Mystery in Venice is the new adaptation of the novels by Christie Agatha, master of mystery par excellence. Her texts have filled hours and hours of film and television. In the last five years, Kenneth Branagh He has been in charge of bringing his stories to the big screen. The filmmaker also plays the illustrious detective Hercule Poirot. The new film, which premieres on September 15, is already the third installment in the franchise. To renew itself, this time it introduces a drastic twist to terror. With this he manages to save more than enough furniture, but it still does not achieve excellence.
After Murder on the Oreint Express and of Death on the Nile, Branagh has now dared with a somewhat less known story. On this occasion, the filmmaker adapts the novel The Apples, written by Christine in 1969. But unlike previous installments, where it stuck largely to the source material, with Death in Venice significant changes have been made. The most obvious, of course, is its new and attractive location.
In the movie, a Poirot Retired, he lives in the beautiful city of infinite canals during the post-war period. There he receives countless views from citizens eager to solve their cases, but he always ignores them. One day, a writer friend of his arrives to see him. She has once accompanied the detective on some of his investigations, writing books about them and making him famous. This time it is she who proposes a plan. On Halloween Eve, she invites him to go to a seance in a Venetian palace. In it, a young woman died some time ago under strange circumstances, and the medium who directs the event wants to contact her soul. However, everything will go wrong, forcing Poirot to act as a detective once again.
Mystery in Venice
Kenneth Branagh emerges unscathed in his third attempt as Hercule Poirot, but once again falls short of the mastery of Agatha Christie. In this adaptation, he gives an important and accurate turn to horror movies, but he can’t get away from the same conventions of his previous films. Its fast pace and unmatched environment make it entertaining, but without the spark and ingenuity that a project of this magnitude promised.
Mystery in Venice entertains without surprising
In the two previous films, Branagh had not only tried to stick to the texts of Christine, but had followed the basic cinematographic rules of whodunit. Someone has been murdered and the case must be solved. In general terms, Mystery in Venice It follows that same structure, although it perverts it slightly. The narrative is no longer so linear, but is dissected by layers, as if it were an onion (although with much less grace than the Glass Onion of Ryan Johnson). A seance is proposed that must be unmasked. That gives way to investigating an old death, but as Poirot As he investigates, more misfortunes come to light. There comes a point when the initial objective of the case is completely forgotten in favor of the new circumstances.
This structure, so traditional in the most sophisticated whodunits, would work very well, if it weren’t for the fact that everything is too rushed. The clues are not laid out calmly. Everything happens suddenly, there is no time to speculate on theories and tie up loose ends because something different is already happening on screen. And so, instead of leading the viewer by the hand until Poirot find the key, Mystery in Venice it drives us away. It puts before our eyes an entertaining and enjoyable story, without a doubt, but not very suggestive. The script is not as fine as it should be, as well as being strangely predictable for a franchise that, if it could stand out in one thing, was in generating a certain surprise with its outcomes. The new film is not boring, but it is difficult to leave an impression.
Venice, paradise of terror
What does feel good to Mystery in Venice it is his leap into terror. branagh He wanted to try his luck in genre cinema, and a very successful metamorphosis has turned out. It is not particularly innovative in any way. The games of light, shadows and lens distortions are common in this type of film. And the use of spirits, ghostly mythology and its confrontation with rational logic is already too hackneyed to not pose any distinctive touch. Everything is conventional. But it works, it’s always in the right tone, which is the important thing. branagh It will have had much better lucidity in the past, but at least the film stays afloat at all times. It is effective and causes the necessary anxiety to make your hair stand on end when it should.
There is no better place in the world to carry out such a feat than Venice, a city as overwhelmingly beautiful as it is horrifyingly unstable. The excessive and artificial CGI of the two previous films now gives way to a very elegant, fatal stylization. Pale white masks shine alone in the darkness of the night. Sharp gondolas slash the screen through the waters of the narrow canals. The violent rain soaks the walls of the old Renaissance palace. Venice has a unique ghostly aura. The shame is that 80% of the film takes place inside the mansion. But the Gothic atmosphere permeates everything in a more than notable way, making it Mystery in Venice earn a lot of points.
aim higher
In any case, the main problem of Mystery in Venice It’s still that it doesn’t aim as high as it should, like in the previous films. On an artistic level the budget is much better spent than before, but it is limping on the same feet. It has a luxury cast with performers of the caliber of Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey or own branagh. But no matter how eccentric their roles may be, they are all on autopilot. The sensation is once again more of a collection of stickers than of a cast chosen for glory.
At the address, branagh It doesn’t risk either. It does not print a distinctive seal. Despite being his project, the film lacks a painful personality. I insist, it is not that it is needed because it is solid enough to stimulate and engage. But with the ingredients there was something more could be done. Has he once again earned renewal for a fourth adventure of his Poirot? By all accounts, yes. But he is not competing in the league that he is supposed to.
Definitely, Mystery in Venice manages to meet the set objectives. She’s entertaining, light, and her refreshing turn to terror scares you. But she suffers from some conventions that are beginning to take their toll on a franchise that, three films later, still hasn’t taken off. Not bad, but there was potential for much more.