Not one of you wanted Rose Leslie (the redhead maid) to lean into Kenneth Branagh during her interrogation, and scold him with, ‘you know nothing, Hercule Poirot’? C’mon! Oh, I’m easily pleased.
Kenneth Branagh directs his second movie released in Australia for 2022, and the second movie in five years to feature famed detective Hercule Poirot. Murder on the Orient Express was fairly enjoyable, and I’m really using these movies to discover Poirot for the first time. I’d suggest Branagh must be a huge fan of the original Agatha Christie novels though, aiming to bring them to life with remarkable picturesque production value, whilst simultaneously setting up his later years by playing Poirot himself, and perhaps for many years to come. There are 31 more novels, you know. As another huge British literary character to impact the silver screen, this movie begins by taking a leaf out of James Bond’s Casino Royale, with a black and white backstory that adds a bit to the character considerably well. But when the movie first started in black and white though, I thought I must be back in Belfast again; the usher might’ve sent me to the wrong screening.
Hercule Poirot has finally arriving in Egypt with thoughts to relax. He bumps into his old friend, Bouc (Tom Bateman), who invites him to meet with newlyweds, heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) and Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer), who are honeymooning with a few close acquaintances. However, Jackie de Bellefort (Emma Mackey) shows up, Simon’s ex-fiancé and Linnet’s ex-friend, who has constantly marred the new couple wherever they go, unable to forgive how she has been scorned. Simon arranges a private tourist cruise along the Nile, whilst Linnet approaches Poirot and asks him to watch over her, as she truly doesn’t trust any of her guests, all of whom have eyes for her money. Yet one night, amidst some trouble, with Jackie showing up again, there is a silent murder, and the next morning, it falls to Poirot to solve the murder mystery aboard a ship where there is no escape.
After two electrifying opening scenes, where we see Poirot serving in the war, and we are introduced to Simon and Jackie at a dance club (which makes you wonder why Simon would choose anyone else), it’s the getting to the Nile that I found rather extensive and clunky. The production value is here again, with beautifully bright scenery along the Nile, but there are also shots that are definitely green screen, swapping back to shots where you can’t tell, that took me out of the movie. Dare I be so brazened to suggest that I may have adapted the first act of this movie a little differently, from a book I haven’t even read; perhaps with one less snake, and without the feigned suggestion that our couple might leave to go home when we know they never will, chewing up our runtime. And I think if only Linnet and Poirot had had a tiny meet-cute at the London club, then it could have fostered a fondness for one another, and made it more believable that she would invite Poirot into her honeymoon party, and for Poirot to except. (Bouc can still act as exposition, filling in Poirot to all the scandalous relations of the party, and Poirot can still work his ‘secret mission’, without also appearing like such a tag-along). Even the scene exploring Egypt’s Abu Simbel ultimately felt like a hiding to nothing, and by the time there finally is a murdered victim, I was tired; the anticipation and thrill of the upcoming puzzle to solve had worn off. Luckily however, the tension surrounding our murder does build steadily, with a few twists in the tail that kept me engaged.
There’s a theme running through Death on the Nile of love as pain, danger, and forlornness, and I reckon if I were to watch it again, I could pull it apart to get to the bottom of what exactly is to be communicated here – for on my first viewing, I was more preoccupied with solving the mystery. The movie surprised me by taking interesting shots at Poirot’s legitimacy too; tempted by a genuine romantic affair, Poirot won’t let the opportunity taint his detective precision, and actress Letitia Wright, as Rosalie, gets to call Poirot out, for being nosey and arrogant, and saying his own name too often. When Salome (Sophie Okonedo) subsequently gasped in impressive shock, it’s well earned; consider Poirot skewered. I was beginning to quite like the idea of Bouc showing up wherever Poirot was too, and assisting on the case; they make for strange friends, but share a mutual respect, which is all you need. Where I imagine most right-hand-men in literature (Robin, Watson) dedicate themselves to their superior’s service, Bouc seemed a sidekick by chance. But luckily, I didn’t have long to get used to the idea, as I doubt we’ll be seeing Bouc in a third film… Give a g’day to Felix Leiter when you get up there, pal.
This is quite an extensive cast, although it can’t rival Murder on the Orient Express that boasted a few of Hollywood’s A-listers. Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders had larger parts than I was expecting, and it’s strange to see Saunders neither animated or exasperated like she is famously in Absolutely Fabulous (or Shrek 2). One of the more revealing scenes is when it dawns on Poirot that the pair might be frenching (and I don’t care if that’s a lame joke, I’m proud of that). Sadly, Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer are a little underwhelming, and I’m not sure why, but perhaps it’s because they are repetitive and better before; Gadot is a glamourous head-turner in almost every movie she’s in, and there are entire scenes from this movie that reminded me of Hammer’s sophisticated turn in Rebecca – I’d like to see them both do something surprising in future projects. I may not have my arms around all that Annette Benning has ever done, but I did study American Beauty to the hilt in high school, and I was glad to enjoy another side of her. And lastly, it’s been a while since ol’ Willie Brand acted, innit? It’s a bit of a stretch watching Brand walk around as a reserved romantic who can’t catch the woman of his desires, but it is acting after all, and he’s quite good, actually.
Naturally, by the time the murderer is revealed, if you’ve spent enough time ruminating on every suggestion of anyone as the killer, then it isn’t a shock when the killer is known. Although, Death on the Nile is a ripping good yarn, but it may be too fresh for me to say which of Poirot’s recent adventures I’ve enjoyed more; this movie and Murder on the Orient Express sit very close in my mind. I spent a lot of my The Tragedy of Macbeth review thinking about how it was an extremely famous story, and I also have to remember similarly with Death on the Nile, that is a giant in its genre, and can’t be dismissed as outmoded because others have come after it, used it for inspiration or built upon its success. So I may be taking the backdoor in when I suggest that these Poirot cases are a lot like Scream movies, aren’t they – where everyone is a suspect, and anyone could be the murderer? It’s a formula that definitely works for me, and it’s enough to see me coming back for more.
3.0
Leave a Reply