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stewblog · 8 months

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A Haunting In Venice

How do you find a suitable challenge for the world’s greatest detective? You force him to confront and consider the unexplainable.

To the rational, calculating mind, ghosts are a laughably naive concept. Such is the stance of the now-retired Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh). As we encounter him in Venice, he seems content to live a solitary life of retirement, tending his garden and indulging in pastries, all while fending off constant streams of people desperate to employ his impeccable deductive skills. But when the closest thing he has to a friend, best-selling murder mystery author Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), implores him to try and debunk the work of a spiritual medium on Halloween night, it’s not long before he is thrust out of retirement and back on the case.

Poirot is certain he’ll make short work of Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) and her sham seance’ as she claims to be in contact with the spirit of a girl who jumped to her death from the house’s balcony one year ago. But when someone is murdered with no immediate suspects and seemingly inexplicable occurrences begin filling the house, the master detective is forced to reckon with what is and is not impossible.

There are twists and reveals and jump scares a-plenty. But what A Haunting In Venice may lack in originality, Branagh more than compensates for with good old-fashioned style and a satisfying (albeit straightforward) execution of its story and characters.

The visuals are by far the film’s strongest suit so let’s start there. This is an absolutely gorgeous film to take in and I recommend seeing it in the largest format available. Is it in IMAX near you? It’s absolutely worth the premium format fees. This is a sumptuous movie to behold with deep shadows and a superbly established sense of place. The palazzo where the majority of the film takes place isn’t your typical haunted house locale but Branagh shoots it to be perfectly disarming. I’m not the first writer to make this comparison, but it bears repeating that Branagh clearly took more than a little inspiration from Orson Welles’ 1962 surreal film adaptation of Franz Kafka’s dystopian novel The Trial. Welles’ film uses unusual and disarming camera angles and depths of field that create a deep sense of unease and paranoia. It’s done in a way that I’ve rarely seen imitated, making Branagh’s point of inspiration all the more clear. It’s a lovely tribute to an underrated, underseen film that also serves to further underscore the psychic duress these characters, but especially Poirot, endures. It deserves to be seen as large as possible because much of the film’s sense of dread and oppression comes from seeing this house and its shadowy structures tower and overwhelm.

As for the substance beyond the style, Branagh and the film’s script are a bit more subtle. It’s a Poirot mystery so it shouldn’t shock anyone that a murder happens within the first 20 minutes, but to whom it happens may be a bit more of a surprise. Each surviving character has their own ultimately sympathetic (though some more than others) motivations and connections, but it’s seeing the measured ways in which Branagh shows the cracks in Poirot’s confidence and the roots of his dedication to logic and deduction that I found most endearing. Heroes are at their most interesting when they’re vulnerable in one way or another, so seeing this nigh-invincible mind forced to confront mysteries he may not be able to solve as he’s forced to consider concepts he’d long since evolved beyond is right where Poirot should be at this point in the series.

If there’s a complaint that lingers, it’s that a single casting choice stuck out like a sore thumb. This is due almost entirely to the character’s unmistakable similarity to another played by the same actor in a contemporary piece of entertainment. I’m trying to be vague in the hope that no one else will be immediately distracted as I was, but it took me out of the moment multiple times. I realize this is almost entirely on me and through no fault of the actor’s but there it is all the same.

All that said, I can’t recommend this enough, especially if you’re looking for a more old-fashioned haunted house mystery now that we’re on our way into this year’s Spooky Season.

#hercule poirot #haunting in venice #kenneth branagh

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themosleyreview · 8 months

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The Mosley Review: A Haunting in Venice

In the landscape of cinema these days, its all about the action packed superhero genre and not really about the smaller and more intimate stories. In the right hands, the smaller and more human based stories can be something special and this franchise continues to be just that. Agatha Christie's famed detective is back and I was genuinely excited because of the amazingly crafted and fun previous film entries. This time around we get something a little more spooky in the famous murder mystery series and it is perfect for the Halloween season. Seriously, think about how many murder mystery films come out around this time that are perfectly themed for the occasion. Not many are and that is why I was surprised by it. There were moments where some of the characters felt a little cartoonish because of the accents, but it was part of the charm. The characters are as rich as expected and all of them have a distinct part to play which felt essential and perfect.

