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mildwipes · 3 years ago

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Death on the Nile - Reviews by Mild Wipes

I have always loved the writings of the iconic Agatha Christie (always been a big fan of mystery novels!). but watching the words being made into a motion picture is a whole different experience.

When I heard that another novel written by her is made into a movie, I can't help but quickly made my way to the cinema. The first adaptation, Murder on the Orient Express (2017) was a gem and I cannot wait to see more of Detective Hercule Poirot's (Kenneth Branagh) vacation hijacked by another tragedy.

Synopsis

Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. Set against an epic landscape of sweeping desert vistas and the majestic Giza pyramids, this tale of unbridled passion and incapacitating jealousy features a cosmopolitan group of impeccably dressed travelers, and enough wicked twists and turns to leave audiences guessing until the final, shocking denouement. (RottenTomatoes 2022)

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Writer: Michael Green (screenplay by), Agatha Christie (based upon the novel by)

Starring: Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Kenneth Branagh, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright

Runtime: 2 hours 7 minutes

IMDb Ratings: 6.6/10

Average Tomatometer: 65%

Average Audience Score: 83%

Premier: February 11, 2022

*****

SPOILERS ALERT

You've been warned. Read at your own risk!

The movie started with scenes from Poirot's time in the military during the first world war. From the opening, it was implied that Poirot's been a bright and genius man since his youth, didn't he only have sharp instinct, he also used his skills in general knowledge + keen observation in analyzing the right time to attack the enemy across the demarcation land. However, by the end of the opening clip, the other side of Poirot was revealed. After whatever greatness people thought of him, he was just a human who can make mistakes.

The scene after the opening credit showed Poirot entering a Live Music. When I watched this scene, I started noticing very interesting details (it's a mystery film, everything could be a clue to what happens next), such as (1) Poirot's unusual attention to Rosalie Otterbourne (Letitia Wright), (2) the camera focused on Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) and Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey) dancing for almost the whole time (as if the movie was about them, which we'll find later that it actually was about them), and (3) the super suspicious final part where Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) entered the crowd, danced with Simon, and Jacqueline seemed to have mixed and unidentified emotions (question marks on my head).

After the scandalous night, there comes a scene where Poirot was having a cup of tea with a Sphinx in Egypt, where he met his old friend, Bouc (Tom Bateman), who was introduced to us in the previous film, Murder on the Orient Express. Honestly, I didn't think that the meeting was intentional until 3/4 of the film when it was admitted by the detective himself that he was working for Bouc's mother, Euphemia Bouc (Annette Bening), to investigate Rosalie and Bouc's hidden affair.

The story continued on Poirot's journey during Linnet Ridgeway's luxurious honeymoon (yes, Simon and Linnet got married following that bizarre meeting), after Bouc invited him over to come to the wedding in Aswan, Egypt. Jacqueline intruded on the wedding and the honeymoon from time to time (her presence on screen added a dramatic feature to the story), thus making Linnet uncomfortable.

It got interesting as the team (Linnet's relatives were part of the honeymoon) hopped onto the ship, heading to the Abu Simbel temple. On this occasion, everyone seemed to have their own agenda, their own personal hatred and sentiment towards Linnet, the primary victim of this narrative. Being the only stranger on the ship, Poirot never expected to lead the investigation surrounding Linnet's mysterious death until several nights later, someone pulled a trigger to Linnet's temple, the same night Simon got shot in the knee after getting into a "fake argument" with Jacqueline.

Classic Poirot, he started asking questions to everyone on the ship and discovered so much, but very little, about their character, motive, interest and relationship with Linnet. The actual story, though, lied under Poirot's investigation, in which he found everyone was only taking advantage of Linnet's wealth to get to their ambitions, and her feeling unsafe was reasonable.

The investigation started with Simon, who could successfully avoid suspicion from Poirot. He put up with such a convincing act, made everyone thought that he actually loved Linnet and was no longer under any affair with Jacqueline. The second suspect questioned by Poirot was Louise Bourget (Rose Leslie), Linnet's maid. Louise's testimony was super suspicious for me, I wouldn't think that she would be the second victim (especially for someone that hasn't read the book, like me). I honestly thought that she and Simon had an affair behind Linnet, in which the wife found out, got into an argument with the mistress, then the mistress killed the wife. It would look like a soap opera. And yes, I am that shallow sometimes.

But after Louise got killed, I went to square one. I did not know about anything anymore. The sequences were quite bland afterwards, the only things helping were the beauty of Abu Simbel and the river Nile. Thank God they shot this film in actual places, it helps with the lack of realness from CGI that most Hollywood films use to portray Egypt.

There were some unnecessary conversations between Poirot and the suspects. I know I haven't read the book, but maybe there are some more important lines from the book that can be used in the film. I get that this film wanted to make Poirot something more than a genius detective, something more humane that he had a heart too, and he was once in love. Now he longed to fall in love again. But it felt forceful and out of place. I think this is the weakness of making a live adaptation of a novel, the limited runtime makes it hard to incorporate the character's complexity that is uncovered in the novel.

After the long, boring conversation, we finally got into the last suspect, Bouc. Poirot investigated him with Simon, I still don't understand why Bouc resisted telling Poirot Louise's killer (Backstory, Bouc was the one to help Simon after he got shot. He also witnessed Louise's murder and knew who killed her). At this moment, I was pretty sure that Simon was the primary suspect, that he killed Linnet and Louise, all for money. But things turned around when Bouc was shot by someone else, I went to square one once again (I kind of hated how this film made me feel).

I felt like the end was near now that everyone was questioned. I had so many questions, as many as the other suspects on that ship (haha!). The revelation scene where the remaining suspects were locked at the main dock was super cool. It was such a Poirot-ish style of revelation (goosebumps!). You should watch this iconic last scene by yourself ;)

Ending

Poirot revealed who the killers were, Simon Doyle and Jacqueline de Bellefort. They had everything planned perfectly since Simon first met Linnet at the Live Music some months before. If it wasn't for Poirot's surprise advent to their honeymoon, nobody would have suspected the couple to kill Linnet.

Personal Ratings

The landscape of Egypt, which was captured beautifully, successfully hooked me. The narrative is not that great (I'd choose another novel by Agatha Christie with more intriguing story), but overall, I'd give much appreciation to the casts and crews for making this magical novel alive. My personal score is 6.8 out of 10.

Plot-Wise: The main narrative is crime for passion, crime led by love. There were also some important details that you won't want to miss. Although, it was not how I thought it would be, it is still pretty much soap opera-ish. Unfortunately, it's not the mystery plot that I am fond of.

Visual: Beautiful and breath-taking, as always.

Music: Supported the narrative very well, but hardly the most outstanding thing from the film.

Would I recommend this film?

50/50

This is a good movie if you are in the mood for watching an easy and light mystery film. The ending is quite predictable, especially if you have watched many mystery films. However, it is not a great mystery movie with super thoughtful details.

#hercule poirot #death on the nile #agatha christie #mystery #murder on the orient express #kenneth branagh #gal gadot #armie hammer #emma mackey #letitia wright

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