Murder on the Orient Express
Director – Actor Kenneth Branagh
revisits probably Agatha Christie’s most famous and successful novel in the who
done it crime story “Murder on the Orient Express”. Along with Kenneth Branagh in
the leading role of Detective Hercule Poirot, the cast includes Oscar winners Penélope
Cruz and Judi Dench, as well Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle
Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley and Josh Gad.
PLOT: After
catching the Taurus Express from Aleppo in Syria and traveling to Istanbul,
private detective Hercule Poirot arrives at the Tokatlian Hotel. Once there,
Poirot receives a telegram prompting him to return to London. He instructs the
concierge to book a first-class compartment on the Simplon-Orient Express
leaving that night. However, the train is fully booked and Poirot only gets a
second-class berth after the intervention of a fellow Belgian who is a director
of the train line.
After boarding, Poirot is
approached by Mr. Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp), a malevolent American who believes
his life is being threatened and attempts to hire Poirot to protect him, but
Poirot refuses.
On the second night of the
journey, the train is stopped by a snowdrift and it is also at that time Poirot's
hears a disturbance in the train compartment near him. The next morning
Detective Poirot is informed that Mr. Ratchett has been murdered. Poirot is
asked by the owner of the train line to investigate his death.
REVIEW: “Murder
on the Orient Express” was originally released in 1974 to very high praise by critics
across the board. So, in a film that is so tightly structured around the meticulous
procedure of essentially investigating everyone on the train, it’s a very tall order
and a dramatically daunting directing task to say the least to making a film
where you (and myself) probably already know its conclusion.
Overall, what the film has
going for it is an old fashion pacing story telling in the same way our mothers’
use to tell us stories when we were children before going off to sleep each
night. Meaning? Well it’s appealing and reasonably comforting to watch, especially
with a gorgeous cinematographic back drop that pushes the viewer gracefully
back to a by gone nostalgic era of elegance, style and grace. And with a flashy
opening that eerily reminded me of DiCaprio’s “Titanic” and a theatric ending that
eerily reminded me of the Christian image of Christ’s “The Last Supper”, this “Murder
on the Orient Express” is just clever enough and fundamentally enjoyable enough
to keep you fully engaged for its 1:45 minute running time.
A solid snowy day
rental.
3:00 Stars
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