Once again, I only watched Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express because of Daisy Ridley. Sue me. I’ve read the book before (though just so I could see the movie), and it rapidly became one of my favorites, so when my family and I sat down on February 8th to watch it, I was buzzing with excitement to see some characters I loved reading about come to life on the screen. Overall, it was an enjoyable movie, though not one of my favorites. I’d rate it a solid four or four and a half stars because it was a genuine good time that stayed true to the source material while adding a few new twists to better suit the medium it was adapted to.
Murder on the Orient Express follows the story of the famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) who is trying to take a vacation when he finds himself in the thick of a brutal murder that naturally, he takes it upon himself to solve. The rest of the movie is simply Poirot trying to solve the mystery by interviewing the passengers on the train and putting clues together. If you aren’t familiar with the source material, it can be a fairly boring movie, but since I love Christie’s novel so much, I thought it was wonderful.
This movie rests heavily on its cast, who did an amazing job with the roles they were placed in. Kenneth Branagh breathes a new life into the pedantic Poirot, showing the working of his “little gray cells” and how he requires everything to be perfect. He was just the Poirot I remembered from the book, which made me smile. Also, his mustache was spot on. Ten points the mustache. That thing’s amazing. Judi Dench (Skyfall, Shakespeare in Love) does a wonderful job as the fiery Russian Princess Dragomiroff. She is often accompanied by the submissive Hildegarde Schmidt, played by the remarkable Olivia Colman (The Crown, The Favourite). Daisy Ridley (Ophelia, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) plays my personal favorite character, the sweet governess Mary Debenham, and I can’t even express how well she did in this role. She brought an underlying feistiness to the character, which I was glad to see. Debenham is connected to Dr. Arbuthnot, played by Hamilton’s Leslie Odom Jr., who I enjoyed actually seeing act, since I was clearly unable to see him in Hamilton on Broadway. I’m not going to give too much away, but he’s one of the best characters. I love that man. Willem Dafoe (Finding Nemo) plays Gerhard Hardman, a German professor whose last name summarizes him as a person fairly well. Penelope Cruz (Pirates of the Caribbean) shines as the deeply religious Pilar Estravados, a new take on Greta Ohlsson. Her delivery was absolutely perfect. Michelle Pfeiffer (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) steals the show as the manhunting Mrs. Hubbard, a character with significantly more depth than meets the eye. I’d watch a spinoff just about her. Sergei Polunin, a real ballet star, plays Count Andrenyi, a mysterious ballerina, and the radiant Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody) appears as his beautiful, demure wife Elena. Johnny Depp, whose credits I don’t find it necessary to list, is Ratchett, an American art dealer who is interested in the shadier side of business. He’s an interesting one. Josh Gad, appearing in a serious role (for the first time that I’ve ever seen) plays Ratchett’s secretary, Hector MacQueen, who somehow manages to make me laugh with his jaded insights. Rounding out the passengers is Derek Jacobi, playing Masterman, Ratchett’s butler.
Though the storyline slows to almost a halt in the middle, when Poirot is interviewing all the passengers in order to figure out which of them committed the crime, I still found it interesting, though that can be attributed to my love for the source material. There are a few new attempts to spice up the rising action, including a marvelously shot chase down the bridge the train is stalled on. The flashback where it reveals the killer’s motivation is absolutely beautiful, as is the cinematography in general. Literally, I’d watch this movie just for that.
Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable movie. I’d watch it again (even if just to support Daisy Ridley), and I have full intentions of doing so. If you’re a fan of murder mystery movies, this is one I wouldn’t overlook.
Comments