Death on the Nile (2022 | USA | 127 minutes | Kenneth Branagh)
A film whose release was delayed over both COVID-19 and rape allegations against star Armie Hammer, Death on the Nile should have spared us all by just staying dead.
In his second crack at an Agatha Christie mystery, Kenneth Branagh has made a competent enough adaptation from a direction standpoint. His love for the material is evident and it certainly isn’t for lack of trying that the film falls short. Even as it has become somewhat derided for how overpraised it is, the recent Belfast shows that Branagh can make the most of a passion project. However, despite his best efforts and valiant assistance from a few strong supporting actors, the doomed film is a pedestrian affair that’s sunk by many of the lead performances.
Branagh’s mustached detective Hercule Poirot has stumbled upon yet another case, this time during the extravagant honeymoon of Simon Doyle (Hammer) and Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot). It is believed by the couple that someone is out to get the wealthy Ridgeway. Prime among the suspects is Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey) who had previously been engaged to Doyle before he married Ridgeway. So the answer to this mystery must be straightforward, right? Wrong. It soon becomes clear that Jacqueline is not the only one with a motive as there is reason to be suspicious of every member of the honeymoon party. When death inevitably strikes on their trip down the Nile aboard a luxurious riverboat, Poirot will have to find the killer before they strike again.
As had been mentioned before, this isn’t Branagh’s first Agatha Christie adaptation. In 2017, his cinematic interpretation of Murder on the Orient Express came out to mixed reviews. While not perfect, that previous work now looks like high art compared to this most recent attempt. Some of this was due to the superior set of a stranded train where the snowbound claustrophobia created a palpable sense of tension. With Death on the Nile, Branagh has traded the confines of the train for the expansive decks of a boat. It is a painfully hollow setting that almost never looks like an actual place as it is abundantly clear that it is the creation of CGI. While shooting on location can be difficult and most modern movies use digital trickery, the effects here aren’t fooling anyone. Instead, it is a creative decision that takes you out of the film every time you get a glimpse of the boat’s surroundings. When considering how the film loses many of the layers of Christie’s novel, it is unfortunate that it also had to look so artificial.
Additionally, the 2017 film had a much more well-rounded cast portraying its characters. When you look back to see how that story had actors like Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Olivia Colman, Leslie Odom Jr., and Judi Dench all giving it their all, it makes the weaknesses of this cast all too clear. Even as there are iconic actors like Annette Bening, there also are charismatic black holes like Russell Brand who suck all the energy out of scenes. However, the worst offenders prove to be Gadot and Hammer. Gadot, even as her role quickly becomes minor, isn’t up to the task. It isn’t just the widely mocked “enough champagne to fill the Nile” line delivery, but her whole performance that is beyond bland.
Perhaps worse is Hammer who is never convincing when the film needs him to be. Every scene where he is expected to be charming and suave ends up feeling all wrong. This is despite, as culture writer Anne Helen Petersen broke down in 2017, the prolonged failed attempt to try to “make Armie Hammer happen.” While he has given some middling performances that were elevated by good direction, nothing here saves him from mediocrity. When the studio said they couldn’t replace him via reshoots following the allegations against him, it was a shame, both because of the message it sent and due to him just not being all that good of an actor. In this case, there was no faux dilemma about choosing between the art and the artist. The film would have been better without him and is yet another example in Hollywood where a character actor should have been chosen as opposed to a name with star power.
There are bright spots in the film with the brightest being the performance by Mackey. A relatively new actor who has been a standout in the show Sex Education, she makes the most of every single scene she gets. She brings a mixture of vulnerability and anger that is impossible to look away from. As she shakes in pure rage and fury you completely believe that she has been totally broken by the loss of her love. Without going into too many details, the more you learn about her character the more multifaceted and intriguing the performance becomes. A brief scene she shares on the deck with Branagh is one of the film’s best, bringing a surprisingly emotional weight as they open up to each other. It is a shame that the rest of the more than two-hour runtime is such a disaster.
You can watch Death on the Nile in theaters starting Feb. 11.