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Murder on the Orient Express (2017 film)

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Murder on the Orient Express
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKenneth Branagh
Screenplay byMichael Green
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyHaris Zambarloukos
Edited byMick Audsley
Music byPatrick Doyle
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • November 2, 2017 (2017-11-02) (Royal Albert Hall)
  • November 10, 2017 (2017-11-10) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$55 million[3]
Box office$8.9 million[3]

Murder on the Orient Express is a 2017 American mystery drama film directed by Kenneth Branagh with a screenplay by Michael Green, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. The film stars Branagh as Hercule Poirot, with Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer and Daisy Ridley in supporting roles. The film is the fourth adaptation of Christie's novel, following a 1974 film, a 2001 TV film and a 2010 episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot.[6]

Principal photography began in November 2016 in the United Kingdom. It is one of the few in recent decades to use 65mm film cameras. The film had its world premiere on November 2, 2017 at Royal Albert Hall in London, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 10, 2017, by 20th Century Fox.[7]

Plot

The movie begins in Jerusalem at the Wailing Wall in the 1930s. Famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) attempts to work out who was behind the theft of a religious relic from a room where a priest, a rabbi and an imam were conducting a meeting under the supervision of the Chief of Police. Poirot (who is shown to be fussy, bordering on OCD about everything in his life being balanced, as displayed when he sends back two eggs he'd planned to eat because they were different sizes), works out from a single crack left on the wall that the culprit was actually the Chief of Police (As the religious figures, leading modest lives, had no reason to steal the relic and wore soft shoes unlike the chief) who tries to make a run for it but fails. With the culprit caught and the relic recovered, Poirot looks forward to his upcoming holiday and taking a break from detective work.

Poirot catches a boat from Istanbul, where he makes the acquaintance of a Governess Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley) while also aboard is a young black doctor named Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom Jr.). When he gets there, he encounters his friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) who is now the director of the famous Orient Express, however, just after the two get reacquainted a telegram arrives for Poirot from London; a case demands his immediate attention. Poirot is unhappy that his long-awaited break is being interrupted, but Bouc offers to take him to France on the Orient Express. The trip will be three days long, and Poirot settles for at least having that long to relax.

Reaching the train, Bouc is surprised to learn that all the compartments have been booked (an uncommon occurrence) however one of the passengers has failed to show on time, so his ticket is forfeit. Also aboard are a myriad of other characters; as well as Debenham and Arbuthnot there is an unpleasant American by the name of Samuel Ratchell (Johnny Depp), his valet Edward Masterman (Derek Jacobi) and secretary Hector MacQueen (Josh Gad), the Austrian Professor Gerhard Hardman (Willem Defoe), American socialite Mrs. Hubbard (Michelle Pfeiffer), Italian car salesman Beniamino Marquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), the elderly Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench) and her assistant Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman), unhappy missionary Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz) and finally the Count and Countess Andrenyi (respectively played by Sergei Polunin and Lucy Boynton).

The first night and day pass without incident, although Poirot is put out at having to share his room with MacQueen. The next evening, Ratchett approaches Poirot and requests that he serve as his bodyguard for the duration of the trip as he has been receiving threatening letters and assumes they're from his former clients to whom he sold forged paintings. Poirot, who took an immediate dislike to Ratchett, refuses on the basis he seeks out criminals and won't help them. Ratchett offers increasing amounts of money and even indirectly threatens Poirot with a gun, but Poirot won't be bought or intimidated and leaves in disgust.

That night, Poirot (who now has the room to himself due to MacQueen getting bumped into another) looks forward to a good night's sleep but finds it in short supply; first there is a noise seeming to come from the compartment next to his (Ratchett's), but when the Conductor who goes by the name of Pierre Michel enquires as to it a voice responds that everything is fine. Poirot is also woken up by a bell and a knock, and during the disturbances, he spots a figure in a red kimono running down the hallway. Meanwhile, there is an avalanche which stops the train in its tracks, leaving everyone stranded on the line. Poirot is thrown from his bed, where he spies Marquez picking up spilled photos.

Since the Express was expected to arrive at their next station the following day, everyone will need to wait for a rescue team to be sent. In the morning, Poirot finds out that Ratchett has been murdered in his bed during the night, having been stabbed numerous times in a classic locked-door mystery. Bouc asks Poirot to investigate the case; however, Poirot initially refuses; he was supposed to be on holiday after all. Bouc implores him to look into the murder, as the Yugoslav police will likely look for a scapegoat and may target Marquez or Arbuthnot. Faced with this, an exasperated Poirot agrees. After confirming that no-one left or entered the carriage during the night and that no-one is on the train that shouldn't be, Poirot knows that any of the other passengers or conductor could be the murderer. He takes Bouc as his assistant; as Bouc was sleeping in another carriage, he couldn't be the murderer.

