Like a lot of English people, I come to 2022's Death on the Nile having seen every other previous version on tv, which are permanently repeated throughout year, and will continue to do until the Sun dies. My wife on the other hand isn't from the UK, so got to see this film with fresh eyes, having no idea how the murder mystery plays out. So you get two for the price of one with this review.
Branagh does a lot to provide some surprises for Poirot fans, rewriting some elements of the story to give Poirot more of an emotional arc, as was the case in his previous film, Murder on the Orient Express. Also like that previous film, Nile goes way overboard in trying to ring as much melodrama as possible out of what is, this time around, a fairly conventional murder mystery plot. Towards the beginning, a love triangle is introduced via three characters, who simulate as many sex positions as possible whilst dancing together. It is corny and absurd looking, and sets the tone for the rest of a movie that often is going way overboard. There's a lightness and disposability to Christie's mysteries that is fine for casual readers and viewers, but ends up being a nuisance for Nile which wants to be as serious and passion filled as possible. It's especially a problem because Nile isn't half as cunning or subversive a Christie story as Orient Express; that's fine in a cheap paperback mystery, but not for the important, grand spectacle Nile feels it has to be.
For someone seeing this with new eyes, it also comes across as a boring movie. The story requires the detective to interview a boat load of suspects, and this is done in long dialogue scenes in uninteresting backgrounds. In fact the whole movie isn't much to look at. Almost every scene features heavy CGI vistas or effects, and none are convincing. They are downright distracting a lot of the time. Presumably this was a compromise to filming under COVID restrictions, and it looks like budget television special effect quality. Ironic as the Poirot tv movies actually look far better.
That latter part is especially a problem because a quality of these stories is in giving the audience the vicarious experience of a being pampered in a lavish setting they could never dream to afford. Christie's books, like many of the time, serve as a cheaper alternatives to first class holidays. So when the movie doesn't actually present that five star experience, or even a convincing mock up of it, then we've lost a major element. We lose the cosy moments of older Poirot movies, watching the detective chilling out on an actual Nile cruise or fancy hotel.
Whilst Orient Express was a so-so movie, Nile feels like a step down. I have a very short list of things I like, and top on it is that it has some nice Blues music performances throughout, and that plainly is not enough.
Film Poir-oh-no.
Like a lot of English people, I come to 2022's Death on the Nile having seen every other previous version on tv, which are permanently repeated throughout year, and will continue to do until the Sun dies. My wife on the other hand isn't from the UK, so got to see this film with fresh eyes, having no idea how the murder mystery plays out. So you get two for the price of one with this review.
Branagh does a lot to provide some surprises for Poirot fans, rewriting some elements of the story to give Poirot more of an emotional arc, as was the case in his previous film, Murder on the Orient Express. Also like that previous film, Nile goes way overboard in trying to ring as much melodrama as possible out of what is, this time around, a fairly conventional murder mystery plot. Towards the beginning, a love triangle is introduced via three characters, who simulate as many sex positions as possible whilst dancing together. It is corny and absurd looking, and sets the tone for the rest of a movie that often is going way overboard. There's a lightness and disposability to Christie's mysteries that is fine for casual readers and viewers, but ends up being a nuisance for Nile which wants to be as serious and passion filled as possible. It's especially a problem because Nile isn't half as cunning or subversive a Christie story as Orient Express; that's fine in a cheap paperback mystery, but not for the important, grand spectacle Nile feels it has to be.
For someone seeing this with new eyes, it also comes across as a boring movie. The story requires the detective to interview a boat load of suspects, and this is done in long dialogue scenes in uninteresting backgrounds. In fact the whole movie isn't much to look at. Almost every scene features heavy CGI vistas or effects, and none are convincing. They are downright distracting a lot of the time. Presumably this was a compromise to filming under COVID restrictions, and it looks like budget television special effect quality. Ironic as the Poirot tv movies actually look far better.
That latter part is especially a problem because a quality of these stories is in giving the audience the vicarious experience of a being pampered in a lavish setting they could never dream to afford. Christie's books, like many of the time, serve as a cheaper alternatives to first class holidays. So when the movie doesn't actually present that five star experience, or even a convincing mock up of it, then we've lost a major element. We lose the cosy moments of older Poirot movies, watching the detective chilling out on an actual Nile cruise or fancy hotel.
Whilst Orient Express was a so-so movie, Nile feels like a step down. I have a very short list of things I like, and top on it is that it has some nice Blues music performances throughout, and that plainly is not enough.