Kenneth Branagh and Michael Green’s 2017 adaptation of Murder On The Orient Express was a film that really surprised me. Branagh brings a slick and bombastic sensibility, allowing for his actors to go big, but hitting the brakes before going camp. And yet, the biggest surprise was how emotionally invested it gets you, especially by the end, when it somehow manages to get you to feel the catharsis of the characters as we witness the murder take place through flashback. The film did well, paving a way for not only the semi-revival of the whodunnit that Knives Out capitalized on, but a sequel as well.
This brings us to Death On The Nile, Branagh reteams with screenwriter, Michael Green, in the adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1937 novel. This mystery follows our heroic detective, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) as he finds himself caught in the middle of another murder case. This time, on a ship that served as a honeymoon spot for newlyweds, Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) and Linnet Ridgeway-Doyle (Gal Gadot), as well as providing a vacation for some of their close friends, and one scorned woman that forced her way aboard, Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey), who Simon initially had the hots for.
In case you do not know the details of this story, I myself haven’t done so in a while, I’ll keep this spoiler-free. But as you’d expect, Hercule takes on the case, interviewing the people on board one by one. The situation gets more complicated as bodies continue to pile up, making the case more complex and causing further distrust among the people on board, even in Hercule’s abilities as a detective. Of course, it doesn’t take long for his skills to start uncovering various secrets and motivations that might lead to discovering who the killer – or killers – might be.
Long story short, I thought this was really good. In fact, I would say this is a better movie as a whole than Murder On The Orient Express, mostly in terms of story and overall performances. However, it isn’t flawed, and there are some elements that don’t work as strongly as the first film. For one, the first act, pretty much up until the murder is a bit choppy and uneven. Gal Gadot is sadly the weakest link here, by quite a margin too. And while the story as a whole is more interesting and compelling, I don’t think it hits the highest highs of the first film, especially with the reveal, which is fairly predictable even if you haven’t heard this before. I also thought Patrick Doyle’s score for the first film was far better.
Flaws aside, this film utilizes its setting more effectively, Branagh’s work with cinematographer, Haris Zambarloukos, is as strong as ever, and Úna Ní Dhonghaíle’s editing bring an extra punch to some pretty brutal moments. This film certainly takes as much advantage of the PG-13 limit as it can. I should mention that it really says something about the lack of sex and sensuality in a lot of mainstream Hollywood movies, that I came out this thinking, “well, that was a lot spicier than anticipated.” Between the sequence early on that looked like something out of Dirty Dancing, Simon and Linnet grinding on each other in Egyptian ruins, and Hercule thirsting after a blues singer played by Sophie Okonedo, it was quite the horny ride.
There really isn’t a whole lot to say about a film like this, Kenneth Branagh is operating on good old fashioned escapism mode here, and he knows how to create an experience that broad, playful, dark, and complex, and everything in between, in a way that is very entertaining thoroughly watchable. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, despite a few minor issues, and as long as you’re willing to overlook some casting decisions that haven’t aged very well after all the delays this faced, then I don’t see why anyone else who liked the first film wouldn’t like this. The supporting players like Okonedo, Ali Fazal, Annette Bening, and Tom Bateman all bring in strong work. But I was most taken aback by both Emma Mackey, who I haven’t seen before, making a meal with the material, she’s fantastic, and Russell Brand, who pulls off soft spoken and understated astonishingly well. I can’t speak to this as an adaptation, but as a murder mystery picture goes, it’s got the goods, and it’s a hell of a time. I could watch dozens of these if they choose to keep going.
Death On The Nile is now out in theaters.