Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Will Poulter, Lucy Boynton, Daniel Ings, Jonathan Jules, Alistair Petrie, Nicholas Asbury, Maeve Dermody, Nia Trussler Jones, Christian Patterson, Morwenna Banks, Richard Dixon, Benedict Wolf, Leon Ockenden, Amy Nuttall, Miles Jupp, Paul Whitehouse, Hugh Laurie, Rufus Bateman, Nicholas Banks, Joshua James, Patrick Barlow, Carlie Enoch, Conleth Hill, Alfie Bottley, Tim Treloar, Tom Farrer, Maxine Evans, Sam Farrer, Dan Tetsell, Maggie McCarthy, Timothy Harker, Robert Rhodes, Martyn Ellis, Trevor Cooper, Andria Doherty, Bob Goody, Simon Markey, Jim Broadbent, Emma Thompson.
There is a lot to be said for Agatha Christie’s novel Why Didn’t They Ask Evans, the complete absence of a senior detective, the setting, the narrative of questioning, the ambiguity of the resolution, the sense of the author withholding vital information in its most glorious regard; in many ways it outshines many of the Poirot/ Marple novels that the Queen of British Crime produced, and perhaps only pales in the shadow of the greatest of her works, the phenomenal And Then There Were None.
To capture the essence of the novel, to keep it within its period setting but also allow the modern audience to see it as contemporary, to give it that added element of fierce independence that 1930’s Britain was not ready for, takes a keen eye of adaptation, the willingness to take the armchair sleuth in to the realm of ordinary people solving a complex puzzle and murder, and a cast suited completely to the task at hand.
Adapted by, and starring Hugh Laurie, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans is a superb example of small details culminating and forming a sizeable tale with formidable results.
Whilst not the first adaption of the 1930s novel, Hugh Laurie’s version keenly glistens as one might expect given the subject matter at hand, the use of electrotherapy and shock treatment, the sense of strangeness surrounding facilities that house those who find the modern world far too uncomfortable to make sense of, and the eventuality of murder in the face of gain; it is no small wonder that this particular version arguably resonates more freely than those who occupy a more distant past view of the country and the crimes committed of the day.
From the luxury feel of a period of time set between the utter madness of two wars that consumed Europe, one that hints at the troubles and the dangers that face all, but whilst settling as one does when placing life on pause, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans vexes and confounds with alluring creativity, it sparkles with the cast, especially in the roles of Bobby Jones and Frankie Derwent, played by the resounding Will Poulter and Lucy Boynton respectively, and with terrific support from Daniel Ings, Jonathan Jules, the superb Alistair Petrie, the rage of anger and mistreatment to be found in Nicholas Asbury’s Mr. Angel, and the excellent Paul Whitehouse in terrific form as the landlord Mr. Askew, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans is a casting delight and one that reflects with decent results across the three part series.
Crime may be common, but the ability to report it, to explain it well, is always one left best to those who envisage its resolution. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans grasps that with sombre brilliance.
Ian D. Hall