#murderontheorientexpres

Sidney Lumet’s 1974 Murder On the Orient Express is one of those movies that ought to be more interesting than it turned out to be. Albert Finney plays Hercule Poirot, a character I grew up watching as played by David Suchet in the British Acorn-produced series. Finney plays Poirot as a nice but unintelligible gentleman who seems just as likely to be a pickpocket villain as he does a quirky detective-hero. His legendary primness is a slobbish, greasy primness, not the gentle and coiffed kind that Suchet so perfectly became. The only redeeming qualities of the film come in the form of the art direction and cinematography, although the interiors are shot as too saturated by half. A more natural quality, matching the beautiful exterior shots, would have elevated the film. It’s far too “glowy” in its attempt to become the 1920s.
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Sean Connery stands out in his modest role, but the rest of the stellar cast do not shine very much at all, despite a who’s who of 1940s-1970s stars. I cannot agree with Ebert that Finney is good here - he dooms the whole film with a flurry of strange gibberish, slipping in and out of an accent and leaving his fellow cast members in limbo. Poirot is the central pin of this story - he illumines the mystery by making sense of all the odd characters and putting them all in their proper place. Suchet’s accent may ultimately be only “fake French for film" but he stays inside it perfectly, and that adaptation of “Express” gives Poirot a moral center and even drives him to question it as he is caught between two senses of justice. Watch that one for great drama, then give this one a peek for the pretty scenery.
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The result of Lumet’s film is a long series of interviews that seem of no consequence - there is precious little humor (the 70s were awful for intentionsl humor), and little to none of the wit of Suchet.
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Branagh’s 2017 version has exactly the same issues as Lumet’s - except here, Branagh’s Poirot is a ripoff of Suchet’s performance. Some of the big name cast fit better than others. Johnny Depp, for one reason or another, is the standout in the film.

#agathachristie #herculepoirot #poirot #filmreview #movies #murderontheorientexpres (at Nashville, Tennessee)
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