A Haunting In Venice served, for us, as the perfect introduction to spooky season this fall. The backdrop of a dimly lit Venice in the midst of a severe coastal storm, cut off from the rest of the world, functioned perfectly for this hybrid amalgamation of suspense, mystery, murder, and a twist of paranormal horror. The third installation in this Agatha Christie murder mystery film series was not only surprisingly fun, but a huge upgrade over the previous entry, Death on the Nile.
Second only to the quick-witted Hercuile Poirot’s sculpted mustache, the star of A Haunting In Venice is its setting, a potentially haunted historical Italian palazzo in a post-war world, where our cast of quirky, suspicious, and secretive cast of characters are confined for the duration of the film. Confining the characters and viewers within the musty gilded walls of the ill-kept palazzo maintained a claustrophobic, eerie atmosphere throughout, as believers and skeptics alike confront the persistent evil lurking among them.
Actor-director Kenneth Branagh gives his all as the iconic Hercule Poirot, bringing his typical Shakespearean flair and high drama. A Haunting in Venice has Monsieur Detective Poirot attempting to solve yet another murder mystery while wrestling with his own preconceived notions and skepticism about the spiritual and paranormal. It’s delightful to see the typically composed and brilliant Poirot struggle with the inability to discern reality from illusion. We agreed that this was some of Branagh’s best directing work, and the cast – which includes Tina Fey as a cunning, resourceful writer and Yellowstone‘s Kelly Reilly as a grieving mother haunted by her past. Our only significant critique of the film would be the rushed grand reveal of the mystery once solved, accompanied, of course by the signature spelling out of each key players’ motives and covert actions, in keeping with detective murder mystery tradition. A twisty turny mystery like this one would not be complete without the big reveal, but the back quarter of the film felt rushed to us. In any case, the eerily sinister aesthetic and snappy wit of the lead character more than make up for any shortcomings; we rank this chapter of the series the best yet, and give it a 7.8 overall.
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