The third Agatha Christie film starring Kenneth Branagh, A Haunting in Venice, which hits theaters on Friday, is just as opulent as Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Although a little more predictable, it’s still entertaining to see.
Hercule Poirot (Branagh) retired to Venice in 1947. Tina Fey’s character as mystery writer Ariadne Oliver asks Poirot to disprove psychic Mrs. Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh), whose deception was so effective that Oliver was fooled by it.
When Poirot gets to the Drake mansion, he contacts an Italian palazzo for the seance and meets the Drake family members and their employees. Mrs. Reynolds offers to get in touch with Alicia Drake, played by Rowan Robinson, who committed suicide.
Because Reynolds and Poirot both have the strongest convictions in opposing ideologies—spiritual and intellectual, respectively—she makes the ideal foil for Poirot. When Reynolds allegedly channels Alicia, it’s unclear who exactly she accuses of murdering in the room.
Poirot is called in to investigate Alicia’s murder as well as a few other killings that take place that night to cover it up. Poirot is also attacked, and his head injuries may be the cause of the night’s strange events. The ambiguity is not quite as strong as Branagh would have hoped.
A Haunting in Venice quickly returns to Poirot interviewing suspects, despite the ghostly hints adding a few wrinkles to the typical whodunit. This time, Oliver follows Poirot as he investigates the crime in an effort to understand his tactics.
Given that each of the suspects has a reason to dislike the others, there is plenty of motive to go around. The mother of Alica, Rowena (Kelly Reilly), despises Maxime (Kyle Allen) for shattering her heart.
Dr. Ferrier (Jamie Dornan) attributes his failure to save Alicia to both his experiences in World War II and himself. Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin), who looked after Alicia, despises Mrs. Reynolds for bringing up painful memories.
Unfortunately, Poirot solves this mystery quickly, but it’s still entertaining to watch him track down the perpetrators. Given the spooky hints, Branagh gives the movie a new mood.
Branagh’s Haunting in Venice is filmed at unsettling angles, occasionally even above or below the protagonists, to evoke unease. Another amazing image is one of the Venice canals during a storm.
The Poirot formula ultimately triumphs over any fresh ideas Branagh tries to include. But the pleasure of seeing Poirot dissect A-list actors who are portraying distinctive characters is still present in the tried-and-true Poirot mystery.
