Tina Fey and director-star Branagh in ‘Venice’.Photo:Rob Youngson/20th Century Studios
Rob Youngson/20th Century Studios
Director-starKenneth Branaghhas returned to the role of Hercule Poirot — the brilliant Belgian detective with the meter-wide mustache and a bizarre accent that suggests hard-boiled eggs (shells included),given a spin in the Cuisinart — for his third Agatha Christie adaptation.A Haunting in Veniceis a typically sumptuous Branagh production, with a randomly starry supporting cast that includes Michelle Yeoh and Tina Fey.ForHaunting,though, Branagh has come up with a fresh twist on the Queen of Crime’s already twisty plot. He adds a supernatural garnish involving a lank-haired ghost who could have stepped out of aRingmovie. This gimmick, which gives Branagh many opportunities to jolt the audience, ultimately backfires: Because Poirot is infallibly, unfailingly logical, you know the ghost will have to be grounded in day-to-day reality, however sinister. That makes it easier to spot the killer well before Poirot gathers everyone together for the big, deductive reveal. ButHauntingis still a well-upholstered diversion, and proof that Christie’s old-fashioned mysteries remain eminently adaptable.
WithA Haunting in Venicenow playing in theaters, here are some of the best Christie movies available for rent/purchase.
Margaret Rutherford, left, as the indefatigable Miss Marple.Everett Collection
Everett Collection
Murder at the Gallop(1963)
Albert Finney (right) as eagle-eyed Poirot.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Murder on the Orient Express(1974)
Evil Under the Sun(1982)
Peter Ustinov is possibly the most enjoyable of the film Poirots — round-bellied, he moves lightly, as if he were filled with helium. The actor had hits with both this film and its predecessor, 1978’sDeath on the Nile(which Branagh remade in 2022).Sun,however, has the irresistible camp appeal of Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith as former rival showgirls coming face to face at a swank island resort. Rigg sings “You’re the Top” as if her lungs were bellows (the film’s score is based on the songs of Cole Porter) and Smith gets to exclaim, “This place is like amorgue,”stretching the last word out as if it were taffy —mwaaaaaaaahrguh!
Agatha(1979)
An unusual film, this is a speculative take on a famous real-life mystery that had Christie herself at the very center as its victim, but not its corpse. In 1926, the celebrated writer left her home and, abandoning her car after she crashed it, disappeared for 11 days. This sparked an enormous manhunt and created a tabloid sensation. She was finally found at posh spa, registered as “Theresa Neele” — which (a most delectable clue) happened to be the name of her husband Archibald’s mistress. Most likely Christie had suffered an emotional collapse over her troubled marriage. That’s the gist, at any rate, ofAgatha,in which Vanessa Redgrave plays a fragile, delicate Christie. Dustin Hoffman is the dogged American reporter who finds her, perhaps losing his heart in the process.We won’t get into the many, many Christie adaptations for television except to mention that 1) David Suchet’s long-running interpretation of Poirot inAgatha Christie: Poirotis generally considered the very best, and 2) Joan Hickson’s performance as the titular character inMiss Marplefor the BBC, chiefly in the the 1980s, is dramatically the most assured and convincing — her Marple is a flinty, relentless and sometimes grim dynamo of intelligence and observation.
source: people.com