An investigation of the body shows that Ratchett was stabbed twelve times; however the wounds are not consistent... while some are certainly lethal, others are shallow. This implies that the murderer was drunk, but Ratchett was of good physical built, armed and already wary so it's very unlikely he was overpowered. Investigating his room, they find the threatening letters as well as a partially destroyed note connecting Ratchett to the case of Daisy Armstrong. Poirot remembers the case; Daisy Armstrong was a little girl who was kidnapped and then murdered despite the family paying the ransom which caused her mother Sonia (Miranda Raison) to go into premature labor killing both her and her unborn child (with Daisy's father committing suicide soon after). Daisy's murderer was a man called Lanfranco Cassetti who got away with the crime, and Poirot and Bouc soon discover from the evidence that Ratchett was Cassetti and whoever killed him likely had a connection with that case. Some more evidence is found, a blood-stained handkerchief with the initial 'H' and the button from a conductor's uniform is found in Mrs. Hubbard's room (she had previously been claiming someone was in her room). An investigation of Michel's uniform shows all the buttons to be present, so an investigation of everyone's luggage is conducted (except for the Count and Countess as they have diplomatic immunity). The uniform doesn't show up, and Poirot deduces the culprit is trying to outsmart him when the kimono he spotted the previous night is found in his suitcase. Mrs. Hubbard is later stabbed in the back, but the wound is very minor, and she cannot identify who did it. The uniform with the missing button is later found on an overhead rack, leaving that lead at a dead end.

A rescue team arrives and start freeing the Orient Express from the snow. Poirot and Bouc speak to MacQueen and find he had a motive for the murder as he had been skimming money off Cassetti's accounts. They also find a connection to the Daisy Armstrong case; MacQueen's father had attempted to prosecute Armstrong's nursemaid causing her to commit suicide, with his career being destroyed when the truth was known. As his interviews and investigations proceed Poirot finds that many of the passengers had a connection to the Daisy Armstrong; Princess Dragomiroff was Sonia Armstrong's godmother and friend to her mother, Linda Arden, Schmidt was the Armstrong's cook, Arbuthnot was in the Army with Daisy's father, Marquez was the family's chauffer, Pilar was Daisy's nursemaid and had fallen asleep when the girl was abducted, Debenham was Daisy's Governess and Masterman was butler to the Armstrong family. The biggest connection, however, is the Countess Andrenyi... she is Helena Goldenberg, Daisy's aunt. Despite all this, Poirot finds himself unable to narrow down who commited the act.

While questioning Debenham about the murder, he is confronted by Arbuthnot (who is also implied to be Debenham's secret lover) who claims responsibility for the murder. He attempts to shoot Poirot but misses and then flees. Poirot realizes that Arbuthnot never meant to kill him (Arbuthnot was a sharpshooter in the army and would never have missed his shot at such close range) and demands that all the suspects be assembled which they quickly are (in the tunnel, for some reason). Poirot reveals that there are two possible solutions to the murder, and the first is simple yet unlikely... Cassetti was murdered by one of the many enemies he acquired over the years as Ratchett who got aboard the train and then fled after the murder. The second is outlandish but fits the facts better: everyone board was involved in the murder. Poirot has found even more connections to the Daisy Armstrong case; Gerhard Hardman is actually an American detective called Cyrus who was in love with the nurse falsely accused who turns out to have been Michel's sister while Mrs. Hubbard is Linda Arden. He has reasoned that, so that no-one person would have been responsible, all of the suspects entered Cassetti's room and stabbed him in turn as a form of execution, no-one knows exactly who killed him. Arden admits she was responsible for bringing everyone together, determined to make Cassetti pay for what he did to her daughter and granddaughter. Poirot tells Arden that now he is the only person who can expose their plot and challenges someone to shoot him, leaving his gun on the table. Arden picks it up but instead attempts to shoot herself, but the gun isn't loaded as Poirot just wanted to see what she would do. He watches as Arden collapses into tears.

The train is unearthed and continues on its way. Poirot decides that there is no justice to be found in this case; everyone aboard has already suffered greatly from Cassetti's crime, while Cassetti himself was an evil man who had gotten away with murder and deserved what happened to him. He notes that this is one imbalance he will have to live with. When the train reaches the station, Poirot tells the police that his first theory is correct; The murderer was an enemy of Ratchett who has fled. The police believe him, and the passengers continue on their way.

Poirot decides to disembark the train at this point, eager to finally get some rest. Once again, however, his reputation has preceded him, and he is approached by a messenger as he is needed in Egypt due to a death on the Nile. Although tired, Poirot decides to take the case, stopping for a moment to see the Orient Express disappear into the distance.

