Quite an usual episode in the Marple series with the impeccable Julia McKenzie. The story revolves about a struggling young chaffeur Mike with ambitions for the future, who meets Marple during her visit to a recently widowed friend. They run into each again, in Rome: Michael with his new wife, the wealthy American heiress Ellie, Marple with her widowed friend. The couple builds a beautiful Modernist mansion on a supposedly cursed land in spite of an old gypsy's warning. Of course, soon afterwards, Ellie meets her tragic fate, leaving Michael desperate but determined.
What I always loved about Marple was the endless number of nieces, cousins and friends she has. Here though, she's rather like a side-character the main task of which is to deliver the final verdict, like an executioner who's in charge of the guillotine. Unfortunately, some things are simply too obviously suspicious, from the triangle between the young couple and her Swedish friend Greta, to the oh-so-predictable background story of the cursed property. When the killer is unveiled, we're anything but surprised since there's not that many red herrings anyway.
There's plenty to love here, though. And that's mostly related to the production: the beautiful Homewood House that doubled as the couple's residence (something of a mix between Farnsworth House and Villa Savoye, were it to be dropped down in the midst of an English forest), the dashingly handsome Tom Hughes in the leading role, the impeccable interiors and costumes. The photography stays with you even after the ending credits, resembling a retro design editorial from Wallpaper magazine.
If there's anything Endless Night did not need, it was Marple herself, because soon after her introductory meeting with Michael, she became somehow superfluous, since the storylines kept developing clearly enough. Her popping in every now and then becomes annoying and the intense confrontation between Michael and his architect friend was more than a suitable denouement, providing the solution behind the ghastly crimes.
This episode mirrors the inclination to darker stories and colors which we also saw in the Poirot series, which is a good thing. After all, whodunnits and darkness make a good match, like chocolate and chilli. Hopefully we'll see more of it.