Murder on the Orient Express (2010)

The film gets marvelous interpretations , lush costume design and adequate production design along with glimmer photography . The movie is an excellent whodunit and this version of the story takes place in 1938 , concerning about one murder on the Orient Express train with Hercules Poirot , David Suchet , as the intelligent sleuth-man to solve it . There Hercule meets various passengers and Ratchett , Toby Jones , an American executive , traveling with his valet and male secretary , and he attempts to secure Poirot's services as he fears that his life is in danger . When the murder of the abrasive American businessman occurs on the train he's travelling on , celebrated detective Hercule Poirot is then recruited to solve the case . Shortly after , the Orient Express is blocked by a blizzard in Croatia . There are many suspects , all support cast : David Morrissey , Susanne Lothar ,Barbara Hershey , Hugh Bonneville , Steven Weaver , Jessica Chastain ... As usual , the final scenes, Poirot shares his solution of the case. In the picture there is mystery , emotion , suspense , twists , actors's interpretations are wonderful and including snowy outdoors . At the beginning of the film talks about a kidnapping and killing a baby similarly to the Lindberg's son and which the murderer was condemned to death row , this one will be related with the death of the train . In fact , Agatha Christie's story , being published in 1934 , was inspired by the notorious kidnapping, and subsequent murder, of famous aviator Charles A. Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh's baby, Charles Lindbergh Jr. in 1932 . The pace is deliberate , slow and relaxed . And while the dialogue is in English, the film has a deliciously international flavor , with a mix of interesting accents and word pronunciations . The motion picture is only set on two scenarios : the station and train . However this doesn't make boring it . The support cast is pretty good , formed mostly by British and American actors , such as : Jessica Chastian , David Morrissey , Toby Jones , Stanley Wever , Samuel West , Joseph Mawle , Serge Hazanavicious , Marie-Josée Croze and special mention for Eileen Atkins as the veteran as well as bittered Princess Dragomiroff and Hugh Bonneville who portrays a trusted valet of a wealthy gentleman . The set design and costumes are riveting , the flick is magnificently set by that time . Evocative and suspenseful musical score by Christian Henson . Alan Almond's cinematography is atmospheric and colorful ; being shot at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, where the design team built a believable replica of an Orient Express carriage . This Hercule Poirot episode was efficiently directed by Philip Martin .The TV movie will appeal to suspense enthusiasts and thriller lovers. There are several adaptation based on this known novel by Agatha Christie : Murder on the Orient Express (2001) by Carl Schenkel with Alfred Molina as Hercule Poirot , Meredith Baxter , Leslie Caron , Adam James , Dylan Smith , Tasha de Vasconcelos , Amira Casar and Peter Strauss . And the outstanding rendition was Murder on the Orient Express (1974) by Sidney Lumet Sean Connery , Anthony Perkins , Vanessa Redgrave , Jacqueline Bisset , Richard Widmark , Rachel Roberts , John Gielgud , Michael York and Ingrid Bergman's Oscar-winning performance . And finally Murder on the Orient Express (2017) starred and directed by Kenneth Branagh with Johnny Depp , Josh Gad , Derek Jacobi , Adam Garcia , Judi Dench , Penelope Cruz , Olivia Colman and Daisy Riley .

This version I loved. Poirot as a person delivering justice all his life, and facing a situation as this, would not easily have let the vigilantes go. It would indeed go against his principles. In all the stories he has always, no matter the circumstance, let the guilty pay the price. He has been sometimes diplomatic about it, but he has never let anyone go. He has given speeches about the justice! To let everyone get away with their deed would indeed pain him, as is so very well shown by Suchet in the end. He questions God, questions what is His true will and can he live with a God who allows revenge. The ending here is very deep and very disturbing if we think of what really happened. 12 people murdered 1 man. They had a reason. We all agree on that. But does that mean that murder is ok under certain circumstance? WE can think so, but what about Poirot? Who was always fighting for justice, not for revenge? I do not think it would be so easy for him. And this is why I really appreciate this version. Here we see the character of Poirot take on flesh beyond the books, we see him become a real person.

Agatha Christie was the greatest exemplar of the mystery story because of her range. She wrote stories where the most obvious suspect did it, where the narrator did it, where no one did it, and where everyone did it! And "Murder on the Orient Express" ranks right up with "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" as one of her most famous yarns, both because the book is well known and because of the famous 1974 movie version.My first exposure to Agatha Christie as an innocent schoolboy was the gala all-star 1974 "Murder on the Orient Express." Though I never became a Christie aficionado until nearly twenty years later, I have enjoyed that version immensely then, and upon repeated viewings.I was wary of David Suchet's version. While alterations are necessary as stories shift from a literary to a visual medium, some longer "Poirot" episodes made unnecessary changes and their mood was frightfully dark. Better "long" Poirot episodes include "Peril at End House"; "Sad Cypress"; "Third Girl" (changed, but an improvement over the book); and "The Clocks." Meanwhile, among the more egregious misfires are "Appointment with Death"; the, admittedly, difficult "Murder of Roger Ackroyd"; and the simply boring "Murder on the Blue Train."I tried to divorce myself from the earlier flick while enjoying this "Poirot" but I fear echoes of the past kept sounding in my mind. I don't have this sort of trouble with "Hamlet"; but with "Poirot" I kept missing the humor and joie de vivre of the earlier version even amidst the murder, and the panache it showed from casting to costuming to the jaunty score. And I really miss Jacqueline Bisset!My fault, I know. If you haven't seen the earlier version, or think Albert Finney's 1974 vision of Poirot was an affront to Christie (I know people who hated Finney who accepted the buffoonish Peter Ustinov!) then you might enjoy this more realistic retelling of Christie's most famous story.

I cannot believe all of the negative reviews of this adaptation.Having read the book,and watched the classic Albert Finney version,I thought this was excellent.Why all of the negativity about Hercule and his Catholic persuasion? And why does this offend people? I believe I know why,but I won't get into that in a review.Poirot's Catholic faith leaves him in turmoil into letting 12 souls get away with murder,and his agonizing over how to proceed was very interesting.Other reviewers also questioned Poirot's grumpiness and edginess,and I attribute it to a lifetime of being around and solving murders,and his constantly seeing others turning to murder when all else fails,leaving him disillusioned with people in general.A lifetime of dedication to looking into the dark side of human behavior must leave one somewhat disdainful and disillusioned.Overall,I thought this was an excellent adaptation,staying close to Agatha's masterpiece,but also putting an analytical spin on the thoughts and beliefs of Hercule Poirot.Bravo!