The Christie original, which I’ve not read.
From https://www.raptisrarebooks.com/product/halloween-party-remove-term-agatha-christie-first-edition-agatha-christie-first-edition/, Fair use, Link
Kenneth Branagh’s version of Hercule Poirot in A Haunting in Venice (2023) is a merely adequate introduction to the post-World War II Poirot, an elderly and dogged believer in the power of rationality in the face of machinations that appear to be supernatural in origin, with a sad undertone for all those that he’s known and lost. It casts a long and strong shadow over a character best known for a droll sense of humor and a charm most disarming.
This is reinforced by an odd comparison of Poirot to one of the suspects in this story, a shell-shocked doctor who is accused of bringing death and disaster wherever he goes, but this is one of the cracks in a story that might have been better rendered. After all, once one reaches a certain age, friends and family do tend to start leaving, whether from accident or illness, and it will add up. Why try to throw such a wet blanket over a detective who brings light, not dark, to the scenes of often terrible crimes?
And Poirot, an icon of rationality, would realize this fact and at least mitigate any depression he might be feeling. But it is difficult to deny that, having reached advanced age with no family and few friends, any such person may feel discouragement, particular if the mental faculties seem to be failing.
As my Arts Editor points out, we have nary a reference to the little gray cells of which Poirot is so fond of mentioning in most stories, but instead an audio occasionally just muddy enough to render his accent difficult to understand at times; I detest having to struggle to understand what a character might be expressing at key moments, when other portrayals of a character have been clear in their expressions.
Insofar as the plot goes, it could have been better. One plot machination is used to explain far too much of the occurrences we witness, for example. On the other hand, a twist near the end was surprising and satisfying, so not all was a loss. Still, the internal meditations on advancing age are a logical, yet unwelcome, distraction from what Poirot usually does best.
And that’s not solve mysteries, but reveal the nuances of the human condition.