Cast

Production

20th Century Fox announced the project in December 2013.[8] Michael Green wrote the screenplay for a new film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. On June 16, 2015, it was reported Fox was in talks with Kenneth Branagh to direct.[9] On November 20, 2015, it was announced that Branagh would direct the film and star in the role of detective Hercule Poirot.[10] On June 10, 2016, it was reported that Angelina Jolie was in early talks to co-star in the film.[11] Variety reported on August 4 that she would not sign on to star, while the studio was looking for other actresses like Charlize Theron.[12] On August 17, Variety reported that Leslie Odom Jr. was in talks to join the cast in an unspecified role.[13] On 6 September, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Tom Bateman had joined the cast as Bouc.[14] On September 29, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Judi Dench, Michael Peña, Derek Jacobi, and Lucy Boynton were added to the cast.[15][16] On October 20, Josh Gad was cast in the film to play Hector MacQueen.[17] On 27 October, Marwan Kenzari joined the cast as the French conductor of the train.[18] On November 11, Penélope Cruz joined the cast in an unspecified role,[19] later revealed to be Pilar Estravados (a Hispanic version of the novel's Swedish Greta Ohlsson, borrowing the name of a character in Hercule Poirot's Christmas).[20] On December 5, Sergei Polunin joined the cast in an undisclosed role,[21] later revealed to be the Count Andrenyi.[22] On January 5, 2017, Willem Dafoe joined the cast of the film as an undercover detective.[23] On January 9, Olivia Colman revealed that she had been cast as Princess Dragomiroff's maid.[24] On January 25, it was revealed that Michael Peña had dropped out of the film and that Manuel Garcia-Rulfo had replaced him as Biniamino Marquez (a Cuban version of the novel's Italian Antonio Foscarelli).[25]

Principal photography on the film began on November 22, 2016, in the United Kingdom[26][27] and wrapped in May 2017. It used some of the same 65mm film cameras as Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, which Branagh had acted in shortly before this production.[28] These two were among the very few to be shot on 65mm film since Branagh's Hamlet in 1996, and the only ones released in 2017.[4][5]

Release

Murder on the Orient Express was released in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2017 and will be on November 10, 2017 in the United States, by 20th Century Fox.[29] The first look at the film and cast was released on May 3 in an exclusive article by Entertainment Weekly.[30]

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Murder on the Orient Express will be released alongside Daddy's Home 2, and is projected to gross around $20 million from 3,350 theaters in its opening weekend.[31]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 66% based on 87 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Stylish production and an all-star ensemble keep this Murder on the Orient Express from running off the rails, even if it never quite builds up to its classic predecessor's illustrious head of steam."[32] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[33]

Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ and called the film "a lushly old-fashioned adaptation wrapped in a veritable turducken of pearls, monocles, and international movie stars."[34] Blake Goble of Consequence of Sound said "Handsomely staged, exceptionally well-cast, and reasonably faithful, Branagh has revived Murder on the Orient Express in a highly pleasing fashion."[35] Trace Thurman of Bloody Disgusting gave the film three and a half skulls and said "For those looking for an involving murder mystery that is respectful of its source material and filled with an all-star cast, look no further than Murder on the Orient Express."[36] Matt Goldberg of Collider gave the film a B- calling it a "handsomely crafted production" albeit on that "falls apart is at the climax of the film."[37]

On the negative side, Matthew Jacobs of The Huffington Post was impressed by the cast but ultimately felt "Agatha Christie’s whodunit has no steam."[38] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone found that there were many dull moments and that the film was a needless remake.[39] Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two and a half stars felt that the film focused too much on Poirot to the detriment of the other characters saying "never let it be said the director misses an opportunity to place his star front and center, unfortunately relegating just about everyone else in the obligatory International All-Star Cast to a paper-thin character with one or at most two defining personality traits."[40] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club complained that Branagh's "erratic direction—more interested in cut glass and overhead shots than in suspicions and uncertainties—bungles both the perfect puzzle logic of the crime and its devious solution."[41]

Possible sequels

In 2015, James Prichard, Chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd. and Christie's great grandson, expressed enthusiasm for sequels, citing the collaboration with Branagh and the production team.[10] In May 2017, Branagh expressed interest in further instalments if the film is a success.[42]

