Based on Agatha Christie’s Hallowe’en Party, Kenneth Branagh’s third adaptation in the Hercule Poirot series attempts to blend solid horror elements with the core whodunnit structure. So how well does it work?
A Haunting in Venice
Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Starring Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh,
Runtime: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Synopsis
World-famous detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) has retreated to Venice, Italy after World War II for solitude, choosing to forgo any more cases. However, an old friend and writer, Ariadne Oliver (Fey) enlists his help to disprove a local medium, Joyce Reynolds (Yeoh), who will be leading a family séance organized by grieving mother Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly). As Poirot is skeptical of any spiritual powers, even his confidence is shaken as a bizarre murder occurs, forcing him to separate the natural from the supernatural.
Branagh’s Poirot Has Aged Well
I should say this immediately before the Agatha Christie diehards come after me in the comment section:
I understand that no one can be David Suchet.
He’s the actor I grew up watching as Poirot and I have a similar fondness to his portrayal. But his version, while generally considered definitive, doesn’t have to be the singular voice. Heck, even before and during Suchet’s long run as the character in TV appearances (70 total), we had several portrayals by different actors, like Albert Finney, Alfred Molina, and Ian Holm to name a few. I say this to pushback against the ridiculous insinuation that no one can ever take a chance at tackling a character, especially such a well-known and repeatedly covered role like Poirot. Any given performance may not be to your liking and we can discuss or debate how their interpretation does or doesn’t emulate elements of the character, but I flatly reject the idea that it should be closed off forever.
Credit: 20th Century Studios
With that aside, how did Branagh do?
Venice is definitely the interpretation of Poirot I’ve liked the best of the 3 attempts. In Murder, it seemed like Branagh was still figuring out how he wanted to portray the character. So while it was certainly a fine performance, I can understand why it may have been underwhelming for folks. Nile is where he really puts together a stronger strings of scenes and mannerisms that have sold me on his interpretation, especially when we flashback to moments in his past and previous love interests.
Credit: 20th Century Studios
While Venice doesn’t feature nearly as many flashbacks as Nile, it doesn’t really need them. This version of Poirot has become weary, disillusioned, bitter and closed off towards the world and Branagh excels at bringing that to life. Even if you haven’t seen the previous two films or read a single novel, it will be clear that he doesn’t want to confront or engage his past work any longer. That may sound a tad dour, but Branagh’s Poirot still has tender moments (which I’ll dive into more in a bit). Though they are mostly before and after the main events, they serve as solid bookends: giving us a snapshot of his friendship with Ariadne early on and eventually how he comes out of his darkness by the end.
A Hauntingly Strong Cast
One of my favorite elements in whodunnit films is the collective. And sure, ensemble casts doing well aren’t exclusive to the mystery genre, but I would contend the potential cameos and bit parts can add up into something unique that other films can’t match. Take Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise for example, which are directly inspired by the form and feel of Agatha Christie novels: even if different cast members are only on-screen for short periods of time or killed off early, they usually seem to revel in the opportunity, delivering some top notch work (we could also examine the whole of British mystery TV for this as well, but we could be here a very long time with those cameos and appearances).
Credit: 20th Century Studios
Venice brings in Michelle Yeoh, fresh off her Oscar win for Everything Everywhere All At Once, to play the medium Joyce Reynolds, which serves partially as a legacy character from the original story, but adds fresh elements teasing the supernatural. Yeoh owns her screen time, and the seance scenes are well-crafted to let her shine. I was worried they would possibly fall into tired magical minority tropes, but the structure of the mystery ensures that’s not the case.
Credit: 20th Century Studios
Rounding out the cast, Tina Fey does a solid job as the enterprising book writer Ariadne, providing an excellent mid-Atlantic accent that fits the period. We get some good moments from Kelly Reilly as the retired opera singer and mourning mother Rowena, but her moments are pretty short and sweet. She has a singular key moment near the beginning, but is largely ignored for other cast members throughout the ordeal. Lastly, we also get a mini-Belfast reunion as Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill play father and son again, as Dornan plays Leslie, the father and family doctor and Jude plays his son Leopold. While the dynamics between the two are certainly different than their last pairing, the chemistry is still there and Hill in particular is continuing to make his case as a young, rising star.
Unlocking the Beauty of Venice
The previous two films in Branagh’s adaptation certainly looked good, but the last one, Death on the Nile suffered the most from being filmed in London instead of Morocco as originally planned (as it was close to COVID’s start, I had thought maybe that affected the filming schedule, but that doesn’t seem to be the case). However both of them succeeded in the tight, cramped spaces they were primarily set in: first on the famous Orient Express and the second on a riverboat floating down the Nile.
Venice continues that for the majority of this film; Branagh and longtime collaborator / cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos (Belfast, Death on the Nile) make us feel absolutely claustrophobic inside Rowena Blake’s house, even when you realize how large the shot is or how much of the scene they allow us to see.
A Haunting in Venice
Credit: 20th Century Studios
What do I mean by that? Some horror films zoom in-tight to obscure what’s close to a character, disorienting you before something pops into view or the camera does a quick pan for the jump scare. Venice does this sometimes…however like some of the better horror films out there, they also keep a lot of moments in frame so that your focus is situated on one person until someone or something pops in. While it’s not a particularly frightening movie by any means, Branagh is able to create some genuinely shocking moments that may catch a few whodunnit fans off-guard.
Credit: 20th Century Studios
While the plot largely takes place inside Rowena’s house, Branagh wisely takes advantage of their surroundings, capturing shots of the city when it makes sense. For example, in an opening montage following Poirot around town, we’re treated to sweeping shots of the city, beautiful moments on the rooftop of Poirot’s house, and the canals of Venice. In the daylight, these scenes are just wonderful to look at and take full advantage of what the IMAX camera can offer even for dramatic, personal-driven scenes.
Conclusion / Recommendation
Hardcore Agatha Christie fans expecting a straight up remake up of Hallowe’en Party should steer clear as Branagh has zero interest in doing that. However whodunnit and thriller fans will be pleasantly delighted by what has been crafted and with smart visuals and a strong supporting cast, Branagh continues to showcase what makes his version of Poirot unique. If there’s a chance to catch this film in IMAX or a larger-format screen, this one is worth the upcharge.
Score: 8 out of 10
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