Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Lesley Manville, Tim McMullan, Conleth Hill, Daniel Mays, Alexandros Logothetis, Adrian Rawlins, Pooky Quesnel, Will Tudor, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Rosealie Craig, Joanna Bacon, Thomas Coombes, Mark Gatiss, Wade Briggs, Rupert Evans, Amy Griffiths, Kostis Daskalakis, Liam Garrigan, Tim Plester, Kate Ashfield, Jeany Spark, Alec Secareanu, Claire Rushbrook, Matthew Beard, Martyn Ellis, Billie Gadsdon, Mitchell Robertson, Gay Soper, Aliona Baranova, Daniel Lapaine, Paul Dunphy, Vasilis Xenikakis, Davina Moon, Oliver Hubard, Shane G. Casey, Sanjeev Kohli.
Anthony Horowitz’s pedigree is indisputable when it comes to bringing to life the subject of the murder mystery for television, indeed his works across all genres is such that if you want a sure fire hit in the 21st Century then you call upon the services of the man responsible for the superb series’ Midsomer Murders and Foyle’s War, and whilst the writer is also keenly associated with the spy genre, the notable Alex Rider series and being commissioned to add to the burgeoning stable of James Bond and Sherlock Holmes stories, it is to the delicate process of murder investigation that catches the eye.
Following on from the glorious adaption of Magpie Murders, the Sue Ryeland series returns with the resounding multi layered Moonflower Murders and one, with the direction of Rebecca Gatward adding further complexity to the storyline, that really catches the armchair detective out with its misdirection, its subtly of clues that wonderfully, frustratingly, become obvious when the drawing of the blinds is revealed to be the show’s intent.
Starring once again the resounding Lesley Manville, Tim McMullan, and Conleth Hill in their respective roles as publisher turned amateur detective, the aspiration of the writer’s imagination, and the past voice of the writer himself, Moonflower Murders steps up the game and delivers a narrative of high intrigue and gentle exploration.
It takes a mind as sharp as Mr. Horowitz to exploit a death of a main voice and yet still deliver the image with grace and devilish truth as achieved with Conleth Hill’s portrayal of the deceased writer Alan Conway. The use of what is in essence a ghost writer, an interpretation of the dead author as his words echoes through time, and the interaction that is shown as he moulds the story from within the truth, and leaving his former publisher exasperated as she decodes the present-day crime from the point of view of the past.
The openness of the piece is driven by the armchair detective’s favourite passion of the country hotel setting, the amateur sleuthing framing how we as the viewer might feel when presented with a complex case involving twin viewpoints across time, and with excellent performances from Daniel Mays, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Mark Gatiss, Kate Ashfield, Jeany Spark, as well as the aforementioned trio at the centre of the drama, Moonflower Murders is an excellent example of detective fiction transplanted to the small screen.
Ian D. Hall