Picturehouse Blog

In 2017, Kenneth Branagh took Agatha Christie's 1934 novel Murder On The Orient Express and made it new, injecting an oft-told tale with a light touch, high style and international stars, while never softening Christie's twists and turns. 

It also saw Branagh the actor reinvent the central character with both a twinkle in his eye and melancholy in his soul (not to mention a monumental moustache) to create a Hercule Poirot, everyone's favourite Belgian detective, for the ages.

Now, with Death On The Nile, the 'tec with the 'tache is back. Death On The Nile, written in 1937, pitches Poirot's cool intellect into a world that is hot, both literally (Egypt) and figuratively (obsessive love! Jealousy! Sexual desire!), a heightened crucible even more dangerous than that luxurious express train.

On holiday in Egypt, Branagh's Poirot is pulled into a murder mystery — he really needs to rethink his work-life balance — on board the steamer SS Karnak as it snakes up the famous river. Against the beautiful backdrop of the Giza pyramids and desert vistas, the smartest sleuth in the world puts a bunch of privileged, ridiculously well-dressed travellers through their alibis — and we get a front-row seat to watch them squirm.

As with Orient Express, Branagh has rounded up a diverse, high-wattage cast to play the suspects. Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot is wealthy, stylish heiress Linnet Ridgeway; Call Me By Your Name's Armie Hammer is urbane Simon Doyle and Sex Education's Emma Mackey is Jacqueline De Bellefort, a down-on-her-luck aristocrat. This trio forms the three points of Death On The Nile's intriguing love triangle. 

Around this threesome is a clutch of colourful, brilliantly-named characters fleshed out by established stars and talented newcomers: Euphemia Bouc (Annette Bening), a respected painter and mother of Poirot's right-hand man (Tom Bateman); Andrew Katchadourian (Victoria & Abdul's Ali Fazal), Linnet's suave cousin and legal representative; Louise Bourget (Game Of Thrones' Rose Leslie), Linnet Ridgeway's devoted lady's maid; Salome Otterbourne (Hotel Rwanda's Sophie Okonedo), a sultry American jazz singer who is performing at an Egyptian wedding; and Rosalie (Black Panther's Letitia Wright), Salome's driven niece and manager whose ordered, organised life is tested by the unfolding drama. 

Branagh's canny, novel eye for interesting casting has also seen him cast some of the cream of British comedic talent, playing against type in a tense, nail-biting thriller. Russell Brand plays Linus Windlesham, an aristocratic, affable doctor once engaged to Linnet Ridgeway, and Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders portray a different kind of double act: the former is the nurse and constant companion to the latter's Marie Van Schuyler, Linnet's sparky godmother. Branagh leans on the pair's natural chemistry to create a memorable partnership. 

Add in eye-popping imagery (the film was shot in 65mm to capture immersive detail), exotic locales (it was shot in Morocco) and sumptuous film craft (costume designer Paco Delgado created around 150 outfits), and Death On The Nile represents the perfect escape from everyday reality. As Branagh puts it, "In these difficult times we've been living in, a trip down the Nile to jump into the ancient majestic splendour of Egypt is going to be something that people will enjoy." The SS Karnak sets sail this February. All aboard.   Ian Freer

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