Films for Breakfast

Kenneth Branagh has a quite diverse filmography under his directorial belt, ranging from being one of the first filmmakers to dip his toes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2011’s Thor to his notable Oscar-contender and critical darling Belfast back in 2021. However, it seems lately he has really found his stride within directing adaptations of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries. 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express was a fairly conventional and by the numbers adaptation that worked just enough for it to be a fun-time at the theater, albeit not a whole lot more nor as rewarding as actually reading one of Christie’s novels. 2022’s Death on the Nile was largely about the same in quality, but grossed far-less than its predecessor at both the domestic and international box-office. Despite the dip in returns, both films were modestly well received from critics and audiences alike – bringing us to only a little over a year later since the last film with A Haunting in Venice.

Out of all the issues I had with the last two films, one thing that I didn’t really mind was the fact that they were by the numbers and didn’t take a lot of risks in terms of source material (which, I don’t believe they can even legally do when adapting the works of Agatha Christie) – I love how cozy and old-fashioned they feel, there’s something very comforting and entertaining about watching a generally procedural and straight-forward murder mystery that doesn’t constantly have to be ironic or self-deprecating. Warts and all, the last two movies are genuine, meat and potatoes thrillers and I commend Kenneth Branagh to committing to it. With A Haunting in Venice, he takes an interesting approach within adapting Christie’s Hallowe’en Party – which isn’t quite as well known as Orient Express or Nile, but serves as a drastic change of pace with large horror/supernatural undertones.

While I stand by my assessment that I could sit through several murder mysteries with Poirot and not get tired of it, I can’t deny that something about the drastic shift in tone and narrative with A Haunting in Venice truly worked for me. One of the most impressive elements to this adaptation is how seamlessly Branagh weaves in these horror elements into the tone and mythos he established with his last two outings; instead of it feeling jarring to have a famously straight-laced, practical detective suddenly dealing with the paranormal, Branagh decides to mine into that innate challenge that Poirot faces when coming to terms with things he can’t explain. This is no-doubt a reoccurring theme of the novel, but Branagh wisely makes it the entire crux of Poirot’s arc here – and it helps the story feel both familiar yet impressively more consequential and fresh compared to his other two outings. All of this paves way for Branagh to turn-in his best performance as Poirot thus far, and quite an endearing one at that.

A large reason why I’m sure Branagh is attracted to these stories as both a director and performer is due to how much of it truly lies on the shoulders of its ensemble – Poirot is the narrative and emotional through line of each story, but he’s also an incredibly fluid character in the sense that he can take the backseat when other characters need their time to develop or even paint themselves as red-hearings for the audience. The entire ensemble here, while not quite as star-studded as the two previous outings in the series, still largely impresses both individually and with their rapport with Poirot. I was particularly really impressed by Tina Fey’s performance here as Ariadne Oliver, an old friend of Poirot’s who serves as both a some-what partner to him as well as comedic relief for the audience. This is a character that could easily become over-bearing and teeter into self-indulgent, irony material that I think these adaptations should shy away from at all costs – yet, both the character and performance only elevate the mystery around them and all the jokes feel perfectly placed.

Other performers such as Kyle Allen, Riccardo Scamarcio, Kelly Reilly, and Camille Cottin are impressive despite having to share so much screen-time with other factors. Jamie Dornan and Michelle Yeoh are also both really great here, but feel a bit under-utilized considering how hot of performers they are here lately. With that being said, I do admire that Branagh doesn’t let star-power override the central mystery; it is at the forefront of everything going on, and is the core reason why people would want to see it. He knows it, and these movies are all the better for it. In comparison to the other two films, I think A Haunting in Venice easily has the most engaging story of the three – it has the highest stakes, the most red-hearings with clear motives, and most of all, it by-far has the best setting of the entire trilogy. The production design within this haunted house is largely impressive, and it truly shines as the characters wander throughout and you can appreciate the fact that these are all practical sets being used.

Branagh’s direction is truly on-point this time around and elevates the mystery at its core. Before going in, I wondered how he would fair when it came to dipping his toes within the horror/supernatural waters – but Branagh truly shines with this form of material and crafts some genuinely unsettling and spooky moments. Branagh also seems to understand the necessity for maintaining a balance here, too; he clearly, deliberately chose this novel to adapt as it’s radically different from his other entries and it provides so many tools for himself as a filmmaker to feel truly different and unique from anything else he’s done. In turn, he also makes sure to never have the film feel too isolated from the other entries or like Poirot is out of character/his element with this case. There is certainly a ceiling for how good these can be and the limits of adapting literary classics that you literally, legally can’t alter – but within those confines, A Haunting in Venice feels like it’s as good as it could possibly be. It feels both naturally subversive and comfortably familiar, making for easily the best film of the franchise thus far.

3.5/5