A dreary whodunit Cast: Kyle Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Camille Cottin, Michelle Yeoh Rating: 2.5* Adapted from the Agatha Christie novel...
A dreary whodunit
Cast: Kyle Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Camille
Cottin, Michelle Yeoh
Rating: 2.5*
Adapted from the Agatha Christie novel ‘Hallowe’en Party, this Kenneth Branagh-directed A Haunting in Venice doesn’t quite live up to the Agatha Christie standards. Many changes have been made from the novel, yet Branagh doesn’t quite deliver. Though he builds up an eerie atmosphere, the film fails to pick up after the first murder where a lot of long-winded dialogues take place making it a dreary affair. The supernatural element is also not engaging at all. Although the twist is unexpected it comes at a stage where one is already weary.
In 1947 Venice, famous sleuth Hercule Poirot
(a strong Branagh) is living a retired life. Many come to his doorstep seeking
help but he refuses them point blank. An old friend and author Ariadne Oliver
(a good Tina Fey) comes one day unexpectedly and approaches him on the day of Halloween.
She wants him to meet a medium Joyce Reynolds (a wonderful Michelle Yeoh in an
extended cameo). The author herself doesn’t believe in Reynolds but states that
after meeting her she is not able to fathom whether Joyce actually has the
powers or is a smart bluff. The meeting is held in a spooky mansion (where many
children were feared to be dead due to plague) where Joyce is to communicate
with Alicia (Rowan Robinson) who had a mysterious death, followed by a seance.
But Joyce is thrown off the mansion tower to her death.
There are a lot of other characters but the
ones who leave their mark are Camille Cottin as the caretaker Olga Seminoff and
Kyle Allen as Maxine Gerard. A confident Jude Hill plays Leopold. Ali Khan
(Nicholas), Emma Laird (Desdemona), and Vitale Portfoglio (Ricardo) are okay,
but Jamie Dorman as Dr. Leslie Ferrier disappoints owing to a weak part.
A Haunting In Venice leaves you unexcited. Not something you would want
from an Agatha Christie adaptation!
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