Death on the Nile

Hercule Poirot could have solved the Death on the Nile again in 2020. But his cinematic layover was longer than expected. A lot has happened in the world since then. So, let's get on the case.

Kenneth Branagh retains his services from Murder on the Orient Express as director and as M. Poirot. But while that film promised a "murder on the bloody Nile" at the end, it actually happens an hour in this film. Apparently, Poirot solved another case on the Nile, returned to England and then went back to the Nile to solve this titular crime. Huh?

We first spend that hour during Poirot's time in World War I. We first see Poirot's captain, who could easily be mistaken for young Poirot thanks to his elaborate moustache, before we meet the clean-shaven and convincingly digitally de-aged Poirot. The captain is killed in an explosion that disfigures Poirot. He soon grows his own supreme moustache.

1937 London. Poirot witnesses a love triangle in progress between layabout Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer), his fiancée Jackie de Bellfort (Emma Mackey) and the wealthy Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot). When he sees them again in Egypt, Simon and Linnet are now married and Jackie is stalking them. Simon hires Poirot to keep tabs on Jackie. The Doyles, Poirot and their wedding guests board the SS Karnak for a river cruise. Jackie follows them there too. 

We finally get to the crime itself. Somebody shoots Linnet during the night. Almost everyone on board is a suspect. Poirot intends to keep everyone on the Karnak until he can figure out which of them did it. He'll have to hurry as this killer isn't afraid to add more to the body count.

This film runs 127 minutes, which is shorter than the 1978 film with Peter Ustinov. It feels longer thanks to its slow build-up to the main crime itself. It's easy to miss some details that pop up during Poirot's summation. The sequel hook from Orient Express adds some confusion to the mix. A throwaway line near the start suggests that Poirot already solved the main event. But it's actually linear storytelling. 

It gets going great once it finally gets to the death. Branagh has fun exercising Poirot's personality as he interviews an all-star cast of suspects. A few memorable suspects include Dr. Windlesham (Russell Brand, unrecognizably strait-laced), Linnet's Communist godmother Marie Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders), her helper Mrs. Bowers (Dawn French) and socialite Rosalie (Letitia Wright). It's far too easy to guess the obvious suspect onboard if not for their alibi. But they're not that innocent. The final twist is as devious now as it was when Agatha Christie devised it 85 years ago.

As I said, digital fountain of youth is exquisite. But the digital compositing is glaringly obvious. The actors don't look like they're actually in Egypt (never mind that they weren't, as it was filmed in Surrey and Morrocco). The digital scenery and Haris Zambarloukos's cinematography are far better looking. The aural front gives us a memorably foreboding score by Patrick Doyle. The sound designers hit their strongest mark when the second body turns up.

Death on the Nile takes its sweet time to get to the titular event. But Branagh puts his acting and directing prowess to great use when it happens. This film will twist your suspicions in knots well before the summation. Let's just say it's a memorable summation. I'm once again ready for another big Poirot mystery should it happen. It wisely doesn't give us a sequel hook at the end. We don't need to stump viewers with continuity hang-ups twice, do we?