Kenneth Branagh is back to play the Belgian detective in “Mystery in Venice”, in theaters on September 13, 2023. We saw it, here is our review.
Since 2017, Kenneth Branagh has been striving to adapt the work of Agatha Christie for the big screen, with varying degrees of success. After “The Crime on the Orient-Express” and “Death on the Nile”, it is a lesser-known short story from the queen of crime that he is now transcribing on the big screen. “Mystery in Venice”, adapted from the novel “The Pumpkin Festival”, released in 1969, can be seen at the cinema from this Wednesday, September 13, 2023.
For the occasion, Kenneth Branagh once again plays detective Hercule Poirot. And if he still cannot make us forget the excellent interpretations of David Suchet or Peter Ustinov, the actor-director nevertheless succeeds in reinventing himself with “Mystery in Venice”. The filmmaker first takes the decision to play a more interior Poirot, giving him an aura that he did not have in the previous films. Above all, it plays the horror card to the fullest, using a distressing atmosphere and jump scares galore, to immerse the viewer in a disturbing City of the Doges. Movie buffs will recognize here the style of the director of “Dead Again” and “Frankenstein.” The result is quite clever and relatively successful, giving his third investigative film an identity that the previous ones did not have.
On the casting side, if several big names sit at the table of suspects and victims (Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, Camille Cottin…), none really stands out. ‘being a totally successful thriller, since several twists and turns (and in particular its resolution) remain easily predictable as long as you are used to the genre, “Mystery in Venice” remains pleasant entertainment. No more no less.