A Haunting in Venice (B or 3/4 stars)
'A Haunting in Venice' is writer/director/star Kenneth Branagh's 3rd murder mystery centering on writer Agatha Christie's celebrated detective, Hercule Poirot. Set in 1947 on All Hallow's Eve - 2 short yrs. after WWII ravaged Europe - we find Poirot 'retired', disillusioned & self-exiling in gorgeous, yet sorrowful Venice. He has hired a former policeman {or poliziotto}, Vitale Portfoglio (Riccardo Scamarcio), as a bodyguard to fend-off people who are desperate for his sleuthing services. Plans change for Poirot when he is visited by his old friend & famed mystery author, Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), who is working on a book about famed medium, Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh), but can't ascertain how she executes her supernatural seances.
And so, Ariadne has a proposition for Poirot: accompany her to a seance at a nearby palazzo to see if he can debunk Reynolds. They first attend a Halloween party for orphans at said palazzo; owned by former opera singer, Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly), who, after the party, wishes to contact the spirit of her daughter, Alicia. Alicia had fallen from the balcony & drowned one year prior -- it may, or may not, have been murder. The seance goes all wrong and, after midnight, amid a torrential storm & the sinister shadows of the palazzo ... bodies start piling up. As is usually the case, Poirot interviews those in the palazzo to seek facts & find the culprit(s).
Those in attendance include: PTSD-affected Dr. Leslie Ferrier & his wise young son, Leopold (Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill - who also played father & son in Branagh's Belfast), the maid, Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin), Joyce Reynold's two enigmatic assistants, Desdemona & Nicholas (Emma Laird, Ali Khan), & the deceased girl's combative ex-fiancee, Maxime (Kyle Allen). As is the case in these murder mysteries, each character has an alibi, but also, reasons to harbor suspicion about. And when Poirot starts hearing voices & seeing ghosts, all bets are off as to exactly what is going on, here.
Branagh's 3rd Poirot film successfully embraces a darker, spookier atmosphere from the 1st two. This movie is less exotic, but way more chilling; a tense, ruminative, & satisfyingly sinister mystery that keeps you guessing 'til the end. But where Murder on the Orient Express had a fluid use of space aboard the moving train, & while Death on the Nile used bright, open spaces more so ... 'A Haunting in Venice', set mostly indoors during a violent storm in the wee hours of the night, feels more claustrophobic than the prior films, in a good way. The decrepit palazzo - full of long, angular corridors, & creepy rooms lit by candles - yet cloaked in shadows - makes the proceedings feel all the more gloomy & disorienting when trying to suss out the killer(s).
This film is based on Agatha Christie's 1969 novel, Hallowe'en Party, and because it is more obscure, and because Branagh takes great liberties with the source material, there's a refreshing element of surprise about the proceedings as you watch; something that can't quite be said of the two prior, well-known Christie adaptations. As ever, Branagh is as adept with his directing panache as he is with his troupe of actors. Branagh, himself, is as good as ever as the increasingly soul-wounded detective who, due to some haunting sights & sounds {not to mention an attempt on HIS life!}, questions his abilities while slowly-but-surely revealing the attendees' painful pasts & figuring out who could have committed the crimes in question.
Everyone in the cast impresses, and are given potent moments to convey backstories, as well as potential reasons for their guilt or innocence. I was particularly impressed by Michelle Yeoh as the zany medium, Jamie Dornan as the troubled doctor, Jude Hill, whose talents far exceed his youth, Camille Cottin as the maid who must cope with a disturbing turn of events, & Tina Fey as the whip smart, knowing sidekick to Poirot. If I have issues with this film, they'd be that a) everyone speaks quickly, hushed and/or with an accent; so catching every fleeting moment of conversation was tricky for me. And b) though the mystery is clever & masterfully solved, there's little joy in the outcome due to the tragic whos & whys of the deaths. Overall, I commend the film for its elegant look, unsettling vibe & gothic twists.
And so, Ariadne has a proposition for Poirot: accompany her to a seance at a nearby palazzo to see if he can debunk Reynolds. They first attend a Halloween party for orphans at said palazzo; owned by former opera singer, Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly), who, after the party, wishes to contact the spirit of her daughter, Alicia. Alicia had fallen from the balcony & drowned one year prior -- it may, or may not, have been murder. The seance goes all wrong and, after midnight, amid a torrential storm & the sinister shadows of the palazzo ... bodies start piling up. As is usually the case, Poirot interviews those in the palazzo to seek facts & find the culprit(s).
Those in attendance include: PTSD-affected Dr. Leslie Ferrier & his wise young son, Leopold (Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill - who also played father & son in Branagh's Belfast), the maid, Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin), Joyce Reynold's two enigmatic assistants, Desdemona & Nicholas (Emma Laird, Ali Khan), & the deceased girl's combative ex-fiancee, Maxime (Kyle Allen). As is the case in these murder mysteries, each character has an alibi, but also, reasons to harbor suspicion about. And when Poirot starts hearing voices & seeing ghosts, all bets are off as to exactly what is going on, here.
Branagh's 3rd Poirot film successfully embraces a darker, spookier atmosphere from the 1st two. This movie is less exotic, but way more chilling; a tense, ruminative, & satisfyingly sinister mystery that keeps you guessing 'til the end. But where Murder on the Orient Express had a fluid use of space aboard the moving train, & while Death on the Nile used bright, open spaces more so ... 'A Haunting in Venice', set mostly indoors during a violent storm in the wee hours of the night, feels more claustrophobic than the prior films, in a good way. The decrepit palazzo - full of long, angular corridors, & creepy rooms lit by candles - yet cloaked in shadows - makes the proceedings feel all the more gloomy & disorienting when trying to suss out the killer(s).
This film is based on Agatha Christie's 1969 novel, Hallowe'en Party, and because it is more obscure, and because Branagh takes great liberties with the source material, there's a refreshing element of surprise about the proceedings as you watch; something that can't quite be said of the two prior, well-known Christie adaptations. As ever, Branagh is as adept with his directing panache as he is with his troupe of actors. Branagh, himself, is as good as ever as the increasingly soul-wounded detective who, due to some haunting sights & sounds {not to mention an attempt on HIS life!}, questions his abilities while slowly-but-surely revealing the attendees' painful pasts & figuring out who could have committed the crimes in question.
Everyone in the cast impresses, and are given potent moments to convey backstories, as well as potential reasons for their guilt or innocence. I was particularly impressed by Michelle Yeoh as the zany medium, Jamie Dornan as the troubled doctor, Jude Hill, whose talents far exceed his youth, Camille Cottin as the maid who must cope with a disturbing turn of events, & Tina Fey as the whip smart, knowing sidekick to Poirot. If I have issues with this film, they'd be that a) everyone speaks quickly, hushed and/or with an accent; so catching every fleeting moment of conversation was tricky for me. And b) though the mystery is clever & masterfully solved, there's little joy in the outcome due to the tragic whos & whys of the deaths. Overall, I commend the film for its elegant look, unsettling vibe & gothic twists.