Thursday, November 16, 2017

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Director: Kenneth Branagh. Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad, Johnny Depp, Derek Jacobi, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Olivia Colman. 114 min. Rated PG-13. Malta/USA.

The reason I always found Agatha Christie's whodunits far superior to Arthur Conan Doyle's, was that Christie often incorporated a human element in Hercule Poirot's expertise at solving mysteries - a talent Sherlock Holmes generally didn't portray. Ironically, that is what was missing from Sidney Lumet's well-done 1974 adaptation of the famous novel, and that's what Kenneth Branagh has managed to capture in his remake. While the stunning cinematography and Poirot's unexpected crowbar mustache here are characters on their own, Branagh's direction is what makes that baffling ending twist very emotional, and very memorable.

PS: I'm glad there's an ending reference to another famous Poirot whodunit, "Death on the Nile". Looking forward to seeing Branagh in this role again.

Mo says:
MoMagic!

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