Death On The Nile Movie Review: A passable whodunit that takes itself too seriously

Kenneth Branagh’s intention to own Hercule Poirot became obvious right from the look he chose for the Belgian sleuth in Murder Of The Orient Express (2017). Though his version didn’t get a unanimous nod from the Poirot fans (especially the fans of David Suchet’s Poirot), Branagh still saw success at the box office. Now, he is back with Death On The Nile, another adaptation of Agatha Christie’s page-turner. This time the director-actor furthers his cause by imagining a past for the vain detective, which tells why Poirot’s little grey cells lack the space for romance. It also tells the reason behind the flamboyant mustache. Set in World War I, the prologue of the film shows the young Belgian detective as a soldier in the war. Splendidly shot, the black and white sequence shows young Poirot bringing victory to the Allied Forces with his clever strategy. This initial stretch, which is not in the original stretch, is more intriguing in comparison to the rest of this decent whodunit.

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer 

As far as the central plot goes, it follows the newlywed socialite couple Linnet Doyle (Gal Gadot) and Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer). The couple commissions Hercule Poirot to deter Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey), Linnet’s former friend and Simon’s ex-fiance, from stalking them during their honeymoon. Poirot’s negotiation with Bellefort turns useless. Bellefort follows the couple to the streamer where the newlyweds celebrate their honeymoons with a bunch of her family and friends (including Poirot). When the first murder happens, and Bellefort has a solid alibi, the Belgian detective has to work hard to find the murderer among the family and friends. Typical of every whodunit, every suspect seems to have a motive. Poirot doesn’t have time as the body count doesn’t seem to stop at just one.

For a film that has too little time for character development, the big star cast seems unwarranted. Everyone seems to play only a little role in the film except Kenneth Branagh. That’s another issue with the film, which is more about this eccentric detective and less about the case in hand. Given the little scope of Linnet’s character, it is surprising to see what made Gal Gadot take up the role. She is indeed sensuous and invokes jealousy without doing anything. Maybe that's the point.

What seems to be pretty odd about Kenneth’s Death On The Nile is that it tries to find something deep in a rather outdated and simple story. In the process, it takes itself too seriously and ends up being a bit silly. You see, Agatha herself reflects upon Death On The Nile as ‘escape literature’ in the foreword of the book, and that escapist nature is what is amiss in this modern adaptation. Magnificent Egypt and the Nile end up looking one-dimensional due to the inadequate CGI images. So, there is no escapist fun after all. In an attempt to be profound, the film loses the innate charm and fun of Agatha's work. However, I don’t expect something as lampooning as Clue (1985), but something that’s self-aware of the obsolete and stereotypical nature of the whodunit genre itself - say Knives Out (2019).

Yet, Death On The Nile is not excruciating, it has the right pace and gets to business soon. The red herrings are unhelpful and not-so distracting us from the real killer, but I liked the way the film doesn’t spend too much time on them. There were also a few other enjoyable bits - like the tension between jazz singer Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okonedo) and Poirot. This chemistry was warmer than the one between Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer. And the effective epilogue does make you look forward to what Kenneth Branagh intends to do with Hercule Poirot in the future.