A Parkside Movie Review: DEATH ON THE NILE
Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile has new life and Shakespearean flair injected into it under Sir Kenneth Branagh deft direction. This is the ultimate popcorn movie for those of us who consider the BBC to be the network of choice and British murder mysteries our go to crime dramas. There are no surprises here, how there could be on such a perfect murder mystery but this telling is a sexier, steamier version of the deadly love triangle gone horribly wrong. The body count stays the same but there are a few new twists on one of our victims and there is a Hercule Poirot origin story to start the movie, which I loved, and my husband did not. Linnet Ridgeway is freshened up a bit to be more sympathetic but beyond that the story stays pretty consistent to its source material.
The ensemble cast suit their respective roles beautifully, with Sir Kenneth Branagh taking a second, expert turn as the handlebar mustached detective and Armie Hammer putting just enough swarmy charm into role of Simon Doyle to come across as desirable in a weird, 'that's not good for me' sort of way. Take a close look at Marie Van Schuyler. It took me a while to recognize Jennifer Saunders of Absolutely Fabulous fame, once again perfectly paired with her comedian cohort, Dawn French. Even Russell Brand disappears into his role so completely, neither my husband nor I could place him.
The true stars of the movie, besides the original story, are the beautiful costuming and cinematography. This is a very pretty picture, the landscape shots of Giza pyramids, the Sphinx and the temple of Abu Simbel are lovingly rendered here and it is so easy to imagine that heady time when these treasures were coupled with daily discoveries and a sense of safe but exotic imperialist adventure. The costumes are amazing, every time any of the women slinked onto the screen, the film noire aspect of the mystery and the people having suitcases of sins and secrets worth murdering for rang true to me.
In terms of Agatha Christie's renderings, I highly recommend this one. Kenneth Branagh gives his all in the role and his respect and love for the material are on display throughout. He's not David Suchet (no one can be) but he aims high and comes close to the Belgium Detective master.
