- · An American man is stabbed to death in the middle on the night
- · The train, full of people from different cultural background, is trapped in the snowy mountain
- · Dame Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley and William Dafoe are among the suspects on board
- · Kenneth Branagh believes the killer still on the train and may strike again
 |
| Murder on the Orient Express is adapted from a novel of the same name by Agatha Christie |
On a cold night
inside the fully-booked Orient Express, the passengers are shocked to find
themselves in the middle on nowhere as they train is stopped by a snowdrift. The
next morning, more shocking news struck the passengers as one of their fellow
passengers was brutally murdered the night before and the killer is still on
the train. Luckily, also on board the train is Hercule Poirot, dubbed as the
greatest detective in the world, commissioned by his friend, the director of
the train company to solve the case before the killer strike again.
Murder on the
Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s greatest mystery novels. Ever since
its publication in 1934, the novel has been adapted into a movie in 1974 and
three made-for-television film in 2001, 2010 and a Japanese version in 2015.
Now, a new remake of the story is made starring Kenneth Branagh as Christie’s
famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.
The film is
directed by Branagh himself with all-star cast boarding the Orient Express
including Dame Judi Dench as Princess Dragomiroff, Michelle Pfeiffer as Mrs.
Hubbard and Johnny Depp as Samuel Ratchett.
New elements are
added into the movies such as having more people of color in the plot, notably
presented Dr. (Colonel, in the novel) Arbuthnot as an African-American,
portrayed by Hamilton star, Leslie Osdom Jr. as well as having some actions
scene involving Arbuthnot and Poirot. A murder attempt also added in the movie,
creating tension and suspicion between the passengers. Unlike the book where
Poirot interviewed each passenger in the dining room inside the train, the
movie has him interviewed the suspects in various places on the train such as
kitchen, baggage room, compartment as well as having a picnic-like
investigation outside the train, which make the movie less-claustrophobic than
the novel.
Branagh’s
portrayal as Hercule Poirot is different compare to the previous portrayals, still
eccentric as it in the novel but in a lesser degree than Albert Finney in 1974,
yet less-fierce than David Suchet’s Poirot in 2010, but still enjoyable to
watch. But all praises should be awarded to Michelle Pfeiffer. Her acting near
the ending of the movie is so moving that some viewers in the cinema couldn’t
hold back their tears.
However, other
casts in the movie only have a very small part, notably for Olivia Colman who
played the German maid, Hildergarde Schmidth and Marwan Kenzari who played the
conductor of the train. Their scene is too small that they only have few lines
in the movie and such makes their characters less-important in the
investigation compare to the novel.
As for the
ending, although it sticks to the novel’s, the filmmakers added an extra
element which similar to the 2010 version that would make viewers questioning
their own morality on the case as they leave the cinema. Nevertheless, although
it is not the best adaptation of the novel, it is enjoyable to watch.
by : Juhendy Setiawan
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