It is normal that there are not many expectations forThe Halloween Night, a new film based on the universe of writer Agatha Christie and directed by filmmaker Kenneth Branagh. His two previous works in this universe, withMurder on the Orient Express e Death on the Nile, they didn’t work and left a bitter taste in the mouth. However, in his third venture, things finally get back on track with a more mature production.
Here, detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) begins the plot tired, unwilling to work. He is in exile in Venice, Italy, where people line up at the door begging him to solve seemingly impossible cases. But nothing gets him back to work.
Until Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) enters the scene and begs him to participate in one last case: the mysterious death of a young woman, found in one of the city’s canals, and who lived in an apparently haunted house.
The Halloween Night, as the title in Portuguese already suggests, is the most different of all the films so far – after all, it is far from being a mystery about discovering the criminal and being something more, with touches of horror. It is Agatha Christie put into a type of reading that has never been seen before.
Errors and successes
In terms of structure, Michael Green’s script (of gems likeLogan e Blade Runner2049, but also from the criticizedGreen Lantern) follows the conventional structure of the English writer’s plots. We are introduced to a case, then they show who the possible culprits are and, in the end, we discover who is behind everything in a big and surprising revelation. It’s a format that’s been around for decades – and it’s gotten a little tired.
The big surprise is Branagh’s creative and bold direction. He adopts some of his Shakespearean experience in English theater and puts it into practice here: confined inside this possible haunted mansion in the middle of the canals of Venice, during a strong storm, plots of betrayal and madness pepper what appears on screen .
The English filmmaker’s camera, usually more static and not very funny, gains new life despite having the usual director of photography, Haris Zambarloukos.
Shadows are used to shock and frighten, creating a constant feeling of confinement and something lurking. There’s even something of Alfred Hitchcock here, in the way Branagh scares the audience with birds – I never thought he’d jump out of his skin at a cockatoo.
There is the feeling that the filmmaker has freed himself from some bondage, from something that trapped him in a dry, dull filming. He finally understands that the secret is not in the cast (which has big names, like Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Dornan, but weak compared to the others), but in the way it delivers the story: creating atmosphere and generating strong tension.
It is possible that many people find the film boring, sleepy, tiring. And it makes sense: with this type of filming, a bolder, more creative script would be interesting. Branagh went up a few notches in the quality of his direction, while Green remained in the same structure as always, perhaps respecting Agatha Christie’s text too much – despite the glaring differences at the end. The text lacked a little more sauce.
Philosophy
Still, there are good qualities in the plot. The script reflects on the issue of faith and brings some existential dialogues that are not easy to see in films for the masses. It questions the existence of ghosts in God’s condition and, thus, makes us think about our beliefs, ideas and our thoughts. Another brilliant hit from the film.
In any case, The Witch’s Night is a mature, bold and courageous thriller, the likes of which haven’t been seen in cinemas for a long time – lately, full of generic films of the genre, which always rely on the same formulas.
The hope is that Branagh can end his saga withDrop the Cloth, the last and formidable book that puts an end to Poirot’s story. However, nothing has been confirmed so far.
The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.
The post Poirot returns from retirement in the daring ‘Witches’ Night’ appeared first in Jornal de Brasília.
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