Kenneth Branagh's "Massacre on the Nile" has been released in China for two days, which is a dazzling adaptation, the fullness of the characters and events is basically in place through more than two hours of portrayal, and overall it is a little better than "Murder on the Orient Express", and it can only be said that Kenneth Branagh is gradually finding feelings in this kind of film. The film received mixed reviews when it was released abroad on February 12. Many critics have pointed out that the film insists on using an old-fashioned style, which is somewhat out of tune with the active cast of contemporary stars.
The film is a direct adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic novel of the same name, first published on November 1, 1937, and is considered one of the finest novels of her long and illustrious career as a writer of mystery fiction, and the 18th in Christie's Hercule Poirot series of novels. In addition to Branagh's remake, Massacre on the Nile has been adapted into several films, including a 1978 film directed by John Gillemin, a BBC radio adaptation, a comic book novel and even a video game.
Despite Christie's classic story, director Kenneth Branagh made a lot of changes to the original "Massacre on the Nile". The biggest difference from the original murder suspense novel is the editing of the characters, and this time there are several new faces on the Karnak, with two obvious omissions, perhaps these changes together weaken the effect of the classic suspense novel. Here's how the film changed aspects of Agatha Christie's original novel, how does it differ from the original?
Booker and his destiny
One of the biggest changes in the 2022 edition of Massacre on the Nile is the character of Booker, which did not appear at all in the original book. However, Tom Bateman's Booker is clearly inherited from 2017's Murder on the Orient Express. Branagh, the British-born director, was reportedly so impressed with Bateman's performance in his first film that he wrote a role for Bateman in Massacre on the Nile. Against the backdrop of this story, Bouc replaces tim Allerton, allowing Bateman to continue his role as a crime-solving assistant in Murder on the Orient Express. However, Booker's character change in the story doesn't stop there, he becomes the last victