- Starring
- Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly
- Director
- Kenneth Branagh
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genre
- Crime, Drama, Horror
- Release date
- September 15, 2023
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
Agatha Christie introduced the world to detective extraordinaire Hercule Poirot in her 1920 mystery novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Since that time, Poirot has been featured in 33 novels, 2 plays, 51 short stories, and 16 films, including A Haunting In Venice.
A Haunting In Venice
Based on Agatha Christie’s 1969 novel The Hallowe’en Party, A Haunting In Venice is a tale of danger and intrigue. Forsaking his self-imposed retirement, a disillusioned Hercule Poirot has been convinced to attend a seance at the home of a once great opera singer whose daughter’s life recently and tragically came to an end by her own hands. The home, once an orphanage in which its charges were brutally murdered, is said to be haunted, and Poirot has been enlisted by a friend to discredit the storied medium who promises to give closure to a grieving mother.
There was a time before blue sky beams and digital muscles when talented storytellers weaved engrossing tales around rich performances, thoughtfully crafted dialogue, and subtle cinematography. Full of nuanced and artisanal performances and classic cinematic craftsmanship, with A Haunting in Venice, Kenneth Branagh has constructed a delicious reminder that cinema isn’t dead.
Like the cold hand of death solicitously caressing the back of your neck, A Haunting In Venice will cover you in goosebumps and have you jumping out of your seat in delightful fright. Whether intentional or not, Branagh’s film views as a love letter to Hitchcock and Welles. His slow-burning tension and subtly skewed framing are a subliminal slow boil that raises the cinematic temperature.
From its rich and detailed sets to its poignant performances, A Haunting In Venice is a testament to artistic craftsmanship. As such, the sound department is the secret star of the film. Its engineers and foley artists use all of the tricks of yesteryear with modern digital fidelity perfectly paired with Branagh’s oblique filming style to create a sensory experience that will leave you gasping.
In a film filled with outstanding performances, Jamie Dornan, who has struggled to make his mark since his turn as Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, shines brightest, giving a powerhouse performance as Dr. Leslie Ferrier, a WWII warrior crippled with PTSD. His tortured portrayal of a single father broken and guiltridden by his perceived weakness and inability to care for his young son is as pitch-perfect as it is enthralling.
While each of the main cast gives as good as they get, one must-needs stands out as the weakest. By virtue of standing amongst giants, Tina Fey, who plays Ariadne Oliver, is less capable of being invested in her role than those around her. A talented comedic performer, Fey simply doesn’t have the chops to stand toe to toe with virtuosos like Branagh and emotional wells like Kelly Reilly. While her character’s purpose is to offer an occasional comedic quip to help break the tension (something one would think she could easily handle), more often than not, Branagh delivers the laughs from her intended setups. Ultimately, Fey often ends up looking uncomfortable when paired off against her dramatic betters.
All of that aside, as wonderful as the film is, it is nearly derailed at its penultimate conclusion. As the brilliant and dignified Hercule reveals the secrets of the mystery that has unfolded, the film fails to build to its intended crescendo. Instead, his revelations seem almost as unearned spoilers. However, the film is not quite done with its secrets, and both it and the audience are quickly placed back on track.
Deceptively briskly paced and filled with delightful twists, A Haunting In Venice is a summer’s end gem we are thrilled to recommend as Worth it.
WOKE ELEMENTS
- In a single eye-rolling instance of what was probably an adlib, Tina Fey’s character feels the need to say, “You broke it off and broke her heart because a woman made you feel small.” It didn’t fit the rest of the film’s dialogue and was jarringly out of place.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
34 comments
James Savile
September 13, 2023 at 2:06 pm
A Chinese female would not be accepted in normal civil society in 1920s, this is WOKE
James Carrick
September 13, 2023 at 2:08 pm
She’s not. She’s accepted on the fringe as a mystic. Also, the movie is set in the mid-40s.
Alana
November 4, 2023 at 9:59 pm
LMAO, um, Italian witchcraft, mysticism, and tarot are ancient. Keep telling yourself that Italians would be taking some Chinese invader’s alien BS over their own culture, wisdom, and history.
Deam
September 13, 2023 at 5:46 pm
A single none white person shouldn’t be your sole criteria for wokeness. You will miss out on some great cinema with this mindset.
James Savile
September 14, 2023 at 6:57 am
It does effect my enjoyment when every single movie now, including history movies about when there are only whites in Europe, has to have forced minorities gays and females in EVERYTHING. We used to have movies with only white casts, and it was fine. What changed? The big Studios got overtaken by the cultural marxists, and now every movie forces this nonsense on us. I just want to enjoy a history movie in peace without having to think about modern minority politics.
James Carrick
September 14, 2023 at 7:19 am
I understand but the Asian mystic has been a mystery novel trope forever and the Chinese started immigrating to Italy in the 1920s. So, it’s really not unrealistic for a Chinese mystic to be in Venice in the 1940s, especially since Venice was left virtually untouched by WWII.
chewchew
October 16, 2023 at 9:39 am
It’s justified in this case since she was brought specifically for “Eastern magic” shenanigans.
Danny Robshaw
September 13, 2023 at 4:42 pm
Thanks for the great review without giving anything away
Steeley eyed dan
September 13, 2023 at 5:27 pm
Thanks for the review, think ill watch this in UK cinemas when its out
Hm
September 15, 2023 at 9:59 am
Is it scary? I have some teens that would like to see it and wonder if it’s too intense or horrific in any way? Or is it more thriller-y?