References

  1. ^ "Murder on the Orient Express". AllMovie. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  2. ^ "Murder on the Orient Express". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved October 22, 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Murder on the Orient Express (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Debruge, Peter (November 7, 2017). "Film Review: 'Murder on the Orient Express'". Variety. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  5. ^ a b McCarthy, Todd (November 10, 2017). "'Murder on the Orient Express': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Robert (May 5, 2017). "All-Star 'Murder on the Orient Express' Cast Assembles in London".
  7. ^ "the Murder On The Orient Express world premiere red carpet". Yahoo. November 1, 2017.
  8. ^ McNary, Dave (December 12, 2013). "Fox Remaking 'Murder on the Orient Express' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  9. ^ Geier, Thom (June 16, 2015). "Kenneth Branagh in Talks to Direct Agatha Christie's 'Murder on the Orient Express' (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  10. ^ a b McNary, Dave (November 20, 2015). "Kenneth Branagh to Direct, Star in 'Murder on the Orient Express' Remake". Variety. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  11. ^ Bamigboye, Baz (June 10, 2016). "BAZ BAMIGBOYE: Don't miss the train, Angelina". Mail Online. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  12. ^ Lang, Brent (August 4, 2016). "Angelina Jolie No Longer Boarding Murder on the Orient Express". Variety. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  13. ^ McNary, Dave (August 17, 2016). "'Hamilton' Star Leslie Odom Jr. in Talks to Join 'Murder on the Orient Express' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  14. ^ Ford, Rebecca (September 6, 2016). "'Murder on the Orient Express' Adding Tom Bateman (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  15. ^ Ford, Rebecca; Kit, Borys (September 29, 2016). "Johnny Depp in Talks to Star in 'Murder on the Orient Express'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  16. ^ Kit, Borys; Ford, Rebecca (September 29, 2016). "Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Michael Pena, Judi Dench Board 'Murder on the Orient Express' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  17. ^ McNary, Dave (October 20, 2016). "Josh Gad Joins Johnny Depp in 'Murder on the Orient Express'". Variety. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  18. ^ Kit, Borys (October 27, 2016). "'Mummy' Actor Marwan Kenzari Joins Johnny Depp in 'Murder on the Orient Express' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  19. ^ Busch, Anita; Fleming Jr, Mike (November 11, 2016). "Penelope Cruz Joins 'Murder On The Orient Express'". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  20. ^ Bamigboye, Baz (May 3, 2017). "All back on the Orient Express! Remake of the classic has a stellar cast including Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh". Mail Online. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  21. ^ Ritman, Alex (December 5, 2016). "Ballet Star Sergei Polunin Lands Roles in 'Murder on the Orient Express', 'Red Sparrow' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  22. ^ "Willem Dafoe is latest addition to 'Murder on the Orient Express' all-star cast". AFP Relax. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ Busch, Anita (January 5, 2017). "Willem Dafoe Joins Ensemble Cast Of Fox's 'Murder On The Orient Express'". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  24. ^ "Olivia Colman 'gutted' to miss Globes ceremony". BBC News. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  25. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (January 25, 2017). "Manuel Garcia-Rulfo Boards 'Murder On The Orient Express'; Vivica A. Fox Joins 'The Mafia Aint Dead'". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  26. ^ Daniels, Nia (November 22, 2016). "Murder on the Orient Express starts filming". The Knowledge. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  27. ^ Daniels, Nia (November 15, 2016). "Murder on the Orient Express sets up UK shoot". KFTV. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  28. ^ Ritman, Alex (October 27, 2017). "Kenneth Branagh on Finding the Perfect Mustache for 'Murder on the Orient Express'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  29. ^ "Steven Spielberg Pentagon Papers Drama Gets 2017 Oscar Season Release". Variety. April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  30. ^ Collis, Clark (May 3, 2017). "This Week's Cover: Exclusive First Look at Murder on the Orient Express". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  31. ^ Anthony D'Alessandro (October 25, 2017). "'Thor' Rocks On With $10.8M Tuesday; Will Continue To Strike Lightning In Second Weekend With $60M".
  32. ^ "Murder on the Orient Express (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  33. ^ "Murder on the Orient Express reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  34. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (November 7, 2017). "Murder on the Orient Express is a lushly old-fashioned whodunit: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  35. ^ Goble, Blake (November 8, 2017). "Film Review: Murder on the Orient Express". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  36. ^ Thurman, Trace (November 8, 2017). "[Review] 'Murder on the Orient Express' is a Lovely Ode to Old-Fashioned Murder Mysteries". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  37. ^ Goldberg, Matt (November 9, 2017). "'Murder on the Orient Express' Review: A Good Yarn That Frays at the End". Collider. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  38. ^ Jacobs, Matthew (November 8, 2017). "'Murder On The Orient Express' Pulls Into The Reboot Station. All Aboard! Or Not". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  39. ^ Travers, Peter (November 7, 2017). "'Murder on the Orient Express' Review: Whodunnit Redo Is Fast Train to Nowhere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  40. ^ Roeper, Richard (November 8, 2017). "Others sent to back of train in Branagh's 'Murder on Orient Express'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  41. ^ Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy (November 8, 2017). "A perfect mystery jumps the rails in the star-studded Murder On The Orient Express". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  42. ^ "'Murder on the Orient Express' Star Kenneth Branagh Wants to Make More Poirot Movies". Entertainment Weekly. May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.

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