"Murder on the Orient Express" (2017)

Brief, spoilery thoughts on a film based on a book that is 83 years old that has one of the most famous twist endings of all time. You should already know, but you’ve been warned.

I really like Agatha Christie mysteries, and I also really like Branagh films, so it was a pretty good bet I was going to really like this film. Combined with a train-full of great actors doing a really good job and this was a no brainer on which to spend money.

I wasn’t sure that Branagh was the right choice for the role going in, and after seeing the trailers I wasn’t sure that I would be able to get past the mustache. However, I quickly settled in and never gave either a second thought.

My only quibbles with the film are two. A minor one was the way some of the scenes were staged. There were several moments where I was taken out by the fact that they would not have done things like walk on top of the train, interview people out in the snow, or perch themselves on milk cans right next to a treacherous drop-off.

A more substantial one was the way they interpreted the twist ending. In the book, it is so brash—beyond the twist itself—due to the cavalier way the mob justice is accepted. The previous film adaptations have been more careful to spell out that this was indeed justice: a convicted killer, escaped from punishment, said punishment carried out by a jury of his peers, etc. This film really takes the opportunity to call into question the very nature of truth. It is a dramatic look at a modern having to embrace postmodern uncertainty.

All in all, though, it is a worthwhile film. I rate it just under the 1974 Lumet version.