by Josh Sewell
Kenneth Branagh’s filmography as a director is just as diverse as his acting resumé. Sometimes it’s hard for me to grasp that the same guy who directed 1991’s noir thriller Dead Again also directed 1994’s Frankenstein, 1996’s epic version of Hamlet, Chris Hemsworth’s first Thor movie in 2011, 2015’s live action Cinderella remake and Oscar bait like 2021’s Belfast.
So far in his career, he has refused to be pigeonholed, whether it’s as “the Shakespeare guy” or as a director-for-hire in the studio system (a role he stepped into with 2014’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and 2020’s Artemis Fowl). However, in recent years, it seems like he’s settled into a curious franchise niche. Not Marvel stuff or princess stuff (or the other flicks he’s made for Disney), instead bringing mystery writer Agatha Christie’s eccentric genius Hercule Poirot to the big screen.
The series kicked off with 2017’s darkly entertaining Murder on the Orient Express, which boasted an incredibly stacked cast. It continued with last year’s Death on the Nile, a more ambitious – but less narratively successful – whodunit that fizzled at the box office due to a combination of lingering Covid sluggishness and Armie Hammer’s nosediving career.
So far in his career, he has refused to be pigeonholed, whether it’s as “the Shakespeare guy” or as a director-for-hire in the studio system (a role he stepped into with 2014’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and 2020’s Artemis Fowl). However, in recent years, it seems like he’s settled into a curious franchise niche. Not Marvel stuff or princess stuff (or the other flicks he’s made for Disney), instead bringing mystery writer Agatha Christie’s eccentric genius Hercule Poirot to the big screen.
The series kicked off with 2017’s darkly entertaining Murder on the Orient Express, which boasted an incredibly stacked cast. It continued with last year’s Death on the Nile, a more ambitious – but less narratively successful – whodunit that fizzled at the box office due to a combination of lingering Covid sluggishness and Armie Hammer’s nosediving career.
With A Haunting in Venice, the latest Poirot caper (based on Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party), Branagh once again challenges himself through reinvention, putting the renowned detective in the middle of a horror movie. The story takes place soon after World War II in the titular city, as Poirot (Branagh) finds himself invited to a séance in an eerie, run-down palazzo.
Now retired and avoiding detective work at all costs, he only attends as a favor to his good friend (Tina Fey) – a mystery writer who needs help debunking the medium (Michelle Yeoh) she believes to be a fraud. However, when one of the guests ends up dead, Poirot is once again tasked with uncovering the murderer when everyone else in the house (including characters played by Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill and several others) is a suspect.
Overall, A Haunting in Venice is a mostly solid installment in the series. While not as good as Orient Express, the streamlined narrative, claustrophobic setting and relatively smaller cast is an improvement over the bloated Nile.
Clocking in at 100 minutes, Venice catches viewers up with Poirot, gets him to the séance and establishes the central mystery in record time. There’s really not a lot of fat on the screenplay (once again credited to Michael Green, who takes far more liberties with Christie’s source material this time around). Each scene serves a specific purpose, so the short running time doesn’t allow for a lot of wheel-spinning.
The downside is that the smaller cast ends up making the mystery’s resolution kind of a letdown; process of elimination means there are only a handful of possible outcomes. Nevertheless, the actors are a blast to watch. As always, Branagh is the standout; Poirot may be haunted by a traumatic past, but he’s kept his dry, sarcastic sense of humor. Fey is also quite good, in a role that’s a departure from her usual persona. Yeoh and Dornan are also strong, although they don’t get as much screen time as I would’ve preferred.
Furthermore, Branagh directs the heck out of the flick. He has a unique aesthetic that doesn’t always fit the material – he’s a big fan of Dutch angles, for instance – but it’s a perfect match for the Gothic horror elements permeating this story. While it’s not a home run, Venice is still a fun watch that proves there’s still plenty of life left in the Poirot series.
Branagh seems to really love the character, so I’m happy to keep seeing these flicks as long as he’s interested in making them. At this point, I’m genuinely curious where the director will steer the character next – it’s clear by now that he doesn’t like doing the same thing over and over. Fortunately, Christie wrote a ton of these stories, so he’s got plenty left to choose from.
A Haunting in Venice is rated PG-13 for some strong violence, disturbing images and thematic elements. Opens in theaters on September 15.
Grade: B
Now retired and avoiding detective work at all costs, he only attends as a favor to his good friend (Tina Fey) – a mystery writer who needs help debunking the medium (Michelle Yeoh) she believes to be a fraud. However, when one of the guests ends up dead, Poirot is once again tasked with uncovering the murderer when everyone else in the house (including characters played by Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill and several others) is a suspect.
Overall, A Haunting in Venice is a mostly solid installment in the series. While not as good as Orient Express, the streamlined narrative, claustrophobic setting and relatively smaller cast is an improvement over the bloated Nile.
Clocking in at 100 minutes, Venice catches viewers up with Poirot, gets him to the séance and establishes the central mystery in record time. There’s really not a lot of fat on the screenplay (once again credited to Michael Green, who takes far more liberties with Christie’s source material this time around). Each scene serves a specific purpose, so the short running time doesn’t allow for a lot of wheel-spinning.
The downside is that the smaller cast ends up making the mystery’s resolution kind of a letdown; process of elimination means there are only a handful of possible outcomes. Nevertheless, the actors are a blast to watch. As always, Branagh is the standout; Poirot may be haunted by a traumatic past, but he’s kept his dry, sarcastic sense of humor. Fey is also quite good, in a role that’s a departure from her usual persona. Yeoh and Dornan are also strong, although they don’t get as much screen time as I would’ve preferred.
Furthermore, Branagh directs the heck out of the flick. He has a unique aesthetic that doesn’t always fit the material – he’s a big fan of Dutch angles, for instance – but it’s a perfect match for the Gothic horror elements permeating this story. While it’s not a home run, Venice is still a fun watch that proves there’s still plenty of life left in the Poirot series.
Branagh seems to really love the character, so I’m happy to keep seeing these flicks as long as he’s interested in making them. At this point, I’m genuinely curious where the director will steer the character next – it’s clear by now that he doesn’t like doing the same thing over and over. Fortunately, Christie wrote a ton of these stories, so he’s got plenty left to choose from.
A Haunting in Venice is rated PG-13 for some strong violence, disturbing images and thematic elements. Opens in theaters on September 15.
Grade: B
Reach out to Josh Sewell on Twitter @IAmJoshSewell
Comments
Post a Comment