Murder on the Orient Express is a 2017 mystery directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the film as the main character, Hercule Poirot. It also stars Dame Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, and various other big-name actors. Of course, the film is based on the Agatha Christie novel of the same name. The story is that the Orient Express is hit by an avalanche and derailed. During the derailing, Jonny Depp's character is murdered, and it's up to Poirot to use his brilliant detective skills to figure out who decided to murder him, and why.
This is the first adaptation I've seen of an Agatha Christie novel (aside from casually watching a couple of scenes from Poirot on TV), and I wasn't really sure what to expect. Of course, this version has a great cast, and Agatha Christie was a very competent writer, so I let myself feel a little optimism as I was going into the screening. This time, the screenplay was written by Michael Green.
But before getting into that, let me talk about the costume and set design. One of the appeals of Agatha Christie's story is that the audience get to see how the other half live. Because of that, the way things look and the way people dress are very important. Usually, that kind of thing doesn't do much for me either way, but I understand it's an appeal for Agatha Christie fans in the same way that gadgets and cars are an appeal for James Bond fans. On that front, the film does very well. It's never in your face, but you do get the sense that these are very rich people, and the train itself looks very opulent. Poirot's moustache in this did look slightly fake, but it never really distracted me.
The script in this film is very good too. It's funny and lighthearted when it needs to be and serious when it needs to be. The lines are always very punchy, and there's never a moment in which the film seems ludicrous or hammy, and it works very well. Across the board, the acting in this film is fantastic. In particular, Kenneth Branagh (of course), Willem Dafoe and Lucy Poynton are all brilliant in their respective roles. Everyone else is good too, but those are the three who stood out to me.
So, this adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel really does justice to the story. It's clear that Kenneth Branagh has a lot of passion for the story, and it's also evident that everyone in the film is having a lot of fun with the material. I don't think this is a future classic, but I think fans of the original novel (or any of the other adaptations) will absolutely love this one.
Score: B+
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