Death on the Nile Movie Review: There's no tension in this less thrilling yet fashionable remake

Death on the Nile Movie Poster

Death on the Nile
Dir: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Kenneth Branagh, Ali Fazal
Rating: 2.5/5

Remake auteur Kenneth Branagh takes a much-needed break from Shakespearean tragedies to expand on his new muse ( Agatha Christie remakes following his 2017 outing ‘Murder on the Orient Express) by refashioning a conservatively dramatic thriller-whodunit into a flamboyant, musically inclined, bluesy, racially mixed, less classy but far more vivid, socially relevant quasi-contemporary one. He dons the role of the famous Belgian detective, egocentric Poirot, by giving him a much more fitter, war-ravaged persona - albeit an exacting epicure who fusses over his dessert selection, as opposed to the corpulent foodie played by the erstwhile Peter Ustinov in the 1978 John Guillermin directed original. And our very own freshly minted Hollywood star-in-the-making Ali Fazal gets to essay the role of the central character, an heiress, Linnet Ridgeway's( Gal Gadot) mixed-race cousin, a Barrister, Andrew - not a role worthy of major screen time but certainly an integral one nevertheless. In its effort to appease a modern audience, the characters are made more diverse in gender, ethnicity, ideologies, and personal choices. Aside from a prologue, an epilogue, and a few alterations the basic plot of the novel remains the same.

Branagh and writer Michael Green lend the film a couple of additional characters and some backstory which inevitably takes away much of the tension and interest from the central theme that takes ‘anything for love' to murderous heights. From humble heroism (as presented in the war-torn opening) to a bombastic, self-congratulatory sleuth invited to a bluesy outing at a club (in 1937), Hercule Poirot is obviously living the life while doing his bit to put killers away. It's a set-up that even the famed detective fails to cotton onto until several people invited to the honeymoon cruise party of the loved-up couple Linnet and Simon Doyle(Armie Hammer), aboard the river steamer, a rather plush ‘ S S Karnak,' are found dead. As the narrative gets deep into the story each invitee's individual motivations are exposed. While the obviously jealous, embittered stalker Jaqueline (Emma Mackey) gets to fire the first unsuccessful salvo in front of eyewitnesses, the rest of the attempted killings happen when everyone else is preoccupied with Poirot's deliberately defamatory fiddling.

Branagh's second lavish remake of an Agatha Christie mystery is set against an epic, historic landscape of sweeping picturesque Egyptian desert vistas further embellished by ace camerawork that captures the magnificence and majesty of the pyramids and the Nile. From the colossal Ramses statues of Abu Simbel, the Pyramids of Giza to art deco salons of a luxury steamer, all shot on 65mm, this touristic voyage is definitely easy on the eyes. His principal characters are fashionably turned-out while hiding baser, rather debilitating feelings of unbridled passion, murderous jealousy, steal-happy envy, and unpardonable greed. Salome Otterbourne's (Sophie Okonedo), featured act at the club and a few more follow-ups aboard the steamer are worthy embellishments thanks to guitar-playing singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, jazzy vocals.

Green's script focuses far too much on giving Poirot a ‘real world' integrity and in turn loses focus of the trio at the center of the mystery. This is an ensemble act muddled by performances of variable intensities and as a result, fails to find an intriguing tone or temper in its telling. Most of the characters get lost in the luminous setting (aided by Jim Clay's meticulous production design). Branagh, while giving his characters a deeper arc and setting them up in designer finery inevitably drains this outing of much of its whodunit thrills.