Kenneth Branagh’s reimagining of Agatha Christie’s immense universe has a new installment under its belt in A Haunting in Venice. The year is 1947, ten years after the events of Death on the Nile. Famed detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) has been in retirement in Venice, ignoring the long line of potential clients congregating around his lodgings. His seclusion from the outside world is broken only by the pastry deliveries he accepts and his occasional trips into town for food.

That is, of course, until mystery author and old friend Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) shows up on his doorstep demanding to see him. She presents him with the intriguing opportunity to debunk a famous spirit medium, Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh), whom she has not yet been able to prove as a fraud. Poirot, reluctant to break his solitude, eventually agrees to attend one of her seances, which is to take place after a Halloween party for the local children.

Things quickly go south, and the bodies begin to pile up as Poirot struggles to rationalize the world of spirits that he finds himself embroiled in.

Stunning Visual Techniques

As with the previous installments of the series, the visual aesthetics of the film are the most captivating part. Set in a rainy, overcast Venice on Halloween night, the setting allows for fog, water, and blue-toned lighting to cast a somber mood over the whole film. The mansion that most of the story takes place in is an architectural masterpiece, a behemoth of a building with plenty of opportunities for artful shots. The old archways, sweeping staircases, and labyrinth of rooms make it just as confusing for the audience to navigate, getting swept up in the adrenaline of the murder mystery.

That being said, there are quite a few angles in the film that are disconcerting and jarring. The use of the Dutch angle, or a tilted horizon, is so extreme and so frequently used that it almost breaks the immersion, especially when it is cut to a seemingly random location inside or outside of the mansion. Once you notice it, you’ll never stop. The angle is often so severe that it makes it confusing to figure out where it’s showing or what is actually happening. Whether that was intentional on Branagh’s part or not, it seems a bit egregious and unnecessary. There were also moments where the camera seemed to be handheld, giving it a shaky quality that juxtaposed the smooth movements through most of the film and giving some awkward, go-pro-vibe shots of Poirot moving through the hallways.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t some masterful shots throughout the movie – a theme that’s emphasized through the composition of shots is Poirot’s loneliness. Because the mansion is sprawling and empty, Poirot often appears in a frame with a lot of empty space behind and around him. Most of the time, he is also at the edge of the frame, showing that his character is not necessarily the center of attention – the crime, the house, and his loneliness are bigger focuses than his actual method of solving the case. There is also a moment where the camera tracks Poirot walking towards it, then flips as he passes under it, keeping the viewer essentially suspended upside down to watch the detective walk away. It’s an interesting moment visually – a lot of the movie seems like an experimentation in various angles, lighting, and themed messages that could be portrayed through the composition of a shot. 

There were also transitions that used the same pattern, like a splash or a circular composition, to signify the passing of time or changing of locations that were incredibly effective and creative. The use of shadows in a few scenes harkened back to the traditions of German Expressionism, which was focused on the usage and symbolism of stark light and dark contrasts. From a film student’s perspective, it was fascinating to break down exactly how the camera was being used to tell the story – while not all audiences will do the same, it’s a cool little thing to keep an eye on for anyone who is interested.

The Story of Adaptation

Though not referenced in the title itself, the film is based on Agatha Christie’s 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party, which was rather negatively received by readers at the time and was also adapted into a 2010 film. Though A Haunting in Venice doesn’t line up with the book completely, many elements remain the same.

In the novel, a girl named Joyce Reynolds loudly boasts to the group of people setting up the Halloween party that she witnessed a murder once, though she didn’t realize it at the time. Towards the end of the party, she is discovered drowned in the tub used for apple bobbing. Ariadne Oliver is present at the party, and sensing more to the murder than the proposed theories of a sick/crazy/perverted person committing the foul deed, she calls in her trusted friend Hercule Poirot. 

The theme of apples is carried across both versions of the story, with Ariadne positively obsessed with them in the novel. There are a fair amount of characters who share names or similar personality traits – the spirit medium in the film is named Joyce Reynolds, and the character of Rowena Drake is largely the same in both works. Leopold, too, shares a name with a book character, though with a vastly different home life and slightly altered personality. Apple bobbing becomes a factor in the film, though perhaps not to the extent of the novel. And, in the biggest departure from the source, the story never leaves the walls of the mansion, save for the very beginning and end of the film, before and after the murders take place.

The quality of an adaptation, of course, is not beholden to its fidelity to the source. It is interesting to note the parallels, however, in a way to make sense of where the story originated and where it deviated into its own tale. While talking too much about the comparison would give away massive spoilers, it’s not a bad idea to read the novel for yourself if you’re curious. Unlike the previous two movies, this one seemed to deviate the most from its source, using original material to add some twists and zest into an otherwise middle-quality mystery novel.