A Haunting in Venice

Third time’s the charm. Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in yet another Agatha Christie novel adapted by writer Michael Green. The story is based on Hallowe’en Party, first published in 1969. This is the filmmaker’s finest of the current trilogy. Murder on the Orient Express (2017) was dull. Death on the Nile (2022) relied too heavily on green screen effects. Contrarily, A Haunting in Venice shows indications of a filmmaker in love with the material.

It’s 1947, and Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is now retired and living in Venice. People still seek him out for his expertise. Poirot has hired bodyguard Vitale Portfoglio (Riccardo Scamarcio) to protect him from overzealous fans. However, friend and mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) successfully invites the doctor to a seance at a luxurious but haunted palazzo. Ariadne believes medium Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) is the real deal. Former opera singer Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) is hosting a social gathering, so expect other guests.

The purpose of the seance is to contact the spirit of Rowena Drake’s deceased daughter. Alicia Drake (Rowan Robinson) committed suicide by drowning when she jumped from her balcony into the canal below—or was she pushed? One thing is for sure. Murder is still afoot. Someone attempts to kill Poirot while he’s alone bobbing for apples. He survives, but soon after, an individual falls from a balcony and is fatally impaled on a statue in the courtyard. Then, a second guest is found dead, stabbed by a sword. It’s up to Poirot to find the culprit.

The atmosphere feels genuine. The CGI artifice and distended list of celebrities that marred the previous efforts are thankfully absent here. The locations are tangible. The cast list is small. It is an essentially serious affair. Tina Fey’s insouciant line readings do provide some levity. I appreciated her lighthearted tone. Although the actress never makes us forget she is playing a variation on her character in the Hulu TV series Only Murders in the Building.

An eerie setting is injected with a touch of class. A creepy shadow puppet show that keeps an audience of children enrapt also captivated me. The staging is evocative, with cinematic flourishes to keep the viewer focused. Director Kenneth Branagh (with help from cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos) favors skewed Dutch angles and apertures to enhance the gothic mood.

Our hero, Hercule Poirot, is at the center of it all, commanding our attention. I like Kenneth Branagh in the role. He exudes charisma as this legendary hero. David Suchet, Peter Ustinov, Albert Finney, John Malkovich, and others have all inhabited the detective’s shoes. Branagh either equals or surpasses them.

Kenneth Branagh is surrounded by a colorful ensemble. No one is his equal, but he is afforded much support. Besides the players mentioned above, there’s Alicia Drake’s ex-fiance (Kyle Allen) and the housekeeper (Camille Cottin). Actors Ali Khan and Emma Laird are siblings who serve as the psychic’s assistants. Jamie Dornan is the Drake family doctor. Jude Hill is his precocious son. Hill gives the second best performance.

The production is a classy affair. I love a good murder mystery. Set it in the past for some period charm and spice it up with spooky shenanigans. You’d have to completely drop the ball for it not to be watchable. The narrative is restrained, but the muted experience feels authentic. The previous films in this franchise relied on computer-generated imagery (CGI) and an overcrowded, star-studded ensemble that didn’t benefit the story. Here, the locations are real, and the cast list is intimate. The somber ambiance is reminiscent of the past. We refreshingly get a more mysterious environment with this outing. I am happy to check “will attend” on my RSVP for this Halloween party.

09-14-23