A One Mann’s Movies review of “A Haunting in Venice” (2023).
I’ve been on holiday for a few weeks, so have some catching up to do at the cinema. But I thought I’d start with “A Haunting in Venice”, out today and the latest Kenneth Branagh/Poirot mystery. I’d been looking forward to this one, since – unlike “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Death on the Nile” – I wasn’t familiar with the Agatha Christie source material (“Hallowe’en Party” from 1969) and had no idea what would happen and “whodunnit”. But I’m afraid I found it an insipid affair and lacking in either thrills or fun.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
It’s 1947 and Hercule Poirot has retired from solving cases and is trying to lead a quiet retirement in Venice, protected from nagging admirers by his trusty bodyguard Vitale (Riccardo Scamarcio). He is tempted by his novelist friend Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) to attend a seance by the mysterious Mrs Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh). Can the skeptic sleuth see how the psychic is fooling everyone?
Certification:
UK: 12; US: PG-13. (From the BBFC web site: “Moderate threat, violence, suicide references”.)
Talent:
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Riccardo Scamarcio, Kelly Reilly, Camille Cottin, Jude Hill, Emma Lloyd, Ali Khan.
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh.
Written by: Michael Green (Based on the book by “Hallowe’en Party” by Agatha Christie).
Twitter Handle: #AHauntingInVenice.
The “cleverest” and the “second cleverest” person in Venice. Tina Fey and Kenneth Branagh. (Source: 20th Century Fox)
“A Haunting in Venice” Review:
Positives:
- Let me start by praising the production team by not going for one of the well known Christie plots. (In fact, this book has never been adapted before.) I thought they might have gone with “Evil Under the Sun” (already done by Peter Ustinov’s Poirot)…. and I can well remember who ‘dun’ that one!
- The cinematography by Branagh-regular Haris Zambarloukos is suitably lush with nice use of fisheye lenses at points to give a slightly other-worldly perspective on things.
- It was nice to see the ‘father and son’ team of Jamie Dornan and young Jude Hill (from “Belfast“) reunited again.
- There’s some nice sound design here. (The trailer’s sound was also very impressive).
Negatives:
- Sigh…. I found it all a bit dull and pedestrian. It’s pretty much all based in a single location (a canal-side multi-storey house) and feels quite stagey and static. The inserts of Venice street scenes seem out of place, fail to build mood (unlike last week’s “Equalizer 3“) and feel almost like padding.
- Although I wasn’t absolutely sure whodunnit, I worked out what was going on with the plot and why well ahead of the conclusion. (It’s similar to an aspect of a famous horror/thriller, but that would be a spoiler!).
- None of the acting performances here grabbed me as anything special.
- The way in which (it turns out) a second death happens is utterly ludicrous – I snorted! It stretches credibility well past breaking point!
Summary Thoughts on “A Haunting in Venice”
As a gothic horror, this feels like a damp squib. It’s about as scary at the recent “Haunted Mansion” (i.e. not very scary at all). And as a murder mystery it also feels under-powered. I was only luke-warm about the previous two outings (3.5 stars for “Murder on the Orient Express” and 3 stars for “Death on the Nile“). But this one feels like the weakest of the three.
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Trailer for “A Haunting in Venice”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEddsSwweyE.
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