Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short.
Death on the Nile is a typical ‘whodunnit’ that explores a series of deaths and their killers, all whilst the characters of the film are in a secluded location, in this case the ‘Karnak’ ship on the river Nile. These types of films never fail to intrigue me, with a varying sense of secretive and immersion that some films nail amazingly, and others simply aren’t immersive in the plot and case, and simply aren’t very good. When I saw the trailer for this film, I was immediately excited, I really enjoy films that engage with the audience and have us making our own assumptions of motive! Onto my thoughts though, was this film a mystery masterpiece, or is it better unsolved? Here are my thoughts.
as with any crime/mystery film, a key element of s films success is the ability to introduce characters well and maintain our interest in them through the use of twists, development and perspective. In my opinion this is one of the things that the film offers, it’s character and invaluable insights into them throughout the film. The film starts by introducing us to the wits of Poirot in a miserable world war 1 setting, that feels all too uncomfortable given the current Ukraine circumstances. Not only is this an interesting way to introduce us to the time and setting of the film in a 20th century setting, but it also gives us a genuine emotional insight into Poirot and how the events of the war shaped him into the fierce detective he is in the film!
The characters are not only really interesting but they are portrayed well, as you may expect with this type of film they are mysteriously portrayed in different levels, each hinting at a potential motive behind a murder long before any actual killing! This then relayed well into the story, as having a somewhat blurry understanding of the characters gave us a perfect perspective to follow the events unravel whilst trying to identify the killer. Each of them are also variousply different in their personalities, not too much to make it unbelievabl, but just enough that it makes them feel unique and memorable, therefore Helping to unglued us in the culture of the film.
alongside the exciting characters, the acting was equally as impressive. Characters really felt realistic in their relationships and emotions towards each other, and in this setting that is a really important aspect to get right. Ustinov was a great Poirot - but Branagh really excels and relishes in this role too. He captures the essence of that weird character and seems really fond of him - making movies worth your while. Other notable performances from Russel Brand, Tom Bateman and Gal Gadot were also impressive, delivering notably emotional performances whilst still coming across as exciting and enjoyable.
For any crime film, the story is at the very heart of whether it is a success or not. This film manages to deliver this story well, by providing a decent combination of action, thrill and emotion. It is also delivered at a decent pace, that allows the audience to stay up to date with exactly what is going on, this is also supported by a great character dialogue selection that helps to support this, and clearly denotes characters emotions into these respective story scenes.
first and foremost, this is a mystery and this film manages this quite well. It doesn’t particularly deviate too far away from the novels and from what is expected from the genre, but the inclusion of Egypt as a setting helps to energise a large number of scenes and support the story by giving it a sense of excitement. The inclusion of personal relationship drama also adds a unique twist to the plot, all whilst helping to create a powerful ecosystem. This culminates to create a plot that is not only fairly easy to follow, but one that really feels gripping and exciting, topped off by a group of characters that help to give it just a little bit of a spark that gives the film its engaging and interesting theme.
it’s worth stating that whilst the film was good, it certainly wasn’t perfect and had a variety of issues, namely revolving around its inability to ever really shift out of 2nd gear. The film was exciting and enjoyable, but never throughout the runtime did I feel excited and enthralled to the level that I wanted, it seems that the ceiling for this film was too low, and because the film rarely pushed the barrier of excitement, it didn’t feel energetic enough for me. Additionally, whilst the film delves into the lives and personalities of the characters, I couldn’t help but wanting more from them, the film didnt explore these characters enough, in my opinion, which left many of them feeling basically useless, and there just to say a few lines to contribute towards the mysterious nature of the film.
the film never really seemed to push the barriers and explore which left it feeling slightly underwhelming, it explored some interesting themes including WW1 and Ancient Egypt, but there just didn’t feel as though there was enough to really make the story believable and engaging - sure the threat of the stalker gave the film some intensity but this wasn’t maintained, and therefore there didn’t feel like a great sense of urgency or emotion between characters, unfortunately. Death On The Nile may have a few shortcomings, but it is not a bad film or even average. For first-timers, it has everything that you expect from a murder mystery. Overall, not flawless, but certainly yet another good adaptation of Agatha Christie's trademark material.
I give the film a 7 out of 10, much of this film is good, not excellent and not bad. it explores some genuinely interesting themes, many of which are exciting and enjoyable, even if the CGI is sometimes a little over the top! It also holds up fairly well as a murder mystery film (which is at the heart of its identity), and ended up fooling me when revealing the mystery at the end. It is good, and for many audiences it will be an exciting and enjoyable watch, but personally I was left wanting more from the characters and story - although as mentioned, that is probably due to my varied taste of films!
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