Poirot, now retired, and living in exile, is convinced by his friend Ariadne Oliver, to look into the honesty and integrity of a medium, who's set to visit bereaved mother Rowena Drake.
If you're going into this one hoping for authenticity, you may be a little disappointed, I recently read the book, and aside from a few names and events, it is only very loosely based on the book.
Authenticity to one side, I really did enjoy this movie, talk about an interesting choice, you can understand why Death on The Nile and Orient Express were chosen, but Halloween Party doesn't exactly lend itself well to an adaptation, but overall it works very well, plenty of plus points.
The main winner, the visuals, with Venice they were never going to fail I guess, it looks sensational, but the camera angles and focuses are really nice, very atmospheric and suitably sinister, a shame a few scenes couldn't have been just a tad brighter. The masks, robes and costumes looked so good, they really did give it a Halloween vibe.
I'd say this is Brannagh's most accomplished turn as Poirot so far, the toned down moustache has definitely made a difference, he feels more like Poirot.
Well acted all round, Kelly Reilly is no stranger to Agatha Christie, she's excellent as Rowena, and as for the young man that played Leopold, he was great.
My one gripe, Ariadne, I'm not knocking Tina Fey, she did a good job, but when you read the books, I just don't see her as an American glamour puss, I wonder if we'll see her again.
I'm awarding an extra point for the fact that Branagh chose Halloween Party, and didn't opt for Evil under The Sun or Appointment with Death, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of those was number four.
It worked well, 8/10.
If you're going into this one hoping for authenticity, you may be a little disappointed, I recently read the book, and aside from a few names and events, it is only very loosely based on the book.
Authenticity to one side, I really did enjoy this movie, talk about an interesting choice, you can understand why Death on The Nile and Orient Express were chosen, but Halloween Party doesn't exactly lend itself well to an adaptation, but overall it works very well, plenty of plus points.
The main winner, the visuals, with Venice they were never going to fail I guess, it looks sensational, but the camera angles and focuses are really nice, very atmospheric and suitably sinister, a shame a few scenes couldn't have been just a tad brighter. The masks, robes and costumes looked so good, they really did give it a Halloween vibe.
I'd say this is Brannagh's most accomplished turn as Poirot so far, the toned down moustache has definitely made a difference, he feels more like Poirot.
Well acted all round, Kelly Reilly is no stranger to Agatha Christie, she's excellent as Rowena, and as for the young man that played Leopold, he was great.
My one gripe, Ariadne, I'm not knocking Tina Fey, she did a good job, but when you read the books, I just don't see her as an American glamour puss, I wonder if we'll see her again.
I'm awarding an extra point for the fact that Branagh chose Halloween Party, and didn't opt for Evil under The Sun or Appointment with Death, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of those was number four.
It worked well, 8/10.