Death on the Nile
Year: 2022
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Tom Bateman, Anette Benning, Kenneth Branagh, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders & Letitia Wright
Runtime: 127 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 26/04/22
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Tom Bateman, Anette Benning, Kenneth Branagh, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders & Letitia Wright
Runtime: 127 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 26/04/22
Following the success of 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, and Rian Johnson’s 2019 Knives Out, it would appear that there was renewed interest in Hollywood for lavishly produced and all-star cast murder mysteries. With director Kenneth Branagh having left the door open at the end of Orient Express to return to Agatha Christie’s moustached detective Hercule Poirot, the timing seemed right to continue his story. The world however would say differently, and Death on the Nile was shrouded in production issues surrounding members of its cast and of course being massively delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Having missed it at the cinema earlier in the year, I recently caught the film on Disney+ in the hope that it retained much of what made Murder on the Orient Express a fun and glamourous thriller.
Hoping to finally get some rest and relaxation, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) journeys to Egypt only to find himself reunited with Bouc (Tom Bateman). Bouc informs him that he and his mother Euphemia (Anette Benning) are in Egypt to attend the wedding of some close friends, Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) and Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer). Invited along for the festivities, it doesn’t take long for Poirot to be hired to protect Linnet against Simon’s ex-girlfriend, Jacqueline Bellefort (Emma Mackey). Confined to a riverboat on the Nile, it doesn’t take long for someone to turn up dead and once again Poirot is on the case to reveal the murderer.
Hoping to finally get some rest and relaxation, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) journeys to Egypt only to find himself reunited with Bouc (Tom Bateman). Bouc informs him that he and his mother Euphemia (Anette Benning) are in Egypt to attend the wedding of some close friends, Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) and Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer). Invited along for the festivities, it doesn’t take long for Poirot to be hired to protect Linnet against Simon’s ex-girlfriend, Jacqueline Bellefort (Emma Mackey). Confined to a riverboat on the Nile, it doesn’t take long for someone to turn up dead and once again Poirot is on the case to reveal the murderer.
On the surface Death on the Nile seems like it doesn’t up the ante from Murder on the Orient Express…even going so far as to remove the time sensitive nature of the case and the dangerous environment the characters inhabit. Death on the Nile feels, at least aesthetically, safer, with its wide-open vistas of Egypt, and a more roomy riverboat in comparison to the cramped quarters of the Orient Express.
But where Death on the Nile does up the ante is in the aggression of the murderer, willing to go to any lengths to cover up their wrongdoing, leading to a greater number of body bags once the killer is revealed. Death on the Nile also feels far more glamorous which is most certainly aided by the setting, a wedding between two wealthy people in a considerably warmer climate. I simply loved the costuming and set design of Death on the Nile, everything looks so elegant, and despite being a film where people are murdered it definitely made me want to be there on the boat with them just to I could enjoy all that luxury too.
Much like Murder on the Orient Express the all-star cast provide the kind of great quality performances you would expect. Gal Gadot stood out to me as the best, but to be fair the majority of the performances were very good. One performance I was dreading was Russell Brand as Dr. Windlesham, I’m really not a fan of Brand and he is usually typecast for his usual eccentric, loud, and often tasteless behaviour, but his role here is considerably more subdued than anything I’ve seen him do before and you know what, I was here for it. The most irritating performer was Jennifer Saunders as Linnet’s godmother Marie Van Schuyler. Like Brand, I’m not a huge fan of Saunders, so it’s no surprise I wasn’t particularly keen on her performance. She is performing alongside her long-time comedy-duo sidekick Dawn French (who plays her nurse, Mrs. Bowers) it did feel almost like a skit from their sketch show French & Saunders accidentally made its way into a period drama.
Of course, there’s no escaping the Armie Hammer scandal that surfaced during 2021, which did put this film under the spotlight as he plays such a major role in it. I can’t really fault Branagh or the film at large for keeping him in considering the film should have already released before his dark deeds hit headlines, but especially considering the character he plays it did make me wonder whether it’s a bit too soon.
Much like Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile is a lavishly produced and slick looking adaptation of one of the greatest murder mystery stories of all time. It’s no better, nor any worse than Orient Express, and I can say for certain that if you weren’t a fan of Orient Express then you similarly won’t be keen on Death on the Nile. For me however, I had a fun time with it, and I certainly hope that despite the underwhelming box office performance that we get to see a third Poirot film in the near future for more murder mysteries in exotic locales.
But where Death on the Nile does up the ante is in the aggression of the murderer, willing to go to any lengths to cover up their wrongdoing, leading to a greater number of body bags once the killer is revealed. Death on the Nile also feels far more glamorous which is most certainly aided by the setting, a wedding between two wealthy people in a considerably warmer climate. I simply loved the costuming and set design of Death on the Nile, everything looks so elegant, and despite being a film where people are murdered it definitely made me want to be there on the boat with them just to I could enjoy all that luxury too.
Much like Murder on the Orient Express the all-star cast provide the kind of great quality performances you would expect. Gal Gadot stood out to me as the best, but to be fair the majority of the performances were very good. One performance I was dreading was Russell Brand as Dr. Windlesham, I’m really not a fan of Brand and he is usually typecast for his usual eccentric, loud, and often tasteless behaviour, but his role here is considerably more subdued than anything I’ve seen him do before and you know what, I was here for it. The most irritating performer was Jennifer Saunders as Linnet’s godmother Marie Van Schuyler. Like Brand, I’m not a huge fan of Saunders, so it’s no surprise I wasn’t particularly keen on her performance. She is performing alongside her long-time comedy-duo sidekick Dawn French (who plays her nurse, Mrs. Bowers) it did feel almost like a skit from their sketch show French & Saunders accidentally made its way into a period drama.
Of course, there’s no escaping the Armie Hammer scandal that surfaced during 2021, which did put this film under the spotlight as he plays such a major role in it. I can’t really fault Branagh or the film at large for keeping him in considering the film should have already released before his dark deeds hit headlines, but especially considering the character he plays it did make me wonder whether it’s a bit too soon.
Much like Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile is a lavishly produced and slick looking adaptation of one of the greatest murder mystery stories of all time. It’s no better, nor any worse than Orient Express, and I can say for certain that if you weren’t a fan of Orient Express then you similarly won’t be keen on Death on the Nile. For me however, I had a fun time with it, and I certainly hope that despite the underwhelming box office performance that we get to see a third Poirot film in the near future for more murder mysteries in exotic locales.