Kenneth Branagh indulges in the kind of macabre theatricality that only a crumbling Venetian palazzo on a stormy Halloween night can provide in B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址�
Moviegoers probably long ago made up their mind one way or another about BranaghB次元官网网址檚 stately and flawed Hercule Poirot franchise, but should there be any curiosity left for this third installment is worth it. It is spooky, fun and features Tina Fey, looking smart and sleek in post-war suits as the fast-talking author of wildly successful whodunnits who says things like B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 the smartest person I knowB次元官网网址� in a mid-Atlantic accent.
Set in 1947 on a particularly foggy night in the city of canals, B次元官网网址淎 Haunting in VeniceB次元官网网址� is beautiful to look at, with costumes by Sammy Sheldon, production design by John Paul Kelly and cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos. And itB次元官网网址檚 embellished with moody but palatable scares that feel reminiscent of classics like B次元官网网址淭he InnocentsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Others,B次元官网网址� that are enhanced by Hildur Gu冒nad贸ttirB次元官网网址檚 score. In other words, this might not excite a B次元官网网址淪awB次元官网网址� enthusiast, but for the more easily scared and skittish it hits just the right notes.
Agatha Christie takes a bit of a backseat here, as Branagh and screenwriter Michael Green take only the loosest inspiration from her 1969 book B次元官网网址淭he HalloweB次元官网网址檈n PartyB次元官网网址� for their haunting, firstly by moving it to Venice. ItB次元官网网址檚 where Poirot has chosen to live out his self-imposed retirement (an enviable exile if there ever was one).
His whereabouts are hardly a secret though B次元官网网址� desperate folks line up outside of his picturesque apartment hoping heB次元官网网址檒l take a stab at their cases. But for now, a handsome Italian bodyguard (Riccardo Scamarcio) is there to make sure they donB次元官网网址檛 get close enough to ask.
FeyB次元官网网址檚 Ariadne Oliver gets through the gates, though, with a different kind of offer: She wants Poirot to accompany her to a s茅ance. This medium, she says, appears to be the real deal and only heB次元官网网址檒l be able to figure out if itB次元官网网址檚 all a trick. Soon he, reluctantly, finds himself at a Halloween party for the cityB次元官网网址檚 orphans, held by a famous opera singer, Rowena, (Kelly Reilly) with a famously dead daughter whom they hope to contact later that evening when the children depart.
Branagh recruited a few of his B次元官网网址淏elfastB次元官网网址� stars into this ensemble, including Jamie Dornan as doctor still haunted by the war and Jude Hill as his precocious son Leopold. Camille Cottin is a housekeeper, Kyle Allen is the dead girlB次元官网网址檚 ex-fianc茅, and Michelle Yeoh is the theatrical medium Mrs. Reynolds, who seems to be having a grand time chewing the scenery as a possible femme fatale.
It is a distinct shift in tone from the previous films B次元官网网址� sadder and more serious, with grief and death everywhere. Even before AliciaB次元官网网址檚 mysterious death (off a balcony, into the canal with a horrific scrape on her back) the grand palazzo had a body count: ItB次元官网网址檚 where doctors are said to have locked up children to die during the plague.
And this crew is in for a long, stormy, claustrophobic night with finger pointing, more deaths and some inexplicable phenomena at play. PoirotB次元官网网址檚 existential crisis is probably the least interesting aspect of the whole thing, despite its centrality to the plot, but Branagh doesnB次元官网网址檛 waste too much of his time diving into those self-indulgent waters.
Maybe Branagh should have been leaning more into horror this whole time with this franchise. Or maybe itB次元官网网址檚 a case of underestimating a director whose work is prolific and not always personal. It can be hard to take stock of a filmmakerB次元官网网址檚 career when theyB次元官网网址檝e made great Shakespeare and Cinderella adaptations as well as B次元官网网址淭horB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淎rtemis Fowl.B次元官网网址�
But itB次元官网网址檚 always a pleasant surprise when it works as B次元官网网址淎 Haunting in VeniceB次元官网网址� very much does.
B次元官网网址淎 Haunting in Venice,B次元官网网址� a 20th Century Studios release in theaters Friday, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for B次元官网网址渟ome strong violence, disturbing images and thematic elements.B次元官网网址� Running time: 107 minutes. Three stars out of four.
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