Agatha Christie was a British crime novelist who was born in
1890 and died in 1976. Even if you think you are not familiar with her work –
chances are you have heard of or seen at least one adaptation of her materials –
possibly on PBS on a Saturday afternoon - especially any of the Miss Marple or
Hercule Poirot mysteries. Once of those
is Murder on the Orient Express – a story starring her star detective Hercule
Poirot. It was first published in 1934,
and there are currently five versions listed on IMDB. The original Orient Express train in 1883 ran
from Paris to Giurgiu (Romania), and Christie’s story has Poirot solving a
murder while on board as the train is stuck in the snow.
In this version, we meet Poirot as he finishes up solving a
case in Jerusalem in 1934. Eager for a
vacation and rest in Istanbul – his friend Bouc offers him a room on the Orient
Express, as he is the director of the train.
While on the train, Poirot meets several other characters and is offered
a job by one of them – Samuel Ratchett, as more or less a bodyguard for
him. Poirot refuses, and during that
night, hears strange noises from Ratchett’s compartment, and sees a woman in a
red kimono running away.
The next morning, the train is stuck in the snow as the
result of an avalanche, and Ratchett is found murdered in his room. Poirot reluctantly
takes on the case at the request of Bouc, since no one is going anywhere, and he
knows the murderer is still on the train.
He then has to work his way through the odd group of characters to
determine what happened. Poirot learns that
Ratchett was actually John Cassetti, a man who had kidnapped and attempted to
ransom a child named Daisy Armstrong.
Even after the ransom was paid, Daisy was found murdered, with Cassetti
never prosecuted. Poirot continues to uncover evidence and details connecting
the various strangers on the train, uncovering a story that causes him to
question pieces of his own stark morality.
I am not going to say anything else about the plot, in case –
like me – you have not read this story, or seen one of the other several versions
of the movie. There is a bit of a twist
in the investigation as Poirot finally discovers the killer. Because this one is directed by Kenneth
Branagh - and he is playing Poirot – Poirot really becomes the center of the
story, even more than the murder and the suspects. This is both good and bad. On the negative side, it really takes the
focus off the various suspects, their stories, and what they had to do with the
murder if anything. Honestly, there are
a couple of the characters whose names I did not know until I looked them up on
IMDB because they were skimmed over so quickly.
That could be a side-effect of having twelve suspects and less than two
hours of movie to develop each of them.
On the positive side, the story then becomes about how Poirot,
previously obsessed with balance, and right and wrong, must learn to deal with
various shades of gray in morality. It’s
an interesting take, and one I really enjoyed. Something that helps is Branagh’s collection
of actors – several of which have worked with him before.
- Kenneth Branagh plays Hercule Poirot as obsessive compulsive and a bit burdened by his exceptional detective skills. I have always been a fan, and really enjoyed the shift of this story to center on him – which could be seen as a very egotistical move. In theory, there will be a sequel – Death on the Nile – with Branagh reprising the role.
- Johnny Depp plays Samuel Ratchett, a creep from the word go. He’s slimy, he’s sketchy, and he’s really paranoid, but as it turns out – correctly paranoid – because someone is really out to get him.
- Penelope Cruz plays Pilar Estravados, a name changed from the original story Swedish character to a Spanish character. She is a missionary, and seems innocent, until Poirot notices the boxing scars on her knuckles.
- Willem Dafoe plays Gerhard Hardman, a German scientist seems innocent, until Poirot learns that he is not actually a german scientist, but an undercover American detective.
- Judi Dench plays Princess Dragomiroff, an old rich lady who seems innocent until Poirot uncovers some of her family connections.
- Olivia Colman plays Hildegarde Schmidt, the assistant/handmaiden to the Princess who seems innocent, until Poirot starts talking with her in German, which her boss cannot understand.
- Josh Gad plays Hector MacQueen, a lawyer working for Ratchett who seems innocent until Poirot uncovers some interesting information about his father.
- Derek Jacobi plays Edward Henry Masterman, a butler working for Ratchett who seems innocent until Poirot learns that he really doesn’t care for his employer.
- Leslie Odom Jr. plays Dr. Arbuthnot, a doctor who seems innocent until Poirot learns he was a sniper in the military.
- Michelle Pfeiffer plays Caroline Hubbard, what I would call a prowling cougar on the train, who seems innocent until Poirot starts digging into her story of someone breaking into her room.
- Daisy Ridley plays Mary Debenham, a governess who seems innocent until Poirot realizes something she said about raising children was repeated by someone else.
- Lucy Boynton plays Countess Helena Andrenyi, and Sergei Polunin as Count Rudolph Andrenyi. I’m sure both of them seem innocent too – but I’ll be honest with you – I forgot they were on the train, as they stay in their compartment and really don’t interact with anyone else until the plot demands it – which is almost never.
- Manuel Garcia-Rulfo plays Biniamino Marquez, who I believe was a car salesman who seemed innocent until Poirot learns just how much he was making selling cars? Maybe? Not going to lie, he’s another one who gets almost no development.
- Tom Bateman plays Bouc, and of all the people, he seems the least innocent and is certainly someone I suspected. Because he’s Poirot’s friend, he gets a pass, I guess.
- Marwan Kenzari plays Pierre Michel, a conductor on the train who seems innocent and confused most of the time.
Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. It looked beautiful, especially the details
on the train, the lushness of the compartments and the luxury for the time of
high-class train travel. The characters
were very interesting, and I did want more development on them, until I
realized that they really were not the focus.
Poirot is the focus. I really
hope that Branagh does get to make Death on the Nile, because that should be
more of a case, and less a Poirot character study.
7 out of 10 – Lost some points for that mustache – I know it’s
key to the character, but it was almost distracting. On the other hand, gained points for the mustache,
and the sleep-protector that it gets.
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