Not like other Christie films--- but that can also be a good thing

Rating: 9/10 (21 March 2018)

I watched this movie with hesitation, having already read some lukewarm reviews. But I am a huge Agatha Christie fan. I have many of the novels, have numerous film DVDs-- including the 1974 Orient Express-- and I couldn't stay away. I'm very glad I took a chance on it, and I now have a copy of Brannagh's version.
It is very different from other Agatha Christie films. It's the least faithful adaptation of the Orient Express novel, but for me it's also the most emotionally affecting. This is to take nothing away from the 1974 version, or David Suchet's excellent version as well. But this film delves into the devastating consequences of loss and grief the way few other Christie adaptations do. It shines a light on how death and murder can leave someone twisted, broken, changed forever. It's a theme carried masterfully throughout the movie that pays off in the inevitable denouement in ways you won't see in other Christie films. The climax had me tearing up slightly, because of the magnificent performances, but also because of the perspectives the film takes.
Brannagh's Poirot has more growing to do than in many other films as he anguishes not only with the complex whodunit but with an assault on his world view and sense of justice. Again, a very clear choice on the part of the filmmakers and writers and one I'm glad they focused on.
This version may not be for everyone. It speaks to me, and it could be that this is because I watched the 1974 version as a young person with no attachments, and I watched this version as a parent. If you are fine with some changes from the novel and are open to new perspectives on a classic whodunit, see this version and soak it in.