A Haunting in Venice
★★★★
Mild Spoilers
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Written by Michael Green
Based on the novel Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
Just in case you didn’t know, this isn’t exactly a horror movie, but the third film based on Agatha Christie’s mystery novels that was directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played the role of Christie’s world’s greatest detective, Hercule Poirot. The other two were Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. There is no continuity except for the recurring detective character, so no prior viewing of those two films are necessary at all. Murder mysteries are by design standalone stories.
I really liked these series of films because there’s just something really appealing about mid 20th century European backdrops, and I absolutely enjoyed Branagh’s take on the eccentric Belgian sleuth. His third outing did not disappoint, although it isn’t without some flaws. These movies often include a cast of established and up-and-coming actors, and Branagh managed to get Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, the Fifty Shades guy and the baddie from John Wick 2 for this one.
This is a very traditional whodunnit, with the usual suspects of affluent family members, their acquaintances and the help all trapped in a building while the great detective slowly grills each person until the reveal of the murderer(s?) is done in a grandstanding fashion. What’s new this time is the element of the supernatural complicating things for the detective who purely relies on logical deductions. Some of you may find these too old fashioned, but if you’re anything like me you’re going to enjoy it as much as I did.
There is also something a bit off about the way lines are delivered here, which were done so hurriedly that I found it difficult to hear what each character was saying, especially when there are so many different accents at play. There’s also this over-abundant use of wide angle lenses that makes almost every shot looked warped, like you were constantly looking through the point-of-view of a first person shooter video game. It can be annoyingly disorienting at times, even if it was intentional.
Otherwise, this is still a solid but traditional whodunnit held up by lush visuals, a strong central performance and a reliable cast of familiar faces.