Kenneth Branagh returns once again as Hercule Peroit and he continues to be so much fun to watch. His charisma and immediate attention to detail is always exciting to witness. I loved that with each entry we get to see the layers of Hercule and this time we get to see a side of him that is lonely and somewhat painful. It doesn't take long for his analytical brain to start working and when he's on the case, nobody is safe. His witty remarks and analogies were hilarious and deep cutting. Tina Fey joins the series as a fellow detective and famous friend of Hercule, Ariadne Oliver. The chemistry and banter between was fun to watch and even though her part to play in this story was a bit obvious, it was still cool to see it all deconstructed. Her accent was a bit all over the place at times as you could hear her restraining from sounding like the typically exaggerated 1940's dame. Riccardo Scamarcio was awesome and intimidating as his personal bodyguard, Vitale Portfoglio. I enjoyed his steadfast nature and his connection to Hercule. Jamie Dornan was great and endearing as Dr. Leslie Ferrier. His depiction of PTSD from World War 2 is something I haven't seen before during that time period and was refreshing. Jude Hill was outstanding as his son Leopold. The amount of insight and maturity the kid has in the most extreme situations was astounding and masterfully handled. Kelly Reilly is always wonderful to watch and as Rowena Drake, she delivers an emotionally charged performance that is layered and intense. Michelle Yeoh was excellent as Joyce Reynolds and she truly sets off the supernatural nature of the story. I liked that she was consistent for the most part, but there was one scene that really showed her hand and it was a bit disappointing. Emma Laird and Ali Khan were great as her assistants Desdemona and Nicholas Holland. They had your typical story of wanting a better life, but there is a fun twist that happens with them. Kyle Allen was good as Maxime Gerard and I liked that even though he was antagonistic, he had a sense of humanity that comes to light in the latter half of the film. Camille Cottin was good and steadfast in her faith as Olga Seminoff. I liked that she was the most honest person in the film and even though she had plenty of motive, she stayed true in the face of danger.

The score by the wonderful Hildur Guðnadóttir was excellent and haunting in the best way. She nails that slow and creepy build to the horror elements of the story and keeps the emotional beats strong when characters are talking about the victims. Visually the film is gorgeous with the use of shadows and lanterns. I always loved the look of eroided stone walls and classicly painted murals. From beginning to end, this was a fun and spooky murder mystery that dabbles in the supernatural without being overly cheesy and keeps that same quality of storytelling that started with Murder on the Orient Express. I genuinely enjoy these films and I can't wait for another mystery for Hercule to solve. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

#a haunting in venice #kenneth branagh #tina fey #jamie dornan #michelle yeoh #kelly reilly #camille cottin #kyle allen #jude hill #riccardo scamarcio

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popentertainment-moviereviews · 8 months

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A HAUNTING IN VENICE (2023)

Starring Kyle Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, Michelle Yeoh, Lorenzo Acquaviva, Dylan Corbett-Bader, Clara Duczmal, Amir El-Masry, Stella Harris, Vanessa Ifediora, David Menkin, Yaw Nimako-Asamoah, Fernando Piloni, Rowan Robinson and Emilio Villa-Muhammad.

Screenplay by Michael Green.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Distributed by 20th Century Studios. 103 minutes. Rated PG.

A Haunting in Venice is the third time in which Kenneth Branagh directed a version of an Agatha Christie mystery novel and portrayed her legendary Belgian sleuth, the brilliant-but-eccentric Hercule Poirot.

Of course taking on Christie’s body of work could be a long career path. The prolific writer penned about 70 mystery novels – with over 30 of them featuring Poirot – so there is a whole lot of material to take on. The first two Branagh made were slightly unadventurous – two of the better-known Poirot adventures, Murder on the Orient Express and Death in the Nile, both of which have been filmed multiple times. In fact, the last big cinematic Poirot series in the 1970s also did those two novels, in that same order. (The third film of that earlier series was Evil Under the Sun.) Both of those books were also remade for the popular BBC series Poirot.

So it’s kind of a nice surprise that this one is based on one of the lesser-known of Christie’s novels – the 1969 book Hallowe’en Party. In fact the title was so obscure that Branagh felt comfortable totally renaming the story – intellectual property be damned. Actually, in full disclosure, it’s been decades since I’ve read Hallowe’en Party and I have almost no memory of the story, but from a conversation at the screening with someone who remembered the book, this film is very different from the novel.

What do you know? A Haunting in Venice may be the best of the Branagh adaptations of Christie’s work so far. This is because Branagh has mixed a certain number of horrific moments in with the classic drawing room mystery tableau, and it turns out to be a terrific fit.

A Haunting in Venice is not a horror film, per se, but it has enough jump scares, gloomy atmospherics and mysterious things that go bump in the night that it juices the more staid, traditional mystery aspects of the story.

The movie starts with Poirot living in Venice, Italy, having retired from detecting. He even has a bodyguard to fight off the many people constantly bugging him to take on their cases. He is finally prodded out of his cocoon of inactivity by an old American friend who visits – Ariadne Oliver (played by Tina Fey) another character who often appeared in Christie’s fiction, in fact she as a female mystery novelist Ariadne is sort of a stand-in for Christie in her own fiction.

