The third installment of Kenneth Branagh’s series of Agatha Christie adaptations, A Haunting in Venice throws its audience a curveball while still maintaining the quality of the movies that came before it.
Based on Agatha Christie’s 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party, a lesser-known story of hers in comparison to the previously adapted Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, this movie follows Detective Hercule Poirot as he attends a seance that soon leads to a pressing murder-mystery.
Much like with the previous two installments, the audience is left guessing until the very end when Poirot masterfully reveals all of the answers. The way the small clues are planted throughout the movie makes it so that rewatching the film is even more enjoyable, the opposite often being true with detective stories.
Unlike the first two movies, A Haunting in Venice does not flesh out as many of the suspects, to the point that only a few characters matter to the audience. However, this does not detract from the film’s impact, spending more time on Poirot’s various internal struggles. Similar to the previous two films, this movie vaguely calls attention to the detective’s lost love, Katherine, while also expanding on how Poirot deals with his fame.
Even without its incredibly well-crafted story, the movie excels with beautiful visuals. From the opening shots of Venice to the unique camera angles and transitions that fill the film, it is clear that an immense amount of love and care was put into every detail of A Haunting in Venice.
Even smaller aspects of the movie are well thought out, adding to its quality. For example, the movie closes with the credits rolling to the beautiful song When The Lights Go On Again by Vera Lynn. Given the persisting war-time themes throughout the film and trilogy as a whole, the song is a perfect thematic choice, showing how much thought went into the film.
While one does not have to watch the previous two films to enjoy the film, some moments, such as Poirot’s consistent behavior regarding the coordinating size of his breakfast eggs, reward viewers of all three movies. That being said, his willingness to deal with mismatched eggs, in comparison to his frustrations with such in Murder on the Orient Express shows, in an indirect manner, how the character has grown throughout the movies.
Despite being the shortest of the three movies, A Haunting in Venice does not feel rushed or undeveloped. Part of this is due to the few somewhat spooky moments that keep the audience on the edge of their seats. However, as a whole the film is not particularly scary, allowing for a younger audience.
In the current age of cash-grab sequels littering movie theaters, it is wonderful to see so much thought and care put into this stunning murder mystery.
