Director and actor Kenneth Branagh and writer Michael Green are back with another Agatha Christie adaptation, Death on the Nile. Branagh brings back his character, Hercule Poirot, renowned Belgian private investigator extraordinaire. Poirot unexpectedly runs into his old friend Bouc, played once again by Tom Bateman, in Egypt. Bouc is there with his mother, Euphemia (Annette Benning), celebrating the wedding of Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) and Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot). The couple, along with friends, are taking another attempt at a honeymoon getaway surrounded by loved ones. The joyous feeling is promptly snuffed out by the arrival of the groom's scorned lover, former fiancée, Jacqueline "Jackie" de Bellefort (Emma Mackey). Distraught Linnet charters a river steamer for the wedding party to be able to enjoy all that Egypt has to offer, while being able to do so free of her former friend, Jackie's, stalking. It is there on the Nile where everything joyous about the occasion ceases to exist. Poirot is forced to solve the mystery of who on the exclusive river steamer is a murderer. The movie differs slightly from Christie's novel. Hercule Poirot is featured in 33 novels, Death on the Nile, being on the back end of that long running series. The movie starts out differently, giving a slight background on Poirot during his time serving in WWI. The part I love most is that these scenes were made black and white. It helps bring the audience back in time, as well as let's you know this has bearing on the story to come, but isn't directly related to the plot. The costumes, set design and music all work together to bring the audience into the late 1930s glitz and glam that you would expect of an heiress. The colors themselves tell their own stories, Linnet in her light colored dresses, and Jackie in her blood red ones drastically set the two main female characters apart. This story takes many twists and turns. Can you solve the mystery before Poirot?
Death on the Nile is exclusively in theaters now. Don't forget to watch Murder on the Orient Express first!
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