Death on the Nile (2022)People have a tendency to both romanticize the past while placing their own values onto it from the vantage point of the present. Death on the Nile (2022) is a murder mystery directed by (and starring) Kenneth Branagh, adapted from the Agatha Christie novel of the same name. Branagh reprises his role as the obsessive-compulsive detective from Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Hercule Poirot, who finds himself caught in the middle of yet another mysterious killing--this time of a newlywed heiress named Linnet "Linny" Ridgeway (Gal Gadot).
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Like with Murder on the Orient Express, Branagh's Death on the Nile feels a bit like a jazzy revision of the original source material, and even the more faithful 1978 movie directed by John Guillermin. Both of Branagh's films are stylistically consistent with one another, although removed from the original books or movies in content. Numerous characters have their names and other qualities about them changed in what appears to be an effort to satisfy an urge to populate the film with contemporary "Hollywood" values. On one hand, these changes result in characters who represent different races, sexual preferences, and so on; but on the other, it is ultimately arbitrary and comes across as shameless pandering. This inevitably raises the constant question that comes both with remakes and adaptations: what kind of changes are okay and what changes come at the expense of the audience who enjoyed the source material in the first place? Johnny Cash was reported to have said that the reason he performed many covers of songs was that a good song should still be good no matter who performs it. And on that same note, his covers of many songs from various musicians goes to show that he was able to introduce his own style into each piece and not only uphold what made that song good, but also add his own flair to it in the process, making something unique from it. This will always be the challenge for any artist standing on the shoulders of those who came before, especially when that source material is as beloved as Agatha Christie's works have been. And taste will always be something subjective, as well. Some might say that Branagh's movie is altogether too interested in moralizing about representation and dazzling its audience with scenic Egyptian vistas than in telling a compelling and consistent story through nuance, while others may feel that this film is trying to be more inclusive and rekindle that sense of awe at seeing a beautiful movie about beautiful people in beautiful surroundings. While the development of the characters in this adaptation is questionable, it could also be said that this is not finely the point. Would someone like Poirot frequent a jazz club and indulge in petit fours where scandalous dancing by the rich and famous happens, just to keep track of someone he was hired to monitor? Would a savvy investigator like Poirot resort to keeping the surviving passengers of the Karnak prisoner at gunpoint? Or does that even matter to an audience captivated by the fancy set design and hi-def cinematography? Murder mysteries thrive with complex characters and tangled motives, which Death on the Nile has plenty of to work with. And condensing or combining characters should help to clear away some of the multitudinous red herrings of the source material, which should make for a more manageable runtime. But even with this advantage, Death on the Nile manages to either meander with lengthy, flashy set pieces or try to cram as much exposition into slow moments as possible, like it's trying to just get it out of the way so we can get back to the fancy dress party. Take when Poirot's pal, Bouc (Tom Bateman), unleashes the Cliff Notes version of each of the key members of the Ridgeway-Doyle honeymoon party when they arrive at the swank Egyptian hotel; it comes by way of a voiceover which is forgotten as soon as it is delivered.
Despite Kenneth Branagh being an amazingly capable and talented filmmaker and actor--the "Arch-Thespian of Hollywood", if you will--this is something of a blessing and a curse, and it is most evident in this movie. As with many of his Shakespeare adaptations, such as the awe-inducing Hamlet, Branagh's productions attract some of cinema's biggest and brightest stars, and many talented performers from diverse backgrounds. In short, Branagh must feel like a kid in a candy store being able to pick from such a wide array of actors for his movies...and yet despite this, there are many instances where the actors who perform these roles--regardless of how talented they are--just don't feel right for the role, or their status as a star or history from prior works overshadows the role itself. I remember seeing Hamlet and being impressed by the massive collection of talented actors (including the amazing Derek Jacobi), yet confused to see high-profile ones (like Jack Lemmon or Robin Williams) in inconsequential roles. So one is left to wonder whether the casting in Death on the Nile was done largely for the sake of the movie poster first and foremost. Gal Gadot is a fine actress, but despite all of her charisma and talent, there is the lingering sense that she was cast because of her success in the Wonder Woman movies, making her a "bankable" choice; the same could be said for Letitia Wright to some extent, who played fan-favorite Shuri in Black Panther. Here she plays Rosalie "Rosie" Otterbourne, the canny (and more than a bit judgmental) business manager and niece to Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okonedo), who has been transformed from a novelist and into a jazz signer for this adaptation. One of the most delightful yet equally baffling casting decisions for me was by way of the comedy duo of Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, who play Linnet's American godmother, Marie Van Schuyler, and her nurse, Mrs. Bowers, respectively. These two characters were essentially four in the prior version, and the screenplay by Michael Green now has them as lesbian lovers in secret. But most disarming here is that these two very funny comediennes are played without a whit of humor, which just feels wrong for anyone who's seen "Absolutely Fabulous" or "The Vicar of Dibley". Nothing wrong with branching out to try new kinds of roles, but this just feels like deliberately casting people against type for the sake of it. And purists of the book (or the prior film) may cry foul at Branagh's choice to include a prologue that establishes how Poirot came to wear his outrageous mustache--the result of a terrible scar following an explosion in World War I. (Never mind that scar tissue cannot grow hair; at least the scene came with a lovely tracking shot in the trenches reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory.) For all its cinematic sins, spectacle seems to be the focus of Death on the Nile; the lush backdrops and gorgeous set design find their way into the plus column, while the overemphasis on star power and representation occupies the minus, keeping what could have been a glorious remake from being anything more than just another fancy-looking British murder mystery and popcorn muncher.
