Mystère à Venise

My Review- A Haunting in Venice My Rating 6/10

I was underwhelmed by Kenneth Branagh's latest interpretation of an Agatha Christie novel this one is based on her 1969 novel Halloween Party .

It was written late in the authors life to luke warm reviews one critic Robert Weaver wrote - Halloween Party is a disappointment,but with all her accomplishments is Christie can be forgiven some disappointments Poirot seems weary and so does the book.

It was filmed previously in 2010 for television starring my favourite Hercule Poirot David Suchet which I watched only after seeing A Haunting in Venice.

I must admit Kenneth Branagh who I like in some roles and not others is my least favourite characterisation of Hercule Poirot.

His first effort in 2017 Murder on the Orient Express also underwhelmed me but did exceedingly well at the box office however his last effort in 2022 Death on the Nile flopped and for me also had nothing of the grandeur or appeal of the original film adaptations.

All that needs to said about the plot line in this whodunnit is that Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot investigates a murder while attending a Halloween seance at a haunted palazzo in Venice, Italy.

I was expecting more from this new original adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel Halloween Party that's set in the mysterious and spectacular city of Venice because it's a story I didn't know and I had no preconceived expectations.

Spectacular Venice is featured in the start and conclusion of this film but it's mostly set indoors in a gloomy gothic villa that could have been built on any movie set.

A Haunting in Venice for me fails in a few aspects primarily because of its dark gothic reworking from Kenneth Branagh. It's probably his best Hercule Poirot performance but for me his interpretation of the novel lacks The Agatha Christie touch of humour, eccentric characters and is trying to be something it's not a gothic horror movie it's not really scary at all just dark and brooding.

After I saw this movie I watched the 2010 television movie Hallowe'en Party starring David Suchet my favourite Hercule Poirot that bares no resemblance to A Haunting in Venice . It's not her greatest story but the television version has humour and lightness as well as suspense and the performances are much more impressive in my opinion.

There are some interesting actors in the cast of A Haunting in Venice including Michelle Yeoh who dropped out of The action adventure 2024 film The Electric State to star in this movie. Why she chose to do this I'm not sure because her role as the clairvoyant Mrs Reynolds is more a short cameo role as is Jamie Dornan's who plays Dr Ferrier .

The main supporting role is Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver a crime writer but she didn't shine for me either. Tina Fey plays a similar role in Only Murders in the Building as Cinda Canning but that role is edgy and funny which she does best .

With a much more modest production budget of $60 million than his last Agatha Christie move Death in Venice Kenneth Branagh who also directs this movie in my view features himself as Poirot more at the expense of the ensemble characters which is a mistake in an Agatha Christie movie.

Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) has retired and is living in Venice where he is visited by his old friend Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) who asks him to come to a seance held in a palatial Venetian house by top medium played by Michelle Yeoh who is seeking to speak with the spirit of a girl who apparently killed herself jumping from the building. Oliver wants Poirot to expose Yeoh as a fraud or start believing in the afterlife. He attends and there is a murder.

Branagh's third go at a Poirot story and depending on your fondness for these things, potentially the best. It is very different from the previous 2 mysteries in that whilst the usual interviews and ripping up of alibis takes place, there is a very distinct supernatural element here, which may or may not be real. What Branagh does though is use this to create a much darker and decidedly well crafted spooky story (he should definitely make a straight ghost story) which is looking both for a murderer and proof that the ghostly bit is true or false. So whilst the gloss and usual extravagant beautifully dressed characters might be missing there is still a great mystery to enjoy. I hope he does another one.

A Haunting in Venice is the best of Kenneth Branagh's trilogy of Poirot adventures. This one being a smaller scale whodunit with a supernatural edge fixes any remaining issues whilst still being an engaging mystery with a satisfying answer to whodunit.

Kenneth Branagh is still endlessly entertaining as Hercule Poirot, the humour is toned down here due to the darker story and yet again he's grown as a character by the end. Each one has tested something different, first it was his morality then his humanity and here it's his sanity that is pushed to breaking point.

The cast is still undeniably star studded but still smaller than the predecessor which means no one goes unnoticed. Highlights include Tina Fey who makes for a great double act with Branagh's Poirot and Michelle Yeoh, given her best role in a Western film in ages (excluding EEAAO of course).

Mostly being confined to one smaller, interior heavy location, Branagh's direction is even better that what's come before. His trademark canted angles have never been more at home and even though the film isn't massively scary, Branagh is still able to craft some effectively uncomfortable moments.

Thanks to the location this franchise is finally free of the distracting CG that's been its biggest flaw. Being majority practical just makes the whole thing infinitely more immersive and means the stylish visual composition on display isn't having to make up for shoddy effects.

A Haunting in Venice is the third film in the now Poirot trilogy directed and starring Kenneth Branagh. I'm a very casual Poirot viewer. My only exposure to the character is through these films and the British tv series, which I watched long ago and barely remember. As someone who has never read a Poirot novel, I personally liked the previous two films by Branagh, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. I know many Agatha Christie fans do not, and I can understand why given that these films are not extremely loyal to the source material from what I'm told, especially this film.

I haven't read the novel, A Halloween Party, but I'm told the only thing this film has in common with it is that it takes place on Halloween, and that there is a Halloween party in it. The culprit is the same in both, but the motivation and victims are entirely different. I'm guessing Branagh went with a far more obscure Poirot story this time, banking on the fact that not many have read and so they won't notice the many alterations made to it.

However, as someone who is only a casual fan, just like with the last two films, I'll be judging this solely as a standalone piece and not an adaptation. From that viewpoint, I think the movie is good. Like with the last two movies, the film looks great, is wonderfully shot. This one evokes a strong haunting, Halloween atmosphere. The acting is good by everyone involved, even the child actors.

The film is also significantly shorter than the previous two, though in some ways to the film's detriment. I felt Poirot solved the mystery a bit too quickly. The pacing is a bit rushed at the end, and I'm not entirely convinced of how Poirot comes to the conclusions he does.

Despite that, the film is a fun mystery/haunting story. A fun movie to watch, especially around Halloween. I would still say I still like Murder on the Orient Express the most. But I would put this film slightly above Death on the Nile. If you're someone who likes the previous to films in this series, there's no reason not to check this out.

Whereas the last two Branagh Agatha Christie adaptations were movies I sort of liked at first and started to realise were "meh" over time, this latest entry is one that I recognised as mediocre upon first viewing.

Granted, it was really refreshing to see that this time, the filmmakers clearly put effort into the locations and production design. The film looks authentic and gorgeous, as opposed to its predecessors that were over reliant on unnecessary CGI backgrounds.

The story does have some interesting ideas and compelling character interactions, but they unfortunately take a back seat half the time. For the other half, we get a lot of weak attempts at horror and red herring plot points that really do amount to nothing.

I don't know what happened with the performances, but half of them are pretty great and the others are...well, awful. The actors clearly didn't agree on what kind of movie they were in, with some thinking it ought to be straight drama and others thinking they should play it corny.

Like the previous films, this is a middling whodunnit, with all the rote machinations you expect from the genre, nothing shocking, nothing gripping, but nothing so bad as to tank the experience.

It's the definition of mediocre.