Few film franchises have been improved by a third addition. Well, apart from The Prisoner of Azkaban perhaps (forever my favourite Harry Potter film). However, it seems that the third time’s a charm for director Kenneth Branagh’s new Agatha Christie adaptation, A Haunting in Venice.
A Haunting in Venice is part typical mystery film, part supernatural thriller. Set a few years after the end of the Second World War, our characters are pervaded by a sense of loss. Many of them are recovering from being in concentration camps or seeing action on the frontline. This is dealt with sensitively and explains why we meet most of these characters at a séance. Without divulging too much, the night takes a sinister turn when, in typical Christie style, a murder takes place. Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) finds himself endangered.
As with the rest of this Poirot series, A Haunting in Venice comprises a star-studded cast. Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill (both featured in Branagh’s highly acclaimed Belfast) are again cast as father and son here. They give stellar performances as a family with hidden secrets and largely unspoken tensions. Kenneth Branagh puts in another predictably good performance as the Belgian detective. In this film, Poirot is forced to question his own beliefs and fears for his own safety. This brings a depth to the character that we have not seen previously. My one minor critique would be his Belgian accent. Unfortunately, this hasn’t improved over the course of the series, and I did find this took me out of the plot one or two times at the beginning. However, this is a slight detraction from a very compelling film.
If the title or plot doesn’t seem familiar that’s because the film is a very loose reworking of Hallowe’en Party, one of Christie’s less popular Poirot installations. I read it several years ago, but I wouldn’t have recognised it had it not been for a very intense scene of apple-bobbing gone wrong (a surprisingly darkly funny moment in this adaptation). The trademark Christie cosiness is eradicated – instead, provincial 1960s England is transposed to a noir 1947 Venice. There is a much more stylised feel to this entry in the series, with beautiful cinematography of twisting canals and towering, somehow claustrophobic grand palazzos creating a sense of paranoia and entrapment.
Death comes for everyone.
Watch the brand-new trailer for #AHauntingInVenice, only in theaters September 15. pic.twitter.com/FESbcTZeNy
— 20th Century Studios (@20thcentury) July 19, 2023
It feels refreshing to see a Christie adaptation that explores emotion and grief in such a way whilst also being a fun, – and I mean this as a compliment – relatively light watch. This film’s strength lies in the reimagining of the original story. It surprises me even writing this (I’m an English student, a pedant when it comes to book adaptations) but this is what elevates A Haunting in Venice above Branagh’s other Christie films. This isn’t a story we’ve seen a thousand times. The audience are forced to see new twists, characters and, most daringly, different murders. A perfect Halloween treat (unless you’re a Christie purist), best accompanied with a pumpkin spice latte.
Verdict – 4/5