Ariadne is determined to get Poirot to return to his work. Specifically, she invites him to join her at a Halloween party at a local haunted castle, which is owned by a famous opera singer (Kelly Reilly). After the party, there will be a séance trying to connect with the singer’s daughter, who mysteriously seemed to kill herself not long before. A famous medium (Michelle Yeoh) is running the séance, and Ariadne is certain that she is a charlatan, so she asks Poirot to see if he can prove her to be a fake.

Soon the group is in the middle of a haunting, with sounds going bump in the night, odd apparitions showing up in the darkness of the dank abode and bodies starting to pile up. There is only a limited number of potential suspects locked in the mansion, and Poirot must find the killer before he (or she) strikes again.

The mystery itself is old-fashioned and twisty, but the haunting aspects make the story even more intriguing. It’s a smart and simple way of making the slightly creaky story beats resonate more strongly.

And the footage of ancient Venice, even the huge, haunted hall they visit, is simply stunningly beautiful.

All in all, A Haunting in Venice is a smart and fun take on a sometimes-dated filmmaking style. Good for them. Over a century after Agatha Christie’s first novel was published, there’s still life in these old books.

Jay S. Jacobs

#A Haunting in Venice #2023 #Movie Review #Kenneth Branagh #Jay S. Jacobs

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phantom-le6 · 7 days

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Film Review - A Haunting In Venice

As we come into the tail-end of film releases for 2023, our focus goes from dramatic retelling of historical fact to dramatic adaptation of historic fiction in the crime genre. Here now for your reading pleasure is my look into the third of Ken Branagh’s Poirot films, A Haunting in Venice…

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

In 1947, Hercule Poirot has retired to Venice, having lost his faith in God and humanity, with ex-police officer Vitale Portfoglio as his bodyguard. Mystery writer Ariadne Oliver persuades Poirot to attend a Halloween party and séance at the palazzo of famed opera singer Rowena Drake, wishing to expose Joyce Reynolds, a World War I army nurse turned medium, as a fraud. The palazzo, a former orphanage, is believed to be haunted by the spirits of orphaned children who were locked up and abandoned to die there during a city-wide plague; rumours claim that the spirits torment any nurses and doctors who dare enter.

Rowena has hired Joyce to commune with her daughter Alicia, who supposedly committed suicide after Alicia's fiancé, chef Maxime Gerard, ended their engagement. Among the guests are Rowena's housekeeper Olga Seminoff, Drake family doctor Leslie Ferrier and his son Leopold, and Joyce's Romani assistant Desdemona Holland; they are joined by Maxime right before the séance, and during it Poirot reveals Nicholas, Desdemona's half-brother and Joyce's second assistant, hiding in the chimney. Joyce suddenly speaks in Alicia's voice, saying that one of the guests murdered her. Poirot confronts Joyce, who insists he lighten up, gives him her mask and robe, and cryptically says they will not meet again. Seconds later, an unknown assailant nearly drowns Poirot when he is apple bobbing, while Joyce falls from an upper story and is impaled on a courtyard statue.

With a storm cutting off the palazzo, Poirot interviews the guests, during which he witnesses manifestations of Alicia's ghost and hears a young girl humming a tune. The investigation yields perplexing results:

Leslie, severely traumatized by his experiences at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, is in love with Rowena.

Maxime, who was not initially invited, ended his and Alicia's engagement because Rowena disapproved of him, and Alicia was obsessed with keeping her mother happy.

Nicholas and Desdemona have been stealing from Joyce, intending to travel to St. Louis, Missouri, which they became enamoured with after partly seeing Meet Me in St. Louis at a displaced persons camp.

Leopold claims to hear the same voice(s) Poirot has been hearing, a claim later also made by Leslie.

When the guests discover an underground chamber containing children's skeletal remains and bees, Leslie suffers a panic attack and nearly kills Maxime. He is locked inside the music room to recover, Rowena giving Poirot the only key. After examining Maxime's invitation, Poirot deduces Ariadne sent it and is conspiring with Vitale: Vitale, who investigated Alicia's death and resigned from the police as a result of the case, gave Joyce private details, while Ariadne had hoped to use Poirot's inability to explain the supernatural as a plot for her next book. Leslie is then found dead with a knife in his back.

