Page 4 | Thursday murder club

Magicmonster · 2025-08-29T19:51:48+00:00

I couldn’t see a thread re the Netflix movie. Im only 15 mins in but Elizabeth in particular is rather different to how she is in my head! What did everyone think of the film?

Zempy · 31/08/2025 15:17

diddl · 31/08/2025 13:51

If Bogdan wasn't arrested in the book, who was & why wasn't he?

There was a whole storyline around how Tony murdered Bogdans close friend. Elizabeth and the gang decided Bogdan was a good sort and Tony had it coming.

The film was very toned down in terms of how the main characters behaved. I’m sure they drugged the police in the book didn’t they? In the film there’s just a twee reference to there being a lot of rum in a cake.

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 31/08/2025 15:25

I got confused, sorry, no 5 is out end of the month!

soupforbrains · 31/08/2025 15:40

I really enjoyed it. BUT it didn’t do the book justice. Some casting wasn’t quite as I pictured it but it worked and to be honest you’ll never get it exactly right to match everyone’s imaginations.

I don’t think they did anything ‘wrong’ with how they presented any of the characters, it’s just that when you make a film it’s incredible difficult to give all the characters the same depth as you can in a novel. It may be something which would work better as series so they can really get into all the details of the plot from the book.

overall it was good. People need to stop expecting rhe film of a thing to be identical to the original thing. It CANT be. It’s just not possible to fit all the detail of a novel in terms of character depth and plot, into a film without it being 5 hours long.

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 31/08/2025 16:00

soupforbrains · 31/08/2025 15:40

I really enjoyed it. BUT it didn’t do the book justice. Some casting wasn’t quite as I pictured it but it worked and to be honest you’ll never get it exactly right to match everyone’s imaginations.

I don’t think they did anything ‘wrong’ with how they presented any of the characters, it’s just that when you make a film it’s incredible difficult to give all the characters the same depth as you can in a novel. It may be something which would work better as series so they can really get into all the details of the plot from the book.

overall it was good. People need to stop expecting rhe film of a thing to be identical to the original thing. It CANT be. It’s just not possible to fit all the detail of a novel in terms of character depth and plot, into a film without it being 5 hours long.

I admit I am very difficult about adaptations of books I love!

Pamaho · 31/08/2025 20:16

Absolute garbage ! Not a patch on the books.

WonderfulSmith · 31/08/2025 20:46

I listened to the first two books.

The sets and casting were dreadful.
It was an American idea of what England looks like. I pictured sheltered housing or a small retirement home rather than this huge pile with massive flats. How did nurses and police afford that? And they kept using Americanisms like apartment and ‘bleed out’.

Brosnan was dreadful with his Mary Poppins cockney which kept slipping into Irish.

It was all over far too quickly with no real explanation of the story.

Borka · 31/08/2025 21:35

Zempy · 31/08/2025 15:17

There was a whole storyline around how Tony murdered Bogdans close friend. Elizabeth and the gang decided Bogdan was a good sort and Tony had it coming.

The film was very toned down in terms of how the main characters behaved. I’m sure they drugged the police in the book didn’t they? In the film there’s just a twee reference to there being a lot of rum in a cake.

Show quote history

In the book Elizabeth didn't know Bogdan did it, the only person who knew was Stephen, who though Bogdan had good reason for killing Tony.

Hoppinggreen · 31/08/2025 21:51

WonderfulSmith · 31/08/2025 20:46

I listened to the first two books.

The sets and casting were dreadful.
It was an American idea of what England looks like. I pictured sheltered housing or a small retirement home rather than this huge pile with massive flats. How did nurses and police afford that? And they kept using Americanisms like apartment and ‘bleed out’.

Brosnan was dreadful with his Mary Poppins cockney which kept slipping into Irish.

It was all over far too quickly with no real explanation of the story.

To be fair from reading the books I thought that the Retirement place was going to be pretty upmarket, everyone who lived there were retired professionals.
I thought Joyces daughter had money and that is how a nurse lived there but the others were all from affluent backgrounds

paranoidnamechanger · 31/08/2025 21:59

Terrible - clearly this was a money grab for the actors (and who can blame them?). My main problem was the lack of peril in the story and direction. I can’t recall seeing a film before that was as charmless and humourless as this load of boring crap.

SaratogaFilly · 31/08/2025 22:14

I agree @Hoppinggreen - I assumed a very affluent location also. I really enjoyed it!

Scalextricks · 31/08/2025 23:26

soupforbrains · 31/08/2025 15:40

I really enjoyed it. BUT it didn’t do the book justice. Some casting wasn’t quite as I pictured it but it worked and to be honest you’ll never get it exactly right to match everyone’s imaginations.

I don’t think they did anything ‘wrong’ with how they presented any of the characters, it’s just that when you make a film it’s incredible difficult to give all the characters the same depth as you can in a novel. It may be something which would work better as series so they can really get into all the details of the plot from the book.

overall it was good. People need to stop expecting rhe film of a thing to be identical to the original thing. It CANT be. It’s just not possible to fit all the detail of a novel in terms of character depth and plot, into a film without it being 5 hours long.

I've never read the book. I just found the film astonishingly flat considering the cast and the production team. It felt lazy really.

WellThisIsFranklyDreadful · 03/09/2025 18:29

Zempy · 30/08/2025 21:08

I was FURIOUS about them arresting Bogdan. That doesn’t happen in the book.

Why?

THIS. The father/son dynamic of Stephen and Bogdan is the heart of the series!

Romeiswheretheheartis · 07/09/2025 13:11

autienotnaughty · 31/08/2025 09:47

I thought it captured the cosy, ,charming village murders very well but for a two hour long film it took too long to get going and then the end was rushed. Pierce brosnan was dreadful. Richard e grant was awful and his scene was completely unrealistic. The end was poor and bodrun was poorly developed. I also agree the home was nothing like imagined.

God yes, Richard E Grant was dreadful, along with Pierce and David Tennant. I don't know how they managed to be quite so bad, the direction must have been terrible. I can't believe there's been so much hype for something where most scenes should have ended up on the cutting room floor.

lavendermilkshake · 07/09/2025 13:23

Poor script. Am-dram acting. Deeply disappointing, and quite boring also.

Spidey66 · 07/09/2025 13:25

I enjoyed it. I can imagine my late mother loving it!

My niece was the Art Director on it :proudauntie:

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 07/09/2025 13:34

RedRiverShore5 · 29/08/2025 22:25

I haven't read the book so didn't know any of the characters but quite liked it, it was like some of those series like The Marlow Murders.

Haven't seen the film, and judging by the posts here I'm not missing much, but I just wanted to say that The Marlow Murders came after The Thursday Murder Club and owe a great deal to them. I have really enjoyed the books and am looking forward to the fifth one coming out.

soupyspoon · 07/09/2025 13:42

I watched it last night and had read the book some years ago so I cant remember the specific characterisations in the book

I liked it. Thought Pierce should have been told to just use his normal accent, Irish it up a bit which would have fitted in.

I liked the various nods to other films and programmes, so Helen Mirren being told she looked like the queen and Ben Kingsley playing an Asian character to put all those criticisms of him playing Ghandi to bed. I think there were others but cant remember now

Abracadabra12345 · 07/09/2025 13:43

I’m looking forward to watching this again

EveryKneeShallBow · 07/09/2025 14:02

I didn’t think much of it. I wouldn’t care if they don’t bother making any more. They should start again with new writers, directors and actors and make it a tv series instead.