Murder on the Orient Express

Seen at the Yamba Cinema in northern NSW

Bea says: :  I am perhaps biased as I am something of an Agatha Christie fan, and I am also a fan of Kenneth Branagh.  I am sure I have seen an old black and white version of this years ago, and I had read the book years ago when on a Christie jag as a teenager, and again more recently, but I hadn’t retained too many plot details so enjoyed the whodunnit – but I mostly enjoyed the sumptuous costumes, set and cinematography of the steam train and the snowy landscape; particularly as Cecil and I had travelled through that region only a few years ago.

Branagh treats the original well and does not try to meddle with a winning formula – it’s just updated into the modern “Harry Potter” look films tend to have now and with a little more psychological understanding and insight than I remember into Poirot; well done with the light touch I would expect from Branagh.  The all-star cast are fantastic particularly Depp in fine form as a villain.

I loved that the closing scene (spoiler alert) paves the way for the next instalment, as Poirot is called away to the Nile – I find myself looking forward to it tremendously!

**** Four stars for atmosphere alone!

Cecil says: I am less of a Christie and Branagh fan than Bea, but when we found the little local cinema in Yamba had this on, I was open t giving it a go, and did actually enjoy the experience. I, too, had read the book in my teens but had also forgotten the outcome (how do crime writers manage that?).

Funnily enough, the train setting reminded me less of Harry Potter (I’m also not a fan) than of Lar von Trier’s Europa, which this film really made me want to track down again.

I’m not sure this remake would have worked without the star cast, but if you’re Branagh, I guess you can pick up the phone and have anybody you want in your movie: hence Penelope Cruz, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Johnny Depp…the familiar faces just kept on coming and if this was a stage play, you could almost hear the spontaneous applause from the audience as yet another celebrity hit the screen. Couldn’t help wondering why Bill Nighy wasn’t in it, since he’s in everything else these days; maybe he and Branagh don’t get along??

Yes to this film for cinematographic quality, acting, and the epic nature of the setting. Well worth a view on a quiet weekend away.

***