A Haunting in Venice

While any mystery film is and can be intriguing, my favorite mystery is that of the whodunit, And, of course, the queen of the whodunit format being Agatha Christie, I just couldn't say no to "A Haunting in Venice". There have been so many films based on her novels: "...and Then There Were None", "Murder on the Orient Express" (twice), "Death on the Nile" (twice), that her work is simply timeless, and I just never tire of work based on her incredible whodunits. 

This story is set in eerie, post World War II, 1947 Venice on All Hallows' Eve, and is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh). Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world's most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a seance with invitation by friend, famed writer Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets. Who did it? Was it Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly), Dr. Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan), Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin), Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen), or someone entirely different? 

Others to round out the cast are Michelle Yeoh as Mrs. Joyce Reynolds, Riccardo Scamarcio as Vitale Portfoglio, Jude Hill as Leopold Ferrier, Dr. Ferrier's son, Fernando Piloni as Vincenzo Di Stefano, Amir El-Masry as Alessandro Longo, Ali Khan as Nicholas Holland, Emma Laird as Desdemona Holland and Rowan Robinson as Alicia Drake, Rowena's daughter. 

This was directed with such panache and class by the incomparable Kenneth Branagh ("Henry V" '89, "Dead Again" '91, "Peter's Friends" '92, "Much Ado About Nothing" '93, "Frankenstein" '94, "A Midwinter's Tale" '95, "Hamlet" '96, "Love's Labour's Lost" 2000, "As You Like It" '06, "The Magic Flute" '06, "Sleuth" '07, "Thor" '11, "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" '14, "Cinderella" '15, "Murder on the Orient Express" '17, "All Is True" '18, "Artemis Fowl" '20, "Belfast" '21, "Death on the Nile" '22) plus shorts and two theatre live performances of "The Winter's Tale" and "Romeo and Juliet". As with so many of his other films, this film also is delineated with fine staging, pacing and sequencing that staggers the mind. The subtle nuances of each character is carefully developed so when the audience is viewing the film, one almost believes that the actor is the character. It was also penned with such precision by writer Michael Green ("The Green Lantern" '11, "Logan" '17, "Alien: Covenant" '17, "Blade Runner 2049" '17, "Murder on the Orient Express" '17, "The Call of the Wild" '20, "Jungle Cruise" '21, "Death on the Nile" '22) plus TV, shorts and a video, based on the novel, "Hallowe'en Party" by Agatha Christie. With such an incredible base in which to work off of, how could any writer botch a film that is based on an Agatha Christie novel considering how timeless her work is? Christie was writing during a time when a lot of females weren't acknowledged writers, couple that with these stories she wrote were so ahead of their time, it amazes me. Even with this info, Green still hit a homerun with this film considering he is a consummate writer himself. His sequencing, and character development were precise and easy to follow. Really, other than a couple of very small places of slowness, this script was incredible. If you like this brand of writing Green's "Carry On" is in post production and "Jungle Cruise 2" is in development.

If you are a 'whodunit' fan, or more to the point, an Agatha Christie fan, you'll revel with this, but even not, Branagh both behind and in front of the camera as Poirot is simply classic. I love whodunits because I am always at a loss of who did it--I never figure it out, but I like that. It makes the ending that much more juicy. Grab the popcorn and enjoy.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                      Rated: PG-13                                        104mins.