“A Haunting in Venice” is delightfully Gothic and dark with what may or may not be supernatural elements.
Based on Agatha Christie’s “Hallowe’en Party,” this third installment in the Kenneth Branagh/Hercule Poirot film series has a wonderful script. Including big-name actors such as Branagh, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, and Jamie Dornan, it nevertheless has an ensemble rather than a star-showcase feel. The denouement is superbly crafted.
Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) has retired to Venice, Italy. The year is 1947, two years after the end of World War II.
Poirot is hounded by people who want him to take their case. He has hired a bodyguard, Vitale (Riccardo Scamarcio), to deal with these claimants. One funny scene has Vitale upending someone from a bridge into a canal.
One day Poirot is surprised when Vitale announces that someone has arrived whom Poirot should see. Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) is a best-selling English mystery writer who, after 17 hit books, has had 3 subsequent duds. She claims to have made Poirot famous through her writing.
She invites Poirot to a Halloween party for orphans at a palazzo which has seen better days. In the past, legend has it that other orphans were brought here and left to die. Their souls allegedly haunt the place and seek revenge on anyone in the medical field.
After these festivities, a séance is scheduled with the recently out-of-prison psychic Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh). The owner of the palazzo, retired opera singer Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly), is seeking contact with her deceased daughter Alicia. Alicia became bed-ridden after breaking up with her fiancé, chef Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen). Alicia committed suicide by jumping from her balcony and drowning in the canal below.
Ariadne wants Poirot along to get his impressions of the séance. Poirot indicates that he does not believe in an afterlife. He has seen too much human evil and 2 World Wars to believe in God.
They arrive at the palazzo where the children are being entertained with an eerie puppet show using silhouettes. The story depicts the tale of the orphans left to die in the palazzo. The children then break up for games and treats.
After the children and their guardians leave, the arrival of Joyce Roberts, in a black robe and dramatic mask marked with one descending tear, seems portentous. She arrives with her assistant Desdemona (Emma Laird). Later Maxime arrives seemingly uninvited, except that he produces a written invitation from an unknown person.
The others present in the palazzo during the séance include Rowena’s former family doctor Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan), traumatized by his experiences at Bergen-Belsen; his young son Leopold (Jude Hill), a bookish nerd; and housemaid Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin).
Soon after the séance, a murder occurs. Pouring rain makes it impossible for anyone to leave the palazzo. Will Poirot be able to solve the murder? Are ghosts real?
When the film began, I am so used to watching films with the subtitles on that I was a little bit thrown getting used to Branagh’s accent. I soon adjusted to Poirot’s voice which was a relief.
Not having read the Christie story, I cannot comment on how well the movie conforms to the text. But the screenplay in and of itself is meticulously crafted. Clues are well threaded throughout the film, even if someone like me does not see how they add up. There are some wonderful red herrings which add to the supernatural feel of the picture.
The cinematography is very dark. There are a few well-lit rooms in the palazzo but there are several dark corners and spaces as well. The vastness of the palazzo and its age give a Gothic feel to the movie. It could almost have been set in Victorian times.
The opening sequences during the day in Venice are a pleasure to watch. The city’s grandeur is on full display. The film concludes in the daytime as well, providing a nice bracketing effect.
The visual effects are well done. These include some séance effects, such as a door blowing open or a typewriter key spontaneously being tapped. There also are some scenes of specters and spectral effects that have an appropriately eerie and unsettling feel.
In particular, I have to note the superb editing. It truly is a marvel. Poirot eventually goes room to room with Ariadne Oliver to interview the surviving suspects. Sometimes things happen off-screen while these chats are occurring and other times startling events happen in between the tete-a-tetes.
The characters all seem to have their flaws and virtues. This makes for an interesting tension as Poirot conducts his interviews. The insights into human nature of both Christie and the screenwriters add great flavor to the picture.
Branagh does a yeoman’s job of keeping Poirot in character. He needs to keep him from veering too far from the character so clearly delineated by Christie.
Fey is surprisingly good as Ariadne Oliver. Her motives are never entirely clear. Fey exudes a crafty slyness and world-weary jadedness.
Dornan, as a doctor suffering battle fatigue, is spot-on in his portrayal. He cannot seem to overcome the horrors which he witnessed. Yet he still loves his son, who dotingly cares for him.
Kelly Reilly as Rowena is an emotional enigma throughout the film. She has lost a beloved daughter, hates her daughter’s ex-fiance, and does not have the money to restore the palazzo. Her desperation to communicate via the séance signals her maternal love.
This is a deeply rewarding thrill ride that relies on substance rather than visuals to propel the story along. Not recommended for younger children, it is suitable for tweens and teens. I highly recommend you see this in a theater, as it is sometimes so dark that I do not know how this will translate to the small screen.
Four and a half out of 5 stars
“A Haunting in Venice” opens in theaters nationwide September 15, 2023
“A Haunting in Venice” is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve and is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, Michelle Yeoh
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Screenplay: Michael Green
Adapted from: “Hallowe’en Party” by Agatha Christie
"A Haunting in Venice": a delightfully dark & gothic adaptation
Summary
This is a deeply rewarding thrill ride that relies on substance rather than visuals to propel the story along. Not recommended for younger children, it is suitable for tweens and teens. I highly recommend you see this in a theater, as it is sometimes so dark that I do not know how this will translate to the small screen.
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