Kenneth Branagh, when all is said and done, is a filmmaker
who operates best in the realm of adaptation. Starting out by bringing some of
Shakespeare’s greatest stories to the big screen in roaring fashion, right down
to what has become the definitive version of Hamlet (all four hours of it), he
has since gone on to give the same treatment to operas, spy thriller novels,
superheroes, even Disney princesses. The respective qualities of each of those
examples definitely differs, but I would argue that the man always manages to
leave an impression on whatever genre he decides to take on. Today marks yet
another new avenue for the man, this time delving into a murder mystery adapted
from legendary writer Agatha Christie. Do we see the little grey cells go off
in Branagh’s head once again, or are they sitting this one out?
The plot: Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth
Branagh), after solving a theft in Jerusalem, takes the Orient Express to
London to take care of another case. However, once a dead body shows up on the
train, it seems his plan for a small vacation is interrupted as he is called
upon to solve the murder, a feat that will prove difficult as it seems any of
the other passengers could be the culprit.
Branagh, while giving himself more screen time than would be
advisable, does well with the dry and very matter-of-fact dialogue he’s given.
The man has an uncanny knack for infusing characters with all the charisma and that stays true here, making his vast presence
in the production feel like a good move on his part… at first, but we’ll get
into that. Putting aside whatever jokes could be made about how playing someone
evil isn’t much of a stretch for him, Johnny Depp leaves a decent impression as
the increasingly dubious Ratchett.
The rest of the main cast basically
monologue their way through the story, and the results are mostly good. Judi
Dench, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi and Michelle Pfeiffer and even Tom Bateman as
Poirot’s douchebag-with-a-heart-of-gold friend Bouc all do splendidly with
their roles, hitting some serious pathos when it comes time to show their
respective connections to the case. Willem Dafoe, Penélope Cruz, Leslie Odom
Jr. and Daisy Ridley are alright as well, but they end up being at the lower
end of the average between the rest of the cast.
Well, this film already checks out with the visuals;
seriously, this thing is goddamn gorgeous. Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos
may get a little too creative in
certain shots, like the awkward attempts to include overhead shots in a cramped
space, but the framing and incredibly fluid camera work make for sumptuous
viewing. It’s so smooth and gliding, whether it’s following characters down the
narrow pathways on the train or just following Poirot through the train from the
outside, that it’s likely to hold an audience’s attention all on its own. I
especially liked how it framed the initial suspects once the mystery properly
starts, using reflections and refracted light to create the kind of thematic
camera work that we don’t usually get nowadays.
Not that it slouches much in terms of writing, though.
Michael Green, who also co-wrote Logan and Blade Runner 2049, does quite well
at pulling us into the world of Poirot. Specifically, the world as Poirot sees
it. Part of that is down to Branagh’s performance, naturally, but the way the
writing around him highlights Poirot’s perfectionism and need for the world to
be balanced while also keeping it from being too overbearing is quite commendable. Honestly, the gag about
Poirot’s moustache guard that he apparently goes to bed wearing makes not being
able to take that bloody facial hair seriously sit a bit easier. It also starts
out on a remarkably good foot as well, showing the theft in Jerusalem in a way
that sets the tone for what is to come both in style and bombast.
Through
Poirot’s perspective of justice, the order of the law and what he sees as the
order of the universe, the resulting story and its perspectives on morality and
the rationale for murder makes for interesting contemplations. It also manages
to take something that’s always been close to Branagh, his penchant for
racially-diverse casting, and brings it to the forefront to add some racial
conflicts to the overall mystery. Bear in mind that this is my first real
experience with an actual Poirot story, so that last one could be a staple of
the original story for all I know, but as shown here, it ultimately makes sense
and shows that Branagh has made a career out of practicing what he preaches in
that regard.
So, the characters are solid, the acting matches them for
better or for worse, and the visuals essentially forces us to pay attention… so
why is the mystery itself so weak? Even without prior experience with the
material, there’s a definite feeling that this is an adaptation made for people
already familiar with the narrative. Because of this, the central murder
mystery is lacking in two crucial details: Pacing and tension. The pacing,
because of how much space Poirot takes up, never gives us a sense that the
characters on the train actually count as such. Most of their dialogue is
comprised of exposition, and even once the liars are revealed, it still feels
like we’ve been explained far too much in a film that clearly knows how to tell
a story visually.
The tension, on the other hand, isn’t even that existent. Branagh appears more
focused on visuals and banter than the events of the mystery itself, and
because of that, the twists and turns of the plot don’t register much more than
a shrug. Even for a first-timer, the twists didn’t affect me that much. The
actual story itself is good and I can tell that there is a good version of it
kicking around somewhere… but unfortunately, it isn’t here in the strictest
sense.
All in all, this is a beautifully-captured mess of a film. While
it’s visually stunning, well-cast and containing some rather fun dialogue, the
core of the story doesn’t grip nearly as hard as it should. Regardless of
previous experience with this story, a murder mystery without tension or a real
sense of progression is a pretty bad sign, and although there are a lot of
appealing elements surrounding it, it still lacks that punch to make it feel
like the journey was worth the time.
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