A Haunting in Venice marks the third of Kenneth Branagh’s mystery series based on the novels of Agatha Christie. I compare this series to the more recent Equalizer movies: I think they’re both a franchise that’s not particularly demanding from audiences, but I guess studios saw potential in them.
Branagh returns again as director and stars as Hercule Poirot, now retired from solving crimes and has become a faithless recluse in Venice in 1947. He’s convinced to come out of his self-imposed isolation by an old friend, Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), a mystery writer who wants to invite Poirot to a Halloween party.
The two attend the party and then are invited to a seance lorded over by a medium named Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh). Poirot immediately suspects she’s a fake. During the seance, it isn’t long before someone is murdered and Poirot reluctantly takes on the case to find out who did it.
The suspects in the murder range from two assistants of the writer (Ali Khan and Emma Laird); the fiance (Kyle Allen) of the dead daughter during the seance; the housemaid (Camile Cottin); the family doctor (Jamie Dornan); and even Poirot’s bodyguard (Ricardo Scamarcio, John Wick Chapter 2).
This is where Branagh’s abilities take center stage and where his mustache does just as much acting as he does. The movie follows its predictable formula to a T: Each suspect is interrogated. They establish their alibis during the crime and supposedly have just cause as to why some of the others might’ve done it.
Branagh is once again effective in his role as Poirot, occasionally hamming up his performance to borderline unintentional comedy, again with the mustache still doing most of the work.
The actors seem engaged just enough and they inhabit their roles with relative ease, although I do think Yeoh’s character is the one not really used.
I’m mildly recommending this movie because Branagh does have a certain style and flair to help bring Christie’s novels to life, both with his performance and direction, and that’s really what saved the movie. Any other actor or director would’ve made the material interminable.
The execution of the material doesn’t exactly make a compelling argument for this film, but again I guess the studio saw something in it.
Grade: B
(Rated PG-13 for some strong violence, disturbing images and thematic elements.)
