Killer twist
Belgian series This is Not a Murder Mystery offers a playful, surrealist spin on the English country house murder-mystery format. Creator Christophe Dirickx, director Hans Herbots and producer Kato Maes tell DQ about making the period drama and the iconic artists involved in solving the case.
The first thing to say about This is Not a Murder Mystery is that it is, in fact, a murder mystery. Yet the title of this six-part Belgian drama highlights the show’s inherent playfulness as it imagines a murderer on the loose at an English country mansion where some of Europe’s most iconic surrealist painters happen to be staying.
Rooted in authenticity, it is based on the real occasion when artists such as a young Salvador Dalí and René Magritte stayed at the West Dean estate in the English county of West Sussex. In the series, however, they find themselves trapped in the lavish home with a mysterious serial killer among their ranks.
It’s 1936 and the art world is abuzz with talk of the rise of surrealism. Magritte (Pierre Gervais)’s life is about to change when he’s invited to participate in a private art exhibition at the English estate owned by Lord James (Aoibhinn McGinnity), whose guest list also includes Dalí (Iñaki Mur), Lee Miller (Florence Hall), Man Ray (Frank Bourke) and Max Ernst (Mike Hoffmann).
But after a wild night, Magritte wakes up beside the dead body of a young woman, with no memory of the previous evening. As more bodies turn up and Scotland Yard arrives to lock down the estate, Magritte determines to uncover the truth to clear his name.
Produced by Panenka (Two Summers) in coproduction with Deadpan Pictures for Belgium’s VRT, This is Not a Murder Mystery is based on an original idea by Matthias Lebeer and Christophe Dirickx. Dirickx wrote the scripts with Paul Baeten, while the series is directed by Hans Herbots, with Lebeer co-directing episodes three and four.
Lebeer first approached Dirickx with the idea to create a series around Magritte in 2018, before their research uncovered his role among a group of up-and-coming surrealist painters in the 1930s, of which Dalí was the best known internationally. They also hit upon information about the first surrealist art exhibition in London and the role of the real Lord James, who invited these artists to stay with him over a period of several years. The story then conflates history to place them all together.
“Matthias and I talked together like, ‘Country house. Agatha Christie. Surrealism. Wouldn’t that be a great mix?’ It’s just an idea that came to us,” Dirickx tells DQ following the show’s launch on VRT at the end of October. They then wrote a 15-page outline of the story, which was presented to Panenka producer Kato Maes.
“Suddenly we were in business,” Dirickx (Red Light) continues. “It was a fantastic moment when Panenka came on board and took it over, and then we have Paul, who co-wrote the whole narrative with me, and we thought very quickly about Hans [to direct].”
Herbots had directed period before, notably in true crime serial killer drama The Serpent, but never anything as far back as the 1930s. He was intrigued by the premise and the fact it would be an “ode to surrealism” and what that might mean for the show’s visuals.
“It becomes a playful piece where you see the characters talk and interact, and it becomes something about emotions, about relations, so it becomes a whole mixture of different things, very nicely wrapped in a visual style that is meant to serve the tone of the show,” he says. “One of the nice things of the show is that it shifts well between drama, comedy and surrealism. The music is a big part of that as well. As a viewer, you’re allowed to feel all these different things, but at the same time, you do engage with the story and the characters. So there was a lot in that bag that was really nice to start working with.”
Herbots then saw the characters come to life as the actors underwent costume and make-up tests during pre-production, which ran alongside the show’s readthroughs and rehearsals.
“Those weeks before the shoot were actually really fruitful in creating the characters, going deeper into the content and adding some new stuff,” he says. “One of the reasons why the show is so well acted and so good is because we invested energy and time in those weeks before the shoot, which is something that is not always the case, and it’s something I’m really grateful for because it really pays off.”
The director never wanted his international cast to start impersonating their real-life counterparts, however. “Of course, they did a lot of research on the characters they represented, as we all did as a team, but that became a burden because you were so aware of the reality of these artists. So we had to leave that behind at some point and find the freedom to start playing again,” he says. “The tone is slightly larger than life, but it’s always rooted in reality. They all did that so well because they researched the characters so well, and they knew what to keep and what to let go of, which is quite nice.”
