Murder on the Orient Express: A Chugging, Steaming Adventure (Murder on the Orient Express Spoilery Review)

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2018)

Murder on the Orient Express is a delightfully calm and thoughtful picture, presented by director and star Kenneth Branagh in the now-novel 70mm film, and thus becoming only the fifth release in such a format during the current millenium. Though I passed on the opportunity to view the film in 70mm, I can safely presume on the elegance accompanying all of its lovely artistically panoramic wide angles. I deeply appreciate a contemplative and tranquil film - standing in such sharp contrast with the inundation of clamorous, loud and often witless matter we are ceaslessly confronted with - and Murder ticks these crucial boxes.
I haven't read the book on which this adaption was based, nor can I very succinctly recall the 70's rendition, and so I can hardly comment on the originality or possible modifications this version may have entertained. Regardless, it is hardly an understatement to say that the ending largely ruined the film for me. *SPOILER ALERT* Sadly, Poirot fails in his post as detective when he essentially looks the other way, allowing the guilty criminals to part ways and leave almost entirely unchastised. At an earlier point, the Belgian detective had remarked on how he saw only good and evil - no grey areas. However, by the end, our supposed hero (and this seems to me the true motivational power behind the story) has "converted" to a sort of corruptive empathy which leads him to deny justice its due - something he ironically tries to avoid, in the very act of negating judgement on the felons. True justice requires the requital of damage rendered, yet in this case justice has come to Rachett, while the murderers (let it not be forgotten what a great offence cold-blooded murder is) escape scot-free, without any necessary reparation for their wrongs. Perhaps the outcome would be somewhat different, had the offenders admitted their culpability and thenceforth resolved to make recompense and amend their lives for the better. For all the audience knows, another murder would not be unthinkable to these people, since as Poirot points out: Once one has murdered a first time, it is far easier to murder a second. As it is, Murder monstrously humanises an act obviously heinous - the premeditated theft of another's life. *SPOILERS END*
Moving on to a happier subject, the film's acting is reinvigorating and fresh. Rather than the crowded number of Oscar-winning or nominated actors and actresses obstructing the story, they all lend the afore-mentioned an interesting facet; in the face of which, unfortunately, some feel a little sidelined or unexplored. Kenneth Branagh's Poirot isn't so damnably distracting as some reviewers have made out, although admittedly his wonderous moustache does draw the fascinated viewer's eyes at times. More concerningly, at some point during the movie, he faces away from the camera, and his large and all-too-smooth ear shows itself evidently prosthetic. He is a man with flair and yet sentimentality plagues him, reminding him from time to time of his lost love of former years. Josh Gad plays a slippery yet finally emotional character (somewhat redeeming in the face of such horrors as Olaf and LeFou) who delivers an interesting performance. Daisy Ridley adds a fresh face to the cast, proving her talent is not limited to intergalactic battles. Johnny Depp plays a thieving, extortive rogue well - a personality surprisingly distinguished from his previous roles. Altogether, the varied cast functions far better than I originally anticipated.
Visual effects aid the story without casting too great a shadow of trickery over the movie on a whole. We see lightening and plenty of snow, but they aren't too gratuitous. I noticed that throughout the film, especially the first half, we are presented with a number of delicious vistas which set a rather uneven mood. Though the spectacles are artfully produced, they seem a little meaningless, failing to really push the sum atmosphere of the movie, as they do not (for the most part) carry well into the following interior train sequences. Murder is also an interesting film, as it seems to me to fall into a unique category - hardly a standard crowd-pleaser, yet not exactly an arthouse production. Instead, it seems to play with elements of both worlds, becoming thus a sort of hybrid, at least in my opinion. Some shots in this movie seem largely artistic, but in most senses it takes an approach more widely pleasing. The cinematography delivers very thoughtful, aesthetically pleasing and unique angles
In closing, I recommend Murder on the Orient Express not as a morally sound piece of cinema, but certainly as an entertaining, considerate story that will be especially effective on viewers unaquainted with the mystery's solution. It is a credit to the team who put it together, and had I missed seeing the movie in the cinema, I would eagerly await its DVD release.