Gathering the remaining guests, Poirot reveals Rowena caused the deaths of Alicia, Joyce, and Leslie, hoping to pass them off as part of the children's curse. Obsessed with keeping Alicia for herself, Rowena poisoned her with small doses of the honey of Rhododendron ponticum, weakening and then caring for a hallucinating Alicia (the same honey seemingly caused Poirot's visions) to isolate her from Maxime when they planned to reconcile; the night of Alicia's suicide, Olga unknowingly gave Alicia tea containing a fatal dose and Rowena, fearful of exposure, staged everything. When blackmail threats arrived, Rowena suspected either Joyce or Leslie. She attempted to drown Poirot, realized that she had mistaken him for Joyce, and then pushed Joyce to her death. Later, over the palazzo's internal phone line, she forced Leslie to stab himself by threatening to kill Leopold. When Poirot confronts Rowena on the roof, Alicia's ghost seems to appear to them both, pulling Rowena down off the building and into the canal where she drowns.

As dawn breaks, Poirot parts ways with Ariadne and chooses not to report Vitale's fraud. Later, Poirot privately confronts young Leopold, the true blackmailer who needed to support himself and his father: Leopold had identified the poisoning signs that his physician father missed and realized Rowena's first starring role was in an opera whose lead character is the "king of poisons". Poirot suggests Leopold and Olga clear their consciences by financially helping the Hollands begin anew in St. Louis. His faith mostly restored, Poirot returns home to accept new cases.

Review:

So far, we’ve seen actor/director Ken Branagh portray Poirot in three films, all while directing them as well. The first was his 2017 take of Murder on the Orient Express, eventually followed with Death on the Nile in 2022 after a two-year delay thanks to the various restrictions created by the Covid pandemic. Just over a year later, we get this latest instalment, and unlike the others, it’s not a direct adaptation of Christie’s novels, but neither is it an original Poirot story. A Haunting in Venice was created by taking the novel Hallowe’en Party, changing the location and transforming select characters into relatively new ones, altering relationships in the process, and then throwing in a multitude of horror/thriller elements to create a seemingly new work.

Now while this film’s originality and fair share of quality performances lend it a lot of strength, it represents the kind of half-and-half attitude in adaptations that invariably drives me spare. I would personally rather have seen Hallowe’en Party adapted straight from the novels with a few tweaks like the last two films, or a totally original story done in the style of Christie and featuring Poirot with no recourse back to the original novels. Instead, my knowledge of the original work makes it hard for me to appreciate a lot of the changes. The biggest ones are notably around murder victim Joyce Reynolds, as she is both race-shifted and age-shifted relative to the original novel, not something we’ve seen happen in the past two films with any murder victim.

For those that aren’t familiar with the original novel, here’s a quick overview. At a children’s Halloween party in an English country village, novelist Ariadne Oliver is present at a guest. One child, a young teenager named Joyce Reynolds, chimes in on a conversation around Mrs Oliver’s murder novels by claiming to have seen a murder. At the end of the evening, Joyce is found dead, having been drowned in the apple-bobbing bucket, and Mrs Oliver calls on Poirot to investigate. With the aid of a retired police superintendent and his sister who also live in the village, Poirot looks into past crimes that the girl could have witnessed, ultimately solving the present murder and past crimes.

Given this overview, anyone can see the major changes; we’ve gone from the English countryside to Venice, our victim is aged into a full-grown woman who makes similar claims on past deaths for different reasons, she is shifted from being white to Asian, and this is not the end of it. Several other characters shift nationalities, including Ariadne Oliver being Americanised, one character (Desdemona, or Desmond in the original novel) is gender-shifted, and so on. Frankly, that’s a lot of change for any Poirot fan to accept, and if you consider my autism on top of that, you can see where I’d be struggling to see this as even being a decent Poirot film. Also, that’s all before we get to the horror/thriller vibes that just aren’t my cup of tea generally.

The cast is not by any means a saving grace for me, as despite great performances from most I don’t recognise many of them, so if this is an all-star cast, they’re either minor stars or need to do more things that I would watch. Instead, the film is mostly saved by some of the underlying themes that come into the plot, which range from over-controlling parents to PTSD to the ever-present tendency of people to prey on superstition to commit acts of criminality. The film even shows, via the siblings Desdemona and Nicholas, the kind of damage that other cultures can inflict around the world in certain circumstances. Frankly, I’m amazed that Poirot or someone never reality-checked the pair about their dreams of living a better life by escaping to America. Films have a tendency to play to ideals and not be true-to-life, so people should always be wary about how they allow films to influence them.

So where does this leave us on balance? For me, I’ve gone from a 9/10 on Orient Express to 8/10 for Nile, and for Venice, I’m sorry to say I can only must a 6/10 for the score. I hope that Branagh and the folks at 20th Century Studios will make any further Poirot films either totally original or get back to stricter novel adaptations, because I’m not sure I could tolerate another half-and-half measure. At least no one was writing the word “sword” on gun barrels for this film.

#film review #hercule poirot #a haunting in venice

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