Technically, The Pale Horse (2020) is a two part TV series by the BBC, but I’m calling it a movie because that’s how it felt. As a standalone movie, it was nicely done: excellent acting, good cinematography, fun little plot.
At this point, I must admit I’ve never read The Pale Horse, the Agatha Christie novel on which this movie is based, but my general experience with Christie is that she’s a rationalist. She has no problems placing supernatural elements in her books, but by the time the story comes to a close, they have been cleverly explained by one expedient or another. Christie’s interests were not in supernatural horror as a naive element, but as an element of deceit. Ultimately, Christie was interested in people making bad decisions, and what drove them to it.
But the tendency of this movie to explore the dreams of the lead character, Mark Easterbrook, as a major driver of his actions was a little too disturbing, especially in an ending that is entirely too difficult to credit to Christie. It’s true that the movie follows one of her themes, which is the decay of the upper classes of the Great Britain of her times, but it goes off the rails when Easterbrook is either literally sent to his personal Hell – or at least dreams it. It’s quite the jarring ending, no matter how you feel about the rest of it.
But the professionalism of the production was still encouraging and made for an enjoyable – mostly – afternoon view.
