A Haunting in Venice
Summary
Director Kenneth Branagh teams up once again with Michael Green forA Haunting in Venice , their third adaptation of Agatha Christie ’s Hercule Poirot mystery novel . But while the core creative minds have reunited in o.k. form , it seems the detective himself ( still played by Branagh ) has not quite pass to himself . In fact , the movie ’s plot hinges on Poirot being moderately out of step after his retirement , and at times the story itself suffer for it . Nevertheless , A Haunting in Veniceis standard Hercule Poirot mystery fare that is feed a hike thanks to the stunning visuals and supernatural happenings .
Based on the novelHallowe’en Party , the film takes stead post - worldwide War II and find Poirot now retired and removed from beau monde while living in Venice . He sour aside all manner of requests from those with mysteries to lick until his old friendAriadne Oliver ( Tina Fey)shows up with an offer too expert to refuse . And so , he is whisk aside to a séance at the decaying home of grieving female parent Rowena Drake ( Kelly Reilly ) to evidence that the medium known as Mrs. Reynolds ( Michelle Yeoh ) is a fake . But this is Halloween , after all , and crime keep abreast Poirot wherever he goes .
A Haunting in Venicekicks into high gear once Mrs. Reynolds accuses an unknown node of having kill Rowena ’s daughter , Alicia , only for another invitee to pop off here and now by and by . With Venice flooding and police unavailable , Hercule must take matters into his own hand and dust off his crime - figure out skills . This is coincidently the weak look of the picture show , though it is by necessity — since the tec is stumble both due to his reluctance to abuse back into the arena as well his refusal to accept the existence of ghost , the mystery element give much to be want .
Branagh and his production teammore than make up for that with the horror touch sensation waver in throughoutA Haunting in Venice , however . Yeoh ’s eerie operation at the séance sets the level for supernatural shenanigans , which grapple to find ground in realness despite Poirot ’s insistency that they are fabrication . Though the deathly serious tone take by nearly every character aside from Fey ’s Ariadne can at times make the film feel dour , it also compound the tension from mo to moment and drag in the looker up in the ghost account play out onscreen .
The haunted house is a unattackable set piece , with ethereal sounds lurk around creepy-crawly recession . Branagh is very effective at play Poirot as both disoriented and out of his chemical element , and the ambience of the Drake mansion drive the point home . However , this direct to another minor failing : the house and its spiritual inhabitants ( whether they are real or figment of an hyperactive mental imagery ) quarter more attention and are more exciting than the majority of the supporting characters . With the exception of Ariadne , Mrs. Reynolds , and Rowena , the rest of the cast seems to fade into the background even when they are life-sustaining to the narration .
Perhaps that is part of the point , as Poirot has stop to interact with people on a daily basis and sees them more often than not as obstruction to his craft duringA Haunting in Venice . Haris Zambarloukos ' breathtaking cinematographycertainly suggests that each room in the tatterdemalion plate is more pregnant than the people inside it at any given minute . When one focuses too much on the past tense and the dead , one loses sight of the present and the keep — which is certainly a worthful example for Poirot to learn .
A Haunting in Venicearrives in dramatic art on September 15 . The film is 107 second long and is rated PG-13 for some strong violence , stir up image , and thematic elements .
