On February 11, Death on the Nile, a new film by Kenneth Branagh based on the same-name novel by the mystery queen Agatha Christie, arrives at the cinema. The movie was supposed to be released in 2020 but due to the pandemic, it has been postponed several times and eventually appears in 2022 with a worldwide release only in cinemas. And in this post, we'll try to review this film as much as possible without any spoilers.
After Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Kenneth Branagh finally returns as both the director and the protagonist of another adaptation of a novel by the queen of English crime fiction Agatha Christie. If you already had a preview of Hercule Poirot's next adventure in the finale of the first film, you might have guessed what would happen in this new work.
In a sense, Branagh performs a similar operation by including in the cast a lineup of names particularly known to the public including Armie Hammer, Gal Gadot, Emma Mackey, Russell brand, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie and Letitia Wright. The same thing also happened with Murder on the Orient Express as the cast featured Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Willem Defoe and many more.
Although it's hard to get the twists (at least for those who haven't seen the 1978 movie nor read the novel), the film manages to entertain and present the set of particularly varied characters quite well. Unfortunately, despite the cast of a prominent class, some characters are overshadowed or forgotten during the course of the film.
The management of the stage space is interesting. Branagh, after a long and excellent theatrical career as one of the main interpreters of Shakespearean plays, pours all his love for the theater into his films, creating real scenic stages that make the actors move. The film's location par excellence is the Karnak boat (entirely reconstructed) where the murders and the resolution of the case take place. It's a boat made of crystal glass, bridges and terraces in which it seems impossible to hide. Even the scenography doesn't fail to recall the backdrops of theaters either.
The soundtrack by Patrick Doyle (Branagh's longtime composer who created the outstanding soundtracks for Thor, Murder on the Orient Express, Cinderella and Artemis Fowl), is also suggestive and very successful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZRqB0JLizw
In short, Death on the Nile is a good adaptation of Agatha Christie's work, respectful in the staging and without particular distortions in terms of the narrative. However, despite presenting an important cast, the characters are only partially exploited and deepened. Kenneth Branagh's love of theater is palpable in every frame, so much so that the entire staging is transformed into a stage in which the actors move and interact.
In the future, we just have to wait and find out if there will be other adventures of the legendary mustachioed Hercule Poirot played by Kenneth Branagh.
After Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Kenneth Branagh finally returns as both the director and the protagonist of another adaptation of a novel by the queen of English crime fiction Agatha Christie. If you already had a preview of Hercule Poirot's next adventure in the finale of the first film, you might have guessed what would happen in this new work.
Source: 20th Century Studios
In a sense, Branagh performs a similar operation by including in the cast a lineup of names particularly known to the public including Armie Hammer, Gal Gadot, Emma Mackey, Russell brand, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie and Letitia Wright. The same thing also happened with Murder on the Orient Express as the cast featured Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Willem Defoe and many more.
Source: 20th Century Studios
Although it's hard to get the twists (at least for those who haven't seen the 1978 movie nor read the novel), the film manages to entertain and present the set of particularly varied characters quite well. Unfortunately, despite the cast of a prominent class, some characters are overshadowed or forgotten during the course of the film.
Source: 20th Century Studios
The management of the stage space is interesting. Branagh, after a long and excellent theatrical career as one of the main interpreters of Shakespearean plays, pours all his love for the theater into his films, creating real scenic stages that make the actors move. The film's location par excellence is the Karnak boat (entirely reconstructed) where the murders and the resolution of the case take place. It's a boat made of crystal glass, bridges and terraces in which it seems impossible to hide. Even the scenography doesn't fail to recall the backdrops of theaters either.
The soundtrack by Patrick Doyle (Branagh's longtime composer who created the outstanding soundtracks for Thor, Murder on the Orient Express, Cinderella and Artemis Fowl), is also suggestive and very successful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZRqB0JLizw
In short, Death on the Nile is a good adaptation of Agatha Christie's work, respectful in the staging and without particular distortions in terms of the narrative. However, despite presenting an important cast, the characters are only partially exploited and deepened. Kenneth Branagh's love of theater is palpable in every frame, so much so that the entire staging is transformed into a stage in which the actors move and interact.
In the future, we just have to wait and find out if there will be other adventures of the legendary mustachioed Hercule Poirot played by Kenneth Branagh.