Murder on the Orient Express (2017) Director: Sir Kenneth Branagh
“There is a murderer among us…”
Boasting an all-star ensemble cast, Sir Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of Dame Agatha Christie’s classic novel features: Dame Judi Dench as a Russian princess, Willem Dafoe as a German professor, Penelope Cruz as a missionary, Johnny Depp as a scar-faced art dealer, Daisy Ridley as a governess, Leslie Odom Jr. as a doctor, Michelle Pfeiffer as a rich widow on the make for a new husband, Olivia Colman as a maid, Derek Jacobi as a valet, and Josh Gad as a private secretary.
We begin in 1934 as a bushy-moustached, overly meticulous Poirot (Branagh) solves a mystery in Jerusalem in a dramatic display of showmanship near the Wailing Wall (a theft at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). Then, Poirot travels to Istanbul for some rest before he is quickly called to London for another case. Aboard the Orient Express from Istanbul to Calais, Poirot meets a colorful cast of suspicious characters. Overnight the train is stopped due to an avalanche, and there has been a murder. Each person hides behind a wall of lies as they conceal their connections to the deceased (Johnny Depp’s Edward Ratchett, a.k.a. John Cassetti).
Mourning a long-lost love, Katharine, Poirot interviews each traveler aboard the train and pieces together the story of this murder, which is actually the tale of a murder of murderer –or revenge. But on this journey, Poirot learns a lesson of his own. The film ends on a reflective note as Poirot is called away for another case –a murder in Egypt on the Nile.
Despite being a bit choppy with some unfortunate green-screen digital backgrounds, I still thought this was a compelling interpretation of the classic mystery story. Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express is a slow-burn, whodunnit murder mystery and is a welcome change of pace in our current cinematic climate. I am drawn to this style of intimate character portraiture, less so some attempts to insert various action-adventure tropes at some points and deviate a bit from the original novel, even if it cannot hope to top the classic 1974 film featuring Albert Finney, Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Sean Connery, and others.
Despite how well we might all know the ending to this one, how it can be done several times over, certainly in the David Suchet’s Poirot version which I now find most appealing, can be at least one attraction. Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot seems the most conflicted out of all the versions I’ve seen, in Death On The Nile even more so, and that naturally makes him interesting. With a third film with Branagh’s Poirot now coming out, it will be fascinating to see how he can excel in the role. Thank you for your review.