Honestly, Agatha Christie adaptations are usually pretty predictable. You get the mustache, the train, the Nile, and a group of upper-class people looking nervous in linen suits. But Crooked House the movie hits differently. It’s meaner. It’s colder. When it landed in 2017, it didn't have the massive marketing machine of the Kenneth Branagh films, but it managed to capture something that most Christie films miss: the genuine rot inside a family tree.
Most people don't realize that Christie herself actually ranked the original 1949 novel as one of her two personal favorites. She loved it because it broke the rules. The 2017 film, directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner and written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, leans into that discomfort. It’s not a cozy mystery. It’s a noir-soaked autopsy of the British aristocracy.
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The setup that makes Crooked House the movie work
The plot kicks off when Aristide Leonides, a terrifyingly wealthy Greek tycoon, dies in his sprawling, eccentric estate. This isn't just a house; it's a "crooked house" where three generations of his family live under one roof, all hating each other while spending his money. His granddaughter, Sophia (played by a sharp Ella Purnell), recruits her former lover, private investigator Charles Hayward (Max Irons), to find the killer before the police—specifically Scotland Yard’s Chief Inspector Taverner (Gillian Anderson)—can tear the family apart.
What makes this adaptation stand out is the atmosphere. It's set in the late 1940s, but it feels like the 1950s are crashing in. The empire is crumbling. The house itself, filmed largely at Minley Manor and West Wycombe House, is a character. It's cluttered, claustrophobic, and deeply unsettling.
Why the cast is actually low-key incredible
You’ve got Glenn Close. That should be enough, right? She plays Lady Edith de Haviland, the shotgun-toting matriarch who spends her time blasting moles in the garden. Close brings this terrifying, stony-faced dignity to the role that keeps you guessing until the very last frame.
Then there’s Gillian Anderson. She’s barely in it, yet she looms over every scene. Playing a 1940s detective with a dry, cynical edge, she provides the necessary friction against Max Irons’ more naive, classic "leading man" energy.
The rest of the Leonides clan is a rogue's gallery of talent:
- Christina Hendricks as the "trophy wife" Brenda, who everyone assumes is the killer because she’s young and American.
- Terence Stamp as the formidable Inspector Taverner (adding that 1960s grit).
- Julian Sands and Christian McKay as the bickering, resentful sons.
The dynamic isn't just "who did it?" It’s "why haven't they killed each other sooner?" The movie spends a lot of time on the psychological damage Aristide inflicted on his children. He kept them small. He kept them dependent. When a parent does that, the children never really grow up; they just get old and bitter.
Breaking the Christie formula
Most whodunnits follow a very specific rhythm. There’s the murder, the interviews, the red herrings, and the "gathering in the library" for the big reveal. Crooked House the movie follows this to an extent, but it feels much more like a psychological thriller than a puzzle box.
Julian Fellowes was the perfect choice for the screenplay. He understands the British class system better than almost anyone writing today. He knows how a snub at the dinner table can feel like a physical blow. In this film, the "crookedness" isn't just about the architecture; it's about the warped morals of people who have never had to work for a living.
One of the biggest criticisms of the film upon release was its pacing. It’s slow. It lingers on the smoke from a cigarette or the way someone pours tea. But that’s the point. It’s building a sense of dread. By the time you get to the ending—and if you haven't read the book, the ending is a genuine "holy crap" moment—the slow burn pays off. It is arguably the darkest ending in the entire Christie canon.
The production design is a secret weapon
If you’re watching this for the visuals, you won't be disappointed. Production designer Simon Bowles did something fascinating with the Leonides estate. Each "wing" of the house reflects the personality of the person living there. Brenda’s room is all mid-century kitsch and bright colors, clashing violently with the heavy Victorian wood of the rest of the house. Magda (Gillian Anderson’s character’s sister-in-law) lives in a theatrical, over-the-top suite that screams "failed actress."
This visual storytelling tells you more about the suspects than the dialogue does. You see the desperation. You see how they are all suffocating under the weight of Aristide’s ghost.
The critical reception vs. the reality
When it came out, critics were a bit mixed. Some felt it was too stagy. Others thought Max Irons was a bit wooden compared to the heavy hitters like Glenn Close. But looking back at it now, especially compared to the more cartoonish Hercule Poirot movies of the 2020s, Crooked House feels like a masterclass in restraint. It doesn't need CGI vistas or massive action set pieces. It just needs a sharp script and a group of actors who know how to look guilty.
It’s a movie that rewards a second watch. Once you know the ending, you start to see the clues hidden in plain sight. You realize that the movie told you who the killer was in the first twenty minutes, but you were too distracted by the glamorous costumes and the family bickering to notice.
Comparing the movie to the book
Hardcore Christie fans are usually impossible to please. However, this movie stays remarkably faithful to the source material. The biggest change is the character of Charles Hayward. In the book, he’s a bit more of a blank slate. In the movie, they give him a backstory involving a failed diplomatic career and a complicated history with Sophia in Cairo.
This change works. It gives the investigator skin in the game. He isn't just a bystander; he’s someone who desperately wants the girl to be innocent, which clouds his judgment. It makes the final reveal hurt more.
What you should do after watching
If you’ve already seen it, or if you’re planning to, don't stop there. To truly appreciate what the film was trying to do, you need to dig into the context of Christie’s life when she wrote it. She was writing post-WWII, a time when the world was changing and the old "Big House" lifestyle was dying out.
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Next steps for the Christie enthusiast:
- Read the original 1949 novel. It’s short, punchy, and even more cynical than the movie. You’ll see exactly why Christie fought her publishers to keep the ending exactly as it was—they originally wanted her to change it because it was "too shocking."
- Watch the 2015 BBC miniseries And Then There Were None. It has a similar dark, gritty tone that pairs perfectly with Crooked House.
- Compare it to Knives Out. Rian Johnson has openly admitted that Christie’s "family estate" mysteries were a massive influence on his films. You can see the DNA of Crooked House in the way the Thrombey family treats Marta.
- Look into the filming locations. If you’re ever in the UK, West Wycombe Park is open to the public. Walking through those rooms gives you a real sense of the scale and "crookedness" the movie captured.
The film is currently available on various streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and Tubi. It’s the perfect "rainy Sunday" movie. Just don't expect a happy ending. This is a story about what happens when love turns into obsession and when a family tree grows too tangled to ever be straightened out.