That larger-than-life approach is signposted by the show’s title, which Dirickx describes as a reflection of the “playfulness” of surrealism. “Nothing is 100% serious, and that’s the fun thing,” he says. “We found a classic genre, which, by the way, is very difficult to create, but we found an angle that made it hopefully entertaining and different from other shows.”
Making a complex murder mystery that embraces elements of surrealism was always going to involve a tricky balancing act. “That also was the question that financiers had when we presented the show in the development phase,” says Maes. “Paul and Christophe spent a couple of years trying to find the right balance with the input of everybody. Also, of course, it’s an English drama show, but it still feels as if it’s made by Belgians, so that was really a good mix. It’s not an easy show to produce, given that it’s also a period show with the costumes and the art direction.”
Dirickx and Baeten studied the murder-mystery genre closely in the writers room, setting out a list of guiding principles and installing barriers that would keep the story – and the characters – contained within the, admittedly vast, West Dean estate. The ending, however, does switch up the location to allow for a revelatory scene akin to Hercule Poirot summing up the case.
But in tandem with classic elements of the genre, they also sought to subvert it, not least by presenting each murder scene in the style of a notable painting. Magritte was known for his close observation skills, so naturally lent himself to the role of chief investigator, while the creatives also discussed the concept of ‘repoussoir,’ a painting technique adopted by Magritte where objects in the foreground are used to accentuate a feeling of depth.
Herbots collaborated closely with the show’s art and design departments to find costumes and props that could double as Easter eggs for viewers who may already be familiar with the painters and their artworks, such as Magritte’s iconic bowler hat and apple piece The Son of Man, or his common use of clouds.
“Then, of course, you need to find the right angles and know where to put the camera to recreate the framing they had in the paintings,” Herbots says. “It made things a little bit more complicated every now and then, because we use a lot of moving camera. The show is swinging around a lot, but it needed to come to a standstill to be able to spot the frame [of a painting] and then the camera could move on again.
“On this show, every department really wanted to excel and get all the details right, because it’s only when everything is right that all these little things start to work. They really did an amazing job at every level.”
It’s not just Magritte who takes up the case, but also two archetypal British detectives sent from Scotland Yard: the experienced DCI Thistlewaite (Stephen Tompkinson) and DC Quant (Donna Banya), who might just be the brains of the pair.
“Magritte tries to find his position in the group of artists, but also with the detectives, trying to find the solution himself,” Dirickx says. “We wanted a strong contrast between the two detectives, so one is quite old, nearing the end of his career, and the other one is very young and ambitious and perhaps better. They’re so different that they have to get to know each other, and for them to meet Salvador Dalí and Man Ray, they really think, ‘Who are these strange Europeans who have invaded our country and are behaving very strangely?’”
Maes admits the multi-language production was “very challenging,” not least due to creating a period drama with a Belgian budget, which is traditionally smaller than that in larger European markets. She also had to contact the estates of the artists featured in the series for permission to use their likeness, personalities and artworks.
West Dean was recreated at Curraghmore House and Gardens in Ireland, with other locations including Runenborg Castle, Hex Castle and Meise Botanic Garden in Belgium.
The production had the support of VRT, which backed the series from the outset, while StudioCanal came on board as the international distributor. This is Not a Murder Mystery was also put forward by VRT as its submission to broadcasting union the New8, meaning it will also air on ZDF (Germany), NPO (Netherlands), SVT (Sweden), DR (Denmark), YLE (Finland), RÚV (Iceland) and NRK (Norway).
“I really hope it finds its audience all over Europe and all over the world,” Herbots adds. “For those who want it, it also tells you something more about art. It’s a nice way of storytelling, so I really do hope it finds an audience within this world too.”
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tagged in: Christophe Dirickx, Deadpan Pictures, Hans Herbots, Kato Maes, Panenka, This is Not a Murder Mystery, VRT