A Haunting in Venice (12A)

Dir: Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, Michelle Yeoh

Kenneth Branagh’s latest turn as iconic Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is the best of the series to date. With an intriguing murder mystery at the centre and a spooky Venetian setting, it makes an excellent gateway into horror for younger audiences.

Ever since he broke on to the scene in 1989 with his retelling of Shakespeare’s Henry V, Kenneth Branagh has established himself as a filmmaker with a penchant for classical literature. Over the next couple of decades, Branagh would go onto adapt several more works from the famous bard, including; Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Othello (1995) and Hamlet (1996). This early success saw Branagh compared to the great Orson Welles, mostly due to his sense of showmanship and egotistical demeanour. It then came as no surprise in 2017 when Branagh released his version of Agatha Christie‘s Murder on the Orient Express, that he himself donned the iconic moustache of Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot.

Despite feeling lukewarm towards Branagh’s remake, I could see what Branagh was attempting with his more modern approach. It may have been a bit too much style over substance, but with a fantastic ensemble cast spearheaded by Branagh himself, it was still a fairly entertaining whodunnit, even if it was one that had been seen countless times before. The same cannot be said however for the second film in these modern adaptations of the classic Poirot mysteries. Death on the Nile (2022), was hampered with major production issues, including the Covid-19 pandemic and more notably, accusations against the film’s male lead, Armie Hammer. As the number of accounts against Hammer began to increase, and without the time or money to reshoot the film, extensive re-edits were carried out to limit Hammer’s screen time. With his character being pivotal to the murder mystery that unfolds, it left the film seeming incomplete and sometimes incomprehensible due to the significant cuts leaving several scenes on the cutting room floor.

After a brief hiatus away from the character, to focus on the semi-biographical film Belfast (2021), Branagh is back once again as Poirot in what is hands down the best outing for the character so far. ‘A Haunting in Venice’ , is based on one of the lesser known Agatha Christie novels, Hallowe’en Party, which was released in 1969. Unlike the previous two Poirot mysteries, directed by Branagh, I was unfamiliar with the source material,as I am sure most people will be. Not only are Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, two of the most famous novels by the iconic crime author, but they have also had multiple high-profile adaptations. The most notable big screen adaptations starring acting legends Albert Finney and Peter Ustinov, as Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978), respectively. This lack of familiarity with Christie’s Hallowe’en Party added an extra sense of intrigue as I found my self scanning the screen for clues as to ‘who dunnit’. An experience I was unable to enjoy in the prior two movies as I was well aware of the mysterious culprits and how they will ultimately be caught out.

Branagh and screenwriter Michael Green, cleverly reinvent the source material to create a more atmospheric mystery, relocating the the setting from present day Woodley Common, to a murky post-war Venetian Palazzo. It is on a picturesque Venetian rooftop where we first catch up with the world’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh), as he enjoys his retirement from mystery solving. Seemingly in an existential crisis, he spends his days in solitude at his Venetian home, with only the local pâtissier allowed entry to deliver his daily supply of cakes. It is not long before Poirot is tracked down by his old friend and crime novelist, Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey). Ariadne takes credit for Poirot’s reputation after basing her novels around his life’s work. With Poirot no longer working, her sales have slumped, so she convinces the great detective back into sleuthing for just one night, to try and debunk a séance held by the famous medium, Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh).

The séance is to take place at an allegedly haunted Palazzo, which once served as an orphanage, that according to legend, houses the spirits of all the deceased children left to die by the orphanage’s medical staff. The current owner of the Palazzo is former Opera singer Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly), who wishes to use Joyce’s ability to communicate with the dead to contact her teenage daughter, Alicia, who died one year prior. After a Halloween party for the local orphans has finished, the séance begins, as we meet a whole cast of characters who may or may not be responsible for Alicia’s death. The line-up of possible suspects include: wartime surgeon, Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan); his precocious son, Leopold (Jude Hill); Rowena’s superstitious housekeeper, Olga (Camille Cottin); Alicia’s former fiancé, Maxime (Kyle Allen); and Joyce Reynolds’ assistants, Desdemona and Nicholas (Emma Laird and Ali Khan), who are half-siblings. With the film being a murder mystery, I will not reveal any more about the plot other than the basic setup and the host of players involved.

‘A Haunting in Venice’ is a huge improvement on Branagh’s last big screen Poirot adventure. It may have taken three films but I think Branagh has finally found how to balance old school murder mystery cheese with modern sensibilities. His first two releases tried to be too contemporary, with all the glitz and glam, rather than hamming up the tried and tested classic formula of Agatha Christie’s works. The lavish settings of the Orient Express and a luxury Nile cruise seemed out of touch with Branagh’s moustache twirling portrayal of Hercule Poirot. The huge ensemble casts surrounding him seemed to take their roles a bit too seriously, resulting in soulless characters, depriving them of any likeability of emotional attachment. ‘A Haunting in Venice’ also showcases an impressive cast, this time round however, the actors on hand know the score. They are able to disappear into their characters, and still manage to deliver the right level of camp to fit in with the films old school tone and aesthetic.

What really makes the film work is the original setting, impeccably brought to life by production designer John Paul Kenny. The dimly lit, sprawling corridors bring a real sense of dread to the film, amplifying the supernatural tone Branagh is aiming for. The Palazzo in which most of the film takes place, is a character in itself. With perfectly timed bangs and swirls of the Venetian canals and a Cluedo-esque layout filled with dark secrets and hidden passages.

Poirot, is a very methodical and intellectual man, one who does not believe in what is not proven such as the religious figures or the afterlife. His beliefs are put into question after experiencing a series of ghostly apparitions. A recurring theme that will have you inspecting every dark corner of the screen to see if there is something creeping in the shadows. Whilst the film is much spookier in tone than the previous Poirot mysteries, ‘A Haunting in Venice’ is not by any accounts scary – and so it shouldn’t be. The supernatural element is purely embedded into the drama that unfolds, and the lack of big scares make the film an excellent gateway into horror for younger audiences, akin to films like Gremlins (1984) or The Gate (1987).

While I do see the film as a vast improvement on the previous instalments, I still have issues with it. Despite the ingenious change of setting, the plot is still your standard Christie affair, following fairly formulaic story beats. The biggest issue I had personally was the lack of character exploration of Hercule Poirot himself. In the early scenes, Poirot seems to be more than happy seeing out the rest of his days in solitude, but there is clearly something deeper under the surface. He states to Ariadne that he doesn’t have any friends and that he does not need any. A genuinely lost soul, with a global fanbase but with no one who he can truly trust himself, not even Ariadne. These early interactions with Ariadne begin to dig deeper into Poirot as a person, rather than a world renown detective, but the film never explores beneath the great man’s impeccably groomed moustache.

There may be little under the surface, but ‘A Haunting in Venice’ is an entertaining and occasionally spooky murder mystery. It may be an original take on a lesser known Christie novel, but with a bleak and murky Italian setting, Branagh has created a ‘whodunnit’ as timeless as some of the famed author’s classics.

A Haunting in Venice is now showing in Cinemas