James Carrick
September 15, 2023 at 10:34 am
It is scary but in the way that older movies were. No gross-out stuff. Just a lot of jumps.
Rick K.
September 15, 2023 at 6:00 pm
Just home from seeing this movie in IMAX and your review is spot on. Not going to talk story but let me mention that the Dolby/IMAX 6 track audio was spectacular at moving sounds and voices around the theater. There has to be some crossover tech with DTS:X as the X concept is to treat a sound (or voice) as an object to be moved around in space. I’m hoping my 5.1.2 home setup might try to emulate this effect as well, setting my receiver to DTS:X. Probably not but I’m buying the 4k pressing, hoping for the best.
About the use of a Chinese character: I just remember my (native) German teacher in high school in the late 60’s talking about returning home to Germany after WWII and thinking how odd looking it was to see an Asian woman working behind the counter at a department store and speaking the language like a native. Strange things happen in real life.
Kim Il Sung
November 2, 2023 at 8:25 pm
I think it’s strange that someone would hold onto their random language teacher having served for the Nazis. But you do you Grandpa. I’ll recall on my history teacher who served that got to see the reich burn.
Alana
November 4, 2023 at 9:49 pm
Is this a joke? The fact you failed to mention how many black and asian extras alone were in this film, waltzing aroung Europe like they’re just “like everyone else” says what kind of garbage assessment you give. Not woke my ASS. This was as always, more rewriting of history to put non-Whites into WHITE culture. F this movie.
James Carrick
November 4, 2023 at 10:42 pm
We leave the comments open for constructive criticism and for those who catch what we miss. Thanks for the kind words.
Kim Il Sung
November 2, 2023 at 8:27 pm
My comment is awaiting censorship. I’m sure this plays out in the favor of free speeches that some care for.
James Carrick
November 2, 2023 at 8:46 pm
Relax. I was at work.
Rick K.
November 4, 2023 at 2:42 pm
“some”?
Jay
September 27, 2023 at 5:43 pm
If Tina Fey is in it, you KNOW it’s going to be woke
James Carrick
September 27, 2023 at 6:04 pm
One would definitely have cause to think so but with the one exception that I listed, I didn’t see anything else.
Jay
October 18, 2023 at 10:55 am
I did go see it and you are correct in your review, but I still found Tina annoying
Eric W.
October 2, 2023 at 9:10 pm
Saw this over the weekend. Fantastic! My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t have to wince once at any problematic scenes or situations. Highly recommended!
LadyG
October 21, 2023 at 11:21 pm
I can’t wait to delve into Branaugh’s Poroit universe. I missed out on this. Shame on me since I am a fan of Agatha Christie’s works. I love your review, and I’m happy there are no spoilers. I have a question – Do you think we need to watch the previous Branaugh films to understand this one?
Rick K.
October 22, 2023 at 8:58 am
I’m not sure it’s absolutely necessary but I would, maybe, try to watch Murder On The Orient Express before Death On The Nile. Maybe someone here can help me.
GrottanS
October 24, 2023 at 1:54 am
Making Hercule Poitrot a reddit-tier atheist was an extremely woke retcon of the character. Also includes the woke need to add profanity into things for no good reason.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised and thought it was an enjoyable movie, especially in theaters. The locations were beautiful and the story was exciting.
James Carrick
October 24, 2023 at 9:33 am
I’ll admit that this was my first exposure to the character. I knew of him but little more than that. So, I had no idea that he wasn’t originally an atheist.
But, good info like this is why we keep the comment section open.
Tommy Twocent
October 24, 2023 at 2:28 pm
Can’t forget about the refugee couple when the movie implies they illegally immigrate to the US at the very end. Nothing wrong with that in itself but the it was clearly shoehorned in and served no purpose other than the typical Hollywood self-gratification.
Trevor McPherson
November 2, 2023 at 3:34 pm
I never knew 1940s Venice was so multicultural. All the races of the world covered in one of the earlier scenes.
dogsh*t Exposer
November 3, 2023 at 10:49 am
Woke dogsh*t… Why are there so many non europeans in Venice in 1940?
thor
November 4, 2023 at 4:50 pm
Woke as ###### and pretentious. Biracial illegal immigrants one indian one blonde , “strong women”, “wise” children smarter than their parents.
Jose Arturo
December 4, 2023 at 2:26 pm
Murder on the Orient Express was an alright start to the Poirot Kennet Brannagh movies, Death on the Nile was beautiful when it comes to scenery but godawful at plot level since they added some woke stuff that wasn’t on the original story, they event killed one of the most likable characters for a stupid reason. That’s why I came to this movie with mixed expectations, and I like to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I came to watch this film with my family, characters weren’t annoying which is what I thought about almost everyone in Death on the Nile and they decided to make this one smaller but way more impactful than Death on the Nile and at least for me as I didn’t recognize anyone, they decided to abandon the gimmick of having famous actors as most of the cast, it worked for Orient Express but was awful for Nile. About the atheist Poirot bit, it may be odd at the beginning but I think he was redeemed because of what happens in the final act.
Conflux
February 19, 2024 at 2:32 pm
Was a good movie, and I enjoyed it allot. But I also agree it is woke.
Brian DeFrancesco
April 18, 2024 at 9:39 pm
Re: the revisionist approach Brannagh brings to Agatha Christie stories…
https://www.christiantoday.com/article/in.todays.post.christian.britain.poirot.has.lost.his.faith/141617.htm