunting in Venice is just one of many great book adaptations set to release soon. Catch it in theaters on September 15, 2023.