Recommended for: Fans of a literary adaptation that plays fast and loose with the source material. Death on the Nile is a beautiful picture with a talented cast, but its excessive need to prove itself as an inclusive Agatha Christie movie that puts style over substance keeps it from navigating deeper metaphorical waters, and instead restraining itself to the shallow shoals of superficiality.
Despite Kenneth Branagh being an amazingly capable and talented filmmaker and actor--the "Arch-Thespian of Hollywood", if you will--this is something of a blessing and a curse, and it is most evident in this movie. As with many of his Shakespeare adaptations, such as the awe-inducing Hamlet, Branagh's productions attract some of cinema's biggest and brightest stars, and many talented performers from diverse backgrounds. In short, Branagh must feel like a kid in a candy store being able to pick from such a wide array of actors for his movies...and yet despite this, there are many instances where the actors who perform these roles--regardless of how talented they are--just don't feel right for the role, or their status as a star or history from prior works overshadows the role itself. I remember seeing Hamlet and being impressed by the massive collection of talented actors (including the amazing Derek Jacobi), yet confused to see high-profile ones (like Jack Lemmon or Robin Williams) in inconsequential roles. So one is left to wonder whether the casting in Death on the Nile was done largely for the sake of the movie poster first and foremost. Gal Gadot is a fine actress, but despite all of her charisma and talent, there is the lingering sense that she was cast because of her success in the Wonder Woman movies, making her a "bankable" choice; the same could be said for Letitia Wright to some extent, who played fan-favorite Shuri in Black Panther. Here she plays Rosalie "Rosie" Otterbourne, the canny (and more than a bit judgmental) business manager and niece to Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okonedo), who has been transformed from a novelist and into a jazz signer for this adaptation. One of the most delightful yet equally baffling casting decisions for me was by way of the comedy duo of Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, who play Linnet's American godmother, Marie Van Schuyler, and her nurse, Mrs. Bowers, respectively. These two characters were essentially four in the prior version, and the screenplay by Michael Green now has them as lesbian lovers in secret. But most disarming here is that these two very funny comediennes are played without a whit of humor, which just feels wrong for anyone who's seen "Absolutely Fabulous" or "The Vicar of Dibley". Nothing wrong with branching out to try new kinds of roles, but this just feels like deliberately casting people against type for the sake of it. And purists of the book (or the prior film) may cry foul at Branagh's choice to include a prologue that establishes how Poirot came to wear his outrageous mustache--the result of a terrible scar following an explosion in World War I. (Never mind that scar tissue cannot grow hair; at least the scene came with a lovely tracking shot in the trenches reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory.) For all its cinematic sins, spectacle seems to be the focus of Death on the Nile; the lush backdrops and gorgeous set design find their way into the plus column, while the overemphasis on star power and representation occupies the minus, keeping what could have been a glorious remake from being anything more than just another fancy-looking British murder mystery and popcorn muncher.
Recommended for: Fans of a literary adaptation that plays fast and loose with the source material. Death on the Nile is a beautiful picture with a talented cast, but its excessive need to prove itself as an inclusive Agatha Christie movie that puts style over substance keeps it from navigating deeper metaphorical waters, and instead restraining itself to the shallow shoals of superficiality.