Female Film Critics 24/375
Working with screenwriter Michael Green, actor/director Branagh condenses so much that he never fully explores the subtle nuances of his rich cast of characters in what seems like a foregone conclusion to the whodunit, particularly when compared with screenwriter Anthony Shaffer’s 1978 version in which Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis and Maggie Smith exchanged barbs.
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Kenneth Branagh does Agatha Christie. Again. After a Pandemic Pause, Death on the Nile returns, a follow-up to Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express. Again, Branagh is behind the camera, directing. When he’s in front of the camera, he’s behind a mustache that looks like a pergola covered in wisteria. Death on the Nile is good for a little nap midway before everyone gathers for Poirot’s little grey cells to expose the murderer. Maybe it’s time for another story — say, a continuation of the World War chapter, or more about the singer, or with Russell Brand as the ex-fiancé. There’s no mystery left in Death on the Nile, and that affects the film.
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If you viewed Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 film, Murder on the Orient Express, you’ll have a good idea of the premise of Death on the Nile. The mystery thriller is based on the 1937 Agatha Christie novel, with Branagh returning as director and star. Branagh is on a roll with his ever-popular film Belfast and his follow-up film Death on the Nile, does not disappoint.
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Too bad this revised adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel is so inferior to Alfred Hitchock’s Oscar-winning 1940 version (the only Hitchcock movie ever to win Best Picture), starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier and Judith Anderson. On the plus side, it’s beautifully photographed by Laurie Rose, who makes the most of the spectacular seaside scenery, stylish period costumes, and historic Hatfield House, former home to Queen Elizabeth I – the same mansion that director Yorgos Lanthimos featured in The Favorite.
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Director Ben Wheatley’s new incarnation of Rebecca is a valiant reinterpretation that is truer to Daphne Du Maurier’s book than it is to the Hitchcock film. While some might argue that a new version of the story is unnecessary, it fills the holes in our imagination as to how the tale plays out, etching into our minds how the flawed romantic characters get out of a jam.
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It took three scriptwriters — Jane Goldman, Joe Shrapnel, and Anna Waterhouse — to render Du Maurier’s gothic plot into cinematic Hamburger Helper. Here’s how: They retained the 1935 setting. They held the Depression but retained one depressed widower, a Mr. de Winter (note symbolic name á la Jung). He married a plain Jane (not her name — she’s too low-class for one).
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“Rebecca” is a story filled with ghosts: of lost or imagined love, insecurities, even murder. But unfortunately, the ghosts in this tepid adaptation are the suspense, atmosphere, and intrigue of the original 1938 novel and director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 version, which won an Oscar for Best Picture.
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The crowd-pleasing biopic “On the Basis of Sex” tells the origin story of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s crusading career, focusing on a court case that chipped away at codified gender discrimination.
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On the Basis of Sex is the back story of how Ruth Bader Ginsburg became notorious by winning a landmark case that prevented discrimination, well, on the basis of sex. The fact that she won that case by defending a man was brilliant, and the fact that her beloved husband, Marty (Armie Hammer), brought her the case is couple goals, for sure.
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On the Basis of Sex’s hint-of-racy title fronts a just-pretty-okay cinematic experience that coasts on the awesomeness of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I might wish that Sex was, well, sexier — more adventurous, more meaty, more demanding of the viewer and of its terrific cast — but I’ll take this. Coasting on Notorious RBG is some incredible coasting indeed, and the ride here is of the solidly crowd-pleasing variety, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
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