A Haunting in Venice (2023)

I'll start by saying I very much enjoy Branagh's Poirot films. While I felt Death on the Nile was a bit of a step down from Murder on the Orient Express, I can now say that A Haunting in Venice as breathed new life into this series, by focusing on death... and loss and grief. Once again using Christie's stories to examine different emotions and themes, this spooky example has all the positives of the series (except I miss Bouc!) such as the star studded cast and tantalizing mystery while taking a very different tone and direction than either of the previous films. Also I liked how Branagh continues to develop his famous character from film to film and not just have him appear the same in each one. Each story has taken him on personal journeys as well as literal ones. 

Branagh has always been a very visual director and here he embraces both the beauties of the titular city as well as leaning into old world haunting imagery. While the story isn't full on horror, it has just the right amount of spookiness and it will make you jump a few times. It is set on Halloween and is a good fit into what is becoming a genre of it's own (spooky season films) but that's not what this is in spirit. A Haunting in Venice is about grief and the need to deal with it, live with it, and find a way to live. 

And that is the best mystery in the story. Yes the mystery itself is fun, although not very similar to the one in the source material (this film probably veers the most from the book it is based on in the series) but it does feel like a vehicle to play with ideas of mourning. As I said this ties into Poirot's arc through the movies as we find the famed detective retired and shutting himself off from the world. This helps him get out of that a bit. Branagh is a good enough actor to give weight to this but his cast is also delightful throughout with Yeoh embracing her medium character and Fey taking on the smart ass side kick role (I still miss Bouc!). 

For me this is another strong entry into this series which I could keep watching as long as they want to keep making them. 

A Haunting in Venice

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Camille Cottin, Jude Hill, Kelly Reilly, Ricardo Scamarcio, Emma Laird, Kyle Allen, Ali Khan

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Writer: Michael Green