Film Review: DEATH ON THE NILE (2022): A Twisty Agatha Christie Mystery From Director/Star Kenneth Branagh

Death on the Nile Review

Death on the Nile (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Tom Bateman, Emma Mackey, Russell Brand, Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Michael Rouse, Orlando Seale, James Schofield, George Jaques, Jonah Rzeskiewicz, Eleanor de Rohan, Susannah Fielding, Adam Garcia and Rick Warden.

Filmmaker Kenneth Branagh is keeping the fact that he’s currently up for a Best Director Oscar for Belfast fresh in people’s minds by starring in the new thriller, Death on the Nile which he also directed. Branagh is reprising his role as the genius detective Hercule Poirot. He’s played the role before in 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express. Now, with Death on the Nile, the action moves from a train to a boat full of people who could be guilty of murder. This new picture is your typical Agatha Christie yarn as it is, of course, based on her book. While I kept hoping for plot twists that I was writing myself while watching the film, I still enjoyed the twists and turns the movie unveiled even though it under uses and misuses some of its principal players but to avoid spoilers, I won’t say how.

Armie Hammer stars in the film as a man who leaves one woman (Emma Mackey) for another (Gal Gadot). But, wait. I’m getting ahead of myself. This picture starts with Belgian Poirot in war and in love. These early scenes give a backstory as to why he wears the signature mustache that he sports in the picture. It so happened that he tried to save the life of his superior but failed and Poirot was injured around his mouth and cheek as a result. In order to remain attractive to the love of his life, Poirot grew the mustache. Flash forward to London some time later as we now meet Hammer’s character Simon Doyle. Simon is involved with Jacqueline (Emma Mackey who resembles Keira Knightley just a tad) but becomes enamored with a rich woman named Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot). Aboard a boat going down the Nile called the S.S. Karnak, is where the action moves once Simon leaves Jacqueline and marries Linnet. By the way, Jacqueline and Linnet also just happened to be good friends before Linnet got together with Simon and Jacqueline is not giving up on her man as she begins to follow him wherever he goes with Linnet.

Branagh is working with a fine cast aboard the S.S. Karnak that includes characters such as Linnet’s lawyer Andrew (Ali Fazal), Linnet’s ex-fiancee Linus (Russell Brand, cast against type), Poirot’s friend, Bouc (Tom Bateman) and his artist mother Euphemia (the great Annette Bening). Other well chosen cast members include Sophie Okonedo and Letitia Wright as a jazz singer and her niece.

A snake tries to attack Linnet in one scene and a rock nearly falls on her so to say she’s the most targeted character in the movie is an understatement although the snake probably wasn’t as concerned with her money as other characters in the film are. As Linnet, Gadot projects strength and vulnerability regarding her marriage with Simon and wants Jacqueline to go away so they can live their lives in peace. When dead bodies start popping up, it becomes clear that people aboard the S.S. Karnak all have motives to kill some of these people but only Poirot will be able to piece all the mysteries together and find out what all these folks on board have to gain by another’s death. It’s all well done fun. Well, despite the fact that people die along the way anyway. I mean it’s an Agatha Christie story so how the deaths affect audience members are likely to be on the lower end of sadness for most viewers.

Branagh is fantastic as Poirot. Gal Gadot is radiant and effective in her role while Armie Hammer is rather appropriately…well let’s just say his character is played appropriately and leave it at that. Annette Bening, though, has some true stand out scenes throughout the movie as her red paint for a picture is stolen by another character who uses it to stage…wait, I’m giving away spoilers here. I better stop. Bening nevertheless has a solid series of scenes here and it’s great to see her working again. Okonedo and Wright are also excellent but Mackey surprisingly emerges as the most valuable player here since her character is a lover scorned who seems to be misunderstood…or is she? See the movie for the answer. Mackey adds a considerable amount of depth and intrigue to one of the film’s best characters.

Death on the Nile is filled with character development. Some of it bogs down the suspense but it is necessary to sustain viewer interest in the story line. I liked the cast and thought the action scenes aboard the S.S. Karnak were suspenseful and watching Branagh as Poirot is always a blast as he pretty much accuses almost everyone in the group of people on the boat of murder at one point or another in the movie.

Audiences may complain some characters don’t last long enough in the film and some of the key plot points are rather obvious but that’s also the fun part of Death on the Nile. The back-and-forth between the characters is exciting and the movie’s ending leaves the door wide open for more adventures with Poirot at the center.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist or a master sleuth to figure out where this movie is ultimately headed. In fact, the more you think about it, the more wrong you will probably be but Death on the Nile is an assured thriller and a sure-fire crowd pleaser from director Branagh who is enjoyable to watch the whole way through even if you’ve guessed whodunit about 25 minutes into the movie. It’s seeing if you’re right or wrong that makes the film the fun roller coaster ride that it is. This isn’t going to win any major Oscars like Belfast may but it’s worth the ride.

Rating: 7/10

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