Ordeal By Innocence

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Season 1
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10

Critic Reviews

  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Lorraine Ali
    Aug 10, 2018
    80
    The three-episode period drama deviates from the book’s narrative yet still manages to weave an equally intriguing whodunit.
  2. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Dorothy Rabinowitz
    Aug 9, 2018
    80
    Relentlessly dark, occasionally exhausting and altogether gripping adaptation of Christie’s 1958 novel.
  3. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    Aug 8, 2018
    80
    It’s a smart, attractive, and well-acted version.
  5. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Aug 7, 2018
    80
    Every part is well-performed, but the most-acclaimed veterans--Nighy, Goode, Treadaway--do somewhat steal the show. All three are, as they almost always are, reason enough to watch on their own. And you get a crackling mystery too.
  6. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Aug 2, 2018
    80
    A diabolical new ending might make even Christie gasp, yet it fits the crime. [6 - 19 Aug 2018, p.11]
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  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: William Hughes
    Aug 10, 2018
    75
    It’s not subtle--and occasionally outright dumb--but it’s a gorgeous, beautifully acted bit of squalor, nevertheless.
  8. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Steve Greene
    Aug 10, 2018
    67
    The sense of dread and guilt that permeates each interaction, combined with the flashback structure that makes this more ghost story than murder mystery, almost makes each of the Argylls at fault in their own way.
  9. Collider
    Reviewed by: Allison Keene
    Aug 8, 2018
    60
    Occasionally it’s a little too jumpy, but Ordeal by Innocence is saved, again, by gorgeous costuming and set design, with the colors coordinated in ways that make every frame an artistic expression.
  10. The Atlantic
    Reviewed by: Sophie Gilbert
    Aug 13, 2018
    50
    It’s lovely but overstylized, amping up the arthouse melodrama to the point where the plot often feels like an afterthought.
  11. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Kathryn VanArendonk
    Aug 9, 2018
    50
    Ordeal by Innocence will fill your whodunit needs. And it’ll be lovely to look at in the process, because it is a gorgeous mini-series. But those lovely surfaces aren’t anchored to a propulsive enough story, so when it tries to polish, complicate, and heighten the usual Christie tropes--the flashbacks, the looping story structure, and the fascination with beautiful images of dripping blood and foreshortened statuary--the whole thing feels overwrought.

Awards & Rankings

71
#71 Best TV Season of 2018
55
#55 Most Shared TV Season of 2018

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 13
  3. Negative: 1 out of 13
  1. OlivierPiel
    Aug 12, 2018
    4
    more than 3 hours for what would have been a 60-70min "telefilm" in the old days. The acting and production is (very) good but some scenesmore than 3 hours for what would have been a 60-70min "telefilm" in the old days. The acting and production is (very) good but some scenes are totally gratuitous and flat-out boring, which kills the tension and what makes the Agatha Christie style. By the third episode I was fast forwarding the whole thing.… Full Review »
  2. shoulderoforion
    Aug 10, 2018
    5
    Cast is top notch, though the endeavor is dragged out over three hour long episodes which in this case is two hours too long. Not nearly asCast is top notch, though the endeavor is dragged out over three hour long episodes which in this case is two hours too long. Not nearly as good as last years BBC Agatha Christie : And Then There Were None.… Full Review »
  3. SteveWarrick
    Aug 29, 2018
    3
    If you're going to slap Christie's name above the title, you shouldn't change her plot this much (right down to a different whodunit), and youIf you're going to slap Christie's name above the title, you shouldn't change her plot this much (right down to a different whodunit), and you should at least try to replicate her tone. But the atmosphere here is unrelievedly dark and nasty, and the characters are all uniformly unpleasant--even the supposedly sympathetic ones. The assorted "embellishments" include a forced abortion, pedophilia, and graphic violence. It's not Christie, nor is it a fun three hours.… Full Review »
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