MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS – Review

Judi Dench, left, and Olivia Colman star in Twentieth Century Fox’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” Photo Credit: Nicola Dove; TM & © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, Kenneth Branagh’s new film adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie mystery, offers a certain amount of lavish period style and mystery fun but does not measure up to the 1974 version, directed by Sidney Lumet and featuring an all-star cast. Branagh’s film also has a star-packed cast and Branagh, who plays detective Hercule Poirot as well as directs, sports an astonishing two-stage mustache that might be worth the ticket price alone.

Based on the famous Agatha Christie mystery featuring her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, the 1974 film version had an all-star cast with Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam,

Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins,, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, and Michael York. Branagh’s film is also star-packed, with Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daisy Ridley.

The story takes place in 1935 aboard the legendary Orient Express, as the luxury train makes its way from Istanbul to Paris, carrying all manner of exotic, intriguing, international passengers, including the famous and fussy Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It is the dead of winter and traveling through mountainous Eastern Europe, the train gets stuck in the snow. As they wait for rescue, a passenger turns up dead, and the detective is on the case to solve the murder.

Part of the appeal of this mystery lies in Christie’s skill creating a cast of memorable international characters. At first, they all seem like familiar types but secrets are revealed as the story unfolds, making them all likely suspects for the murder. Johnny Depp plays the victim, wealthy American ex-gangster Mr. Ratchet, the part played by Richard Widmark in the 1974 film. Ratchet tells everyone he is an antiques dealer but the bullying, scar-faced man is clearly is something more sinister. Depp plays Ratchet with an overwhelming sense of menace and none of the charm Widmark added. Ratchet is traveling with two employees, an assistant/accountant Hector McQueen (Josh Gad) and English manservant Masterman (Derek Jacobi).

Among the passengers are a loud, talkative wealthy widow, Mrs Hubbard (Michelle Pfeiffer), deeply religious Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz) who was a missionary in the novel, a German who seems a fan of Nazi ideas, Professor Hardman (Willem Dafoe), an English governess Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley) and Dr. Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom, Jr.), a black man whose presence upsets the Nazi-leaning professor. There are also a few European aristocrats aboard, Princess Natalia Dragomiroff (Judi Dench), a Russian royal living in exile after the Revolution, accompanied by her maid/companion Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman), and a hot-tempered young Hungarian ballet dancer Count Andrenyi (dancer Sergei Polunin, in his acting debut) and his beautiful wife, Countess Andrenyi (Lucy Boynton). In the novel, the Count is a diplomat who is traveling with diplomatic immunity, although why the dancer and his wife have that status is unclear. Also aboard are the young manager of the Orient Express line, Bouc (Tom Bateman), who is a personal friend of Poirot, the train conductor Pierre Michel (Marwan Kenzari) and a new character added, Biniamino Marquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), who is supposed to be a red herring, as if the plot didn’t have enough of those already.

That is a lot of characters to introduce but the clever plot does that through Poirot’s interrogations and investigation, with suspicion falling on one and then another until the final moments. Branagh and screenwriter Michael Green were wise enough not to mess with the basics of Agatha Christie’s plot, but the story is updated by adding some diversity to the characters and some details that recognize the growing Nazi influence in Europe at the time the story takes place.

Reportedly, screenwriter Green is an Agatha Christie fan, and he was already working on the script when Branagh was brought in to direct. Whether Branagh is a Christie fan is less clear. In the film’s production notes, Branagh said he was drawn to the story because “it’s much more an emotional experience than people might imagine. This goes deeper because, it explores grief, and loss, and revenge, with sophistication and soul.” Still, Christie fans will be relieved that the main story remains intact.

Much of the film’s appeal is the spectacular visual lavishness, packed with exotic locations, evocative sets, breathtaking locations, and gorgeous costumes. Part of the film’s period allure is the idea of luxury train travel. These characters, wealthy people or their employees, are traveling first-class on the legendary Orient Express, a train famous for its luxury, in an era where that was more expected but is now only found on private jets. Business class just doesn’t measure up.

Not surprisingly, the film looks splendid, and should be in line for some art direction nominations come awards season. It lavishes on the costumes and works hard to create period atmosphere with a plethora of details. This opulent effort succeeds at first but once the train is stuck in the snow, on a trestle and approaching a tunnel, the magic of the period feel diminishes. The passengers are in a precarious place indeed, physically as well as psychologically. The location adds some visual dynamic but it really seems to distract from the mystery, serving to cover a lack of psychological tension that the director should be building.

Where the film falls short is in how director/star Branagh handles this classic mystery. Christie’s story is packed with suspense and colorful characters but Branagh puts all the focus on his role as Poirot. The the other characters, each of whom seem likely suspects in the book and earlier film, are barely sketched out in this one. In the 1974 film, each actor gets their moment to shine and create a fascinating, unique character. Branagh plays favorites, giving some actors that luxury, notably Gad and Ridley, but others much less. Dame Judi Dench gets a little chance to round out her imperious princess, but other characters remain two-dimensional shadows passing through.

Branagh also creates more of a sense of melancholy than mystery, seizing on the characters’ tragic histories more than the whodunit. The film’s pacing seems slow, and director’s attempts to open up the action from the confines of the train, moving some interrogations outside in the snow,feel more like distractions than additions. In this version, the train has been derailed, not merely snowbound, and is struck on a bridge above a deep mountain gorge and just in front of tunnel. Branagh adds scenes where the detective interrogates passengers in an open luggage car perched precariously on the bridge high above the gorge. That scene, plus adding a little action chase, seem more suited to Sherlock Holmes than Hercule Poirot.

Introducing a new audience to Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery is an admirable goal. Christie’s clever mystery remains strong enough that those not familiar with the novel or the earlier film will be entertained and surprised. But for those who know the tale, Branagh could have spent less time on his mustache and character, and more on building suspense and on leaving room for the other characters.

RATING: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars