After two middling adaptations of long beloved Agatha Christie works, director/star Kenneth Branagh (“Henry V (1989),” “Hamlet (1996)”) is back for his third adventure donning the mustache and inquisitive eye of Hercule Poirot for his most mysterious and terrifying mystery yet with “A Haunting in Venice.” The film thankfully feels far less creaky than his previous works and represents the best effort Branagh has made to not just adapt Christie’s works but create a compelling mystery in its own right.
The film follows Branagh as Poirot, the world-famous detective who has now retired to Venice solivng petty mysteries in his free time. One evening, his friend and crime novelist Ariadne Oliver, played by Tina Fey (“30 Rock,” “Mean Girls”), invites him to come with her to a Halloween party thrown by Rowena Drake, played by Kelly Reilly (“Flight,” “Yellowstone”), where medium Joyce Reynolds, played by Michelle Yeoh (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Everything Everywhere All At Once”), will be present. Also in attendance are housekeeper Olga, played by Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent,” “Killing Eve”), the ex-fiance of Rowena’s deceased sister Maxime Gerard, played by Kyle Allen (“The Path,” “Rosaline”), Dr. Leslie Ferrier, played by Jamie Dornan (“Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Belfast”), Dr. Leslie’s son Leopold, played by Jude Hill (“Belfast,” “Magpie Murders”), Reynolds’ assistants Nicholas and Desdemona, played by Ali Khan (“Red Rose,” “Everyone Else Burns”) and Emma Laird (“Mayor of Kingstown”) respectively, and Poirot’s bodyguard Vitale, played by Riccardo Scamarcio (“Euforia,” “John Wick: Chapter 2”). However, after Reynolds ends up dead during a seance, Poirot locks down the house, refusing to let anyone leave until the murder is solved.
As opposed to the digital sheen draped across Branagh’s previous Christie adaptations, “Venice” has a more rustic and lived in look to its escapades. It helps that it's shot entirely inside of a dingy mansion, but the effect is still remarkably effective. It speaks to the more grounded nature of this tale, feeling like the kind of old school, “shot on location” Hollywood whodunnits from the 50s and 60s. Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos (“Cinderella 2015),” “Mamma Mia!”) shoots it all with fantastic Dutch angles and beautiful camerawork, delivering a fun mix of old styling and new techniques.
There’s an old-fashioned feeling to the performances as well, with Branagh leading the charge. He lands somewhere between scenery chewing and smoothly executed professionalism, and it creates an old-school effectiveness when it comes to the performances. Fey is surprisingly good, toning down her typical jokiness for the role, and Yeoh is also great with her limited screentime. The rest of the cast is all good without anyone else really standing out from the crowd, speaking more about their uniform quality rather than anything negative about their performances.
There’s a lot of effort that Branagh and screenwriter Michael Green (“Logan,” “Blade Runner 2049”) put into adapting this lesser-known Christie tale into a conventional three act whodunnit. Unlike his previous adaptations of her, this one wasn’t formatted in such a way as a book. It doesn’t make the film itself feel weird, but it does mean that the “grounding” of some of its more supernatural elements can come across as a bit forced. Branagh does leave enough room for some additional mystery to keep things interesting, tying up the central plot without bundling every loose thread into a neat bow.
“A Haunting in Venice” is a deliberately paced, gorgeous whodunnit that pulls from Branagh’s strengths as a lower scale director. His performance is excellent, as is Fey’s, and the rest of the ensemble helps to fill out the mystery. It’s a lot like going for a night of good community theatre: well-worn sets and techniques, propped up by well-worn material and a game cast. In our age of overcomplicated mysteries and franchise glut (including Branagh’s own two previous Christie adaptations) what more could one ask for? 4/5
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