Poland’s Cultural Institute, which is backed by the Polish Foreign Ministry, has publicly criticized Netflix after a key plot change in the film adaptation of Richard Osman’s bestselling novel The Thursday Murder Club, calling the alteration "deeply unfortunate" and accusing the streaming service of resorting to negative stereotyping.
The dispute centers on the film’s treatment of a character revealed late in the story. Osman’s 2020 novel, which has sold about 10 million copies worldwide, follows four retirees—Elizabeth (Dame Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Joyce (Celia Imrie) and Ibrahim (Sir Ben Kingsley)—who investigate cold cases while living at a retirement community called Coopers Chase. In the book, the murderer is revealed to be Bogdan, a Polish employee of the home. The film initially follows that revelation but, according to critics and fans, diverges substantially in events that follow.
The institute’s intervention amplifies an online outcry that began after viewers noticed the movie’s ending differed sharply from the source material. The film also features a subplot involving the discovery of the body of Tony Curran, co-owner of Coopers Chase, played by Geoff Bell, which sets the pensioners on the trail of a murderer closer to home. Critics argue the altered closing sequence shifts the portrayal of the Polish character in a way they see as reductive.
Fans of Osman’s work and commentators on social media have expressed anger at the changes, saying the film’s departure from the book undermines the original narrative and its characterizations. The Cultural Institute’s statement framed the issue as more than a creative choice, asserting that the depiction feeds into harmful stereotypes about Poles.
Netflix has not issued a public response to the institute’s remarks and the viewer backlash at the time of the institute’s statement. The dispute adds to ongoing industry conversations about adaptations, creative license and the balance between faithfulness to source material and filmmakers’ reinterpretations.
The Thursday Murder Club’s transition from a popular novel to a high-profile screen adaptation underscores the tensions that can arise when celebrated literary works are reshaped for film or television. While adaptations often alter plot elements, the Polish institute’s joining of public criticism highlights how such changes can provoke diplomatic and cultural pushback when they touch on national or ethnic portrayals.
The debate is likely to continue as audiences and cultural institutions weigh in on the film’s decisions and their broader implications for representation in international entertainment.