We've been waiting for it since 2017, since the last scene of Murder on the Orient Express - and now, finally, we've been waiting. After numerous postponements, Death on the Nile is out on the big screens, but alas, it doesn't deliver the experience we had hoped for. The train is gone. Only the ship remains.
Synopsis
Famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) lures criminals from all over the world. Now a quiet vacation is turning into a whirlwind of events aboard a steamship rafting down the Nile.
A motley crew has gathered around him, each the victim of an "accident" or even a coldly plotted murder, and each has reason to get their hands dirty...
Is "Death on the Nile" a direct sequel or a separate story?
"Murder on the Orient Express" came out way back in 2017, already raising questions: is there that much need to reprise Agatha Christie's famous detective after the brilliant 1974 version? And with all its flaws (an overlong second act, overdramatization, the addition of bizarre chase scenes), Kenneth Branagh's new version absolutely proved its worth. The final scene alone, in which the intruder is unmasked, is worth the price of admission.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Death on the Nile, which is sadly lacking in such an emotional outlet. Branagh as a director is excellent; he knows how to properly present the cards he's dealt, and there's a question of the cards themselves. Also, his work is hampered by how long it's been since the last picture. Perhaps if it had come out in 2019, as originally planned, all the missteps would have been perceived more mildly. But we're burned out and forgotten, and even that poisons the film a bit.
Instead of presenting the story well, for some reason the creators decided to heavily alter the cast of steamer passengers and their motivations, and to put a heavy emphasis on the personality and backstory of Poirot himself. Most likely, this decision was made to distinguish this version from previous ones (especially the 1978 film "Death on the Nile" with Peter Ustinov), which ends up being a strange mixture.
Well, at least now we know the secret of why Poirot cares so much about his mustache, at least in this non-canonical version. And the mustache itself looks a little more presentable, for which we thank you.
No fish and no meat
There's not the best balance in everything, which makes such a bright and lush film look a bit faded and lackluster. Take the mise-en-scene, for example - everything about the interior pavilion shots is simply top-notch. But as soon as the camera covers the general scenery or the view outside the buildings/ships, the horrible green screen, against which the characters stand out so much, ruins everything.
Or, for that matter, the story itself. Death on the Nile's detective storyline is done to perfection, every detail thought out, with the changes in the cast of characters helping even those who already know the epilogue wonder what's going on until the very end. Yet there are so many strange distractions here - whether it's Poirot, the relationships of the secondary characters, the 'ominous omens' - that the beautiful detective story is blurry and not all that impressive.
"Death on the Nile" also continues to be a fine standard-bearer for contemporary storytelling in all its endeavors. Once again we see black characters traveling alongside rich white snobs on expensive cruises, right in the middle of the 1920s. And if no one had pointed out this anti-historicism, then fine, but after all, the black characters speak directly to the oppression they are subjected to by society. Make up your mind, movie, is it oppression or not?
The strongest aspect of the film is the cast. The two that particularly delighted us were Russell Brand, who was insanely different from himself here, and Emma McKay, who outshone all of her colleagues as if they were standing room only. And overall, Emma is a real find, who has a great future ahead of her (Branagh originally wanted to cast Jodie Comer as her, which would have been a disadvantage for the movie).
The main point
"Death on the Nile" is once again one of the plethora of films that could have had class, but failed. In general, Branagh is a director whose attitude is very hard to define. He likes everything bright and flashy, and turns into a sweet candy with no filler. Still, he tries (it worked for Murder) and we can only hope that his Herculean adventures continue. This time in a more compelling direction.
