Death on the Nile

The novel

Death on the Nile is the fifteenth novel by Agatha Christie dedicated to the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

Gone to Egypt for a well-deserved holiday, Poirot finds himself dealing with the love triangle created by the beautiful heiress Linnet Ridgeway, her husband Simon Doyle and her best friend Jacqueline de Bellefort. After the discovery of a body, the famous detective is forced to go back to work and investigate all the passengers of the Karnak, the famous Nile cruise ship.

Both for the exotic but in its own way circumspect setting, and for the large number of characters that make the choral novel, it seems that Christie wanted to recreate the success of Murder on the Orient Express, unfortunately without succeeding.

The plot at times appears confusing, the narration boring, and the discovery of the culprit almost obvious. The characters are far too bizarre, and probably the only element saving the novel from the complete disaster is Poirot.

So far, this is one of the worst Hercule Poirot novels I have read.

Sir David Suchet’s version

As for me Sir David Suchet was the best Poirot performer, when I read an Agatha Christie novel I like then to watch the associated episode to find out how it has been transposed.
The third mini-film of the ninth season is in fact called Death on the Nile and is dedicated to this story.

Few are the changes made to the plot of the novel and made, in my opinion, to make the vision more linear and easier for the viewers.

What struck me most, however, was the importance given to the theme of love.
While in Murder on the Orient Express, Poirot has a religious identity crisis, here a more personal crisis is masterfully portrayed. Reasoning on the deep passion and love that binds the two killers and pushes them to make understandable but extreme actions just to be together, the investigator realizes how empty his life is in that sense, since there is no love in his.
His regret is real, and every spectator in the same conditions can recognize himself in him.

To remember the performances of Emily Blunt and JJ Feild in the role of the main characters.

The movie

“He accuses everyone of murder”
“Yes, it’s a problem, I admit it”

Directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, Death on the Nile is a 2022 film that re-proposes the events of the novel by Agatha Christie.
Strongly desired by James Prichard, great-grandson of the writer, the film modifies the story and the characters of the novel, giving space to minorities and creating an innovative background for the Belgian investigator.

Kenneth Branagh‘s Poirot is by no means a plump obsessive-compulsive man, is presented in a wholly modern light, and is a likeable and compelling character.
As already in Murder on the Orient Express I was disoriented by the presence of a daguerreotype of an imaginary woman loved by the detective, Katherine, also in this sequel I was even amazed by the presence of an entire background dedicated to the character. There are, in fact, flashbacks that portray him in the trenches and with his beloved, who suggests that he grow a moustache to cover the scars caused by the explosion of a mine.
Aside from the fact that no hair grows on the scar tissue, Poirot’s moustache is thus associated with love and not with the character’s characteristic OCD.

In general the actors were much less convincing than those of Murder on the Orient Express, in fact this time we don’t have a list of super famous good performers, but of only performers.
Even the person who saw this film with me and who declared himself pleasantly surprised by the presence of Gal Gadot and her silver dress in the first scene, admitted that her acting wasn’t the best.

The same can be said of her male counterpart, Armie Hammer who, not having great acting skills and a scandal on his shoulders, I would not have expected to see in a Disney film.
In this regard, it is imperative to think about the mechanisms of the culture of cancellation, and it would be appropriate to ask Disney why Johnny Depp who had only been accused, and not convicted, of domestic violence was fired, but Armie Hammer, who, is involved in a sexual assault scandal involving non-consensual BDSM practices and cannibalism allegations supported by millions of screenshots, could have appeared in a Disney-branded film.
The move not to include him in the sponsorship of the film was clever, but viewers are not stupid, and many felt betrayed.

As with Poirot, many other characters have been altered, probably both to make the plot less confusing and to represent all minorities. Salome Otterbourne becomes thus a famous blues singer and Poirot’s new love interest.

The character of Bouc, head of the carriages of the Orient Express, is reproposed in this film to replace and mix the figures of Colonel Race and Tim Allerton. The ending that is reserved for the young man is different from that of the novel, and makes us understand how Kenneth Branagh wants to focus more on the sentimental part of Poirot than on the intrigue and the search for the murderer, thus creating a deeper and more sentimental bond with the viewer.

Peculiar is the inclusion of the same-sex love story between Marie Van Schuyle and her nurse.

A special mention goes to the locations and special effects, that made the film enjoyable overall.

Related posts:

• MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
• MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS – THE MOVIE