A Hanuting in Venice

Released September 15, 2023

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

* No Spoilers *

A Haunting in Venice is Kenneth Branagh’s third adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie novel series. It’s a murder mystery with a sprinkling of horror, perfect for those who want thrills without actually getting scared.

This movie is beautifully shot. Filmed on location in Venice and capturing the stunning city in all its picturesque glory. The colour palette for the brief outdoor daytime scenes was full of cool cyan water and smokey orange sunset rooftops. On the other hand, most of this movie takes place in a dark creepy mansion with plenty of shadows and flickering candles. Every shot is so well composed with incredibly unique framing. Several use wide angle or fish eye lenses to show a full view of the rooms in the mansion, which are all beautifully decorated. They use strange perspectives where you wouldn’t normally place a camera, even regular dialogue scenes will have the camera slightly above the character in a semi-top down view, it’s a subtle way of making the audience feel uneasy.

Great filmmaking involves taking risks and the direction here is not at all playing it safe. Everything from framing, lighting and the placement of characters is so deliberate and intentional that it forces emotion onto the viewer effortlessly. The unique and in your face directorial decisions were refreshing. This is not a typical horror movie, nor is it scary, but it flirts with techniques typical of the genre.

As the third film in the series we follow a more seasoned Hercule Poirot. He is a legend who relies on what’s measurable and explainable rather than the supernatural and otherworldly. It’s an interesting way to challenge those two world views by using the contrast in genre. A murder mystery needs to be solved and explained and a horror movie wants to leave you in doubt about the unseen or supernatural. Without spoiling anything, the ending delivers a neat resolution for the crime but also invites you to accept that some things can’t be explained. The theme is consistent and manifests with all the characters, leading to each interaction exploring that theme.

Murder mysteries can be cliche and fall prey to common tropes but A Haunting in Venice plays with the audience’s expectations. Half the fun is following along as the plot thickens. You don’t go into an Agatha Christie story without wanting to see clues slowly revealed with new twists and turns and wrap it all up with the inspector finally putting everything together. That said this wasn’t the most unpredictable of stories. I felt pointed in the direction of the culprit a bit too early in the story. Ultimately, even if you could guess who did it relatively easily it’s still intriguing to learn how everything transpired and more importantly why.

Like the rest of the series, this is an ensemble cast and everyone delivers. Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Oppenheimer), returns as our protagonist, Hercule Poirot, and despite the over the top accent, I found myself forgetting he wasn’t actually an expert detective. As usual you can tell he is having a ton of fun with the character but this performance was a bit more subdued and subtle and my favourite from Branagh of the trilogy. Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) is captivating as always playing a mysterious medium whom everyone is skeptical of. It was a refreshing role that went against her normal type and I loved to see it. Tina Fey (30 Rock) is hilarious but a bit underused. With an ensemble cast it’s hard to give everyone their fair share of screen time and development, so what we got was not short on time but maybe weaker in terms of development. Fey’s performance is great and I liked the attitude she brought to her role as writer Ariadne Oliver. Jaime Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey) is surprisingly good, playing a tragic character with more genuine pain and drama than I thought he was capable of portraying. Definitely one of his better performances. Kelly Reilly (Pride and Prejudice) is mysterious and intriguing, and I am happy to see her being given more of a featured role. She has been in a lot of movies but rarely gets this much time to shine. Her work here is a testament to how under-utilized she has been in previous roles.

This series is known for packing it’s casts with big names, but unlike its predecessors the cast here has its share of stars but not the typical A-listers you’d expect. I appreciated it, and for me, it helped me see the characters rather than the actors portraying them. As fun as it is to see your favourite celebrity in a movie like this, I was more invested in the story because I was more immersed.

Speaking of immersion the music and sound design were fantastic. Somber and quiet tones with all the creaks and cracks of an old haunted house. Again this isn’t a horror movie but so much of the sound design used horror elements to surround you with the hollow, aged, and lonely halls of this mansion. It truly made the most of the theatres surround sound, and if you missed this in theatres definitely watch it with a proper sound system or a pair of headphones that can give you the surround effect.

I initially planned to skip this one in theatres but I’m so glad I didn’t. I had a great time with this and no doubt part of that was because of the theatre experience. Seeing the stunning visuals on the big screen and hearing the ambience of the Venetian mansion with all the speakers surrounding me was totally worth it.

7/10 - If you are a fan of murder mysteries or horror stories but don’t really want something that will keep you from sleeping at night, this was a wonderful balance of thrills and enjoyment. The direction and cinematography alone make it worth the watch. Very good and worth checking out.

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