Review of Murder on the Orient Express (2017) by Scealavery — 26 Nov 2017

Murder on the orient express tells a story not like any other. It provides a neat and thought provoking twist to the whole Murder Mystery ordeal but now that it's appearing on a modern day cinema screen it's given the opportunity to flourish and glow.

The first few minute's of the film set up the next hour and a half nicely, we are given an effective introduction to the greatest detective alive (probably) Hercule Poirot played by the charismatic but heavily accented Kenneth Branagh. Through clever scene's we are given insight into Poirot's psychology, attention to detail and personal views on the foundation of his work which succumb to a ruckus later on. All of this is set up nicely with Poirot solving a simple case in Jerusalem where amidst the suspects of a jewel theft the involved Officer is accused and revealed guilty. This introduce's the sense that thing's are not always what they seem in the movie and that no stone is left unturned. After Poirot decides to have a holiday he boards the Orient Express with his useless friend M.Bouc who is played by the witty and attentive Tom Batemen. What follow's is an excellent tracking shot of the Poirot making his way up the train. This is where the Imagery really shine's as well as the Camera work that works appropriately when showing you the wide open space's of mountain rages to the claustrophobic yet comfortable Express train. The Camera is truly one of the best performers of the Movie, most of the time. Murder on the orient express feature's a range of character's from different class's, races and societies with each one being given a brief introduction that reflects both their personalities and influence over the mystery. For example take princess Dragomiroff, played by Judi Dench. Her frustrated attitude towards her maid and the conductor indicate her impatience and believed authority she has over people. This is also seen in her actions as she refuses to enter her recommended cabin and instead moves along the carriage to find one she likes.

The casting in this Movie is also fantastic. Johnny Depp gives his character a devious, mysterious and crafty edge while Josh Gad plays his character with a degree of realism and a natural flow to the different emotions felt by the character. We all know that a murder take's place on the train but how its handled in the story is where the Movie produces problems. During the inspection of the Victim's cabin the director made the odd decision to point the camera down at the actors from above which hides their faces. This is the first initial shock of the movie and the actors should act appropriately but because of this technique we cant see such an expressively draining performance. There are also elements of the story that are not included in the book, some of them add a little more to the character's and the relationship they have with one another but some or pointless to say the least and appropriately go nowhere. As someone who has read the book I can say that this is by any merit a faithful adaptation as it provides the same themes, viewpoint and message of the book while using the same methods and crafty storytelling. Of course this movie has issues but no movie is flawless, and appropriate to the story nobody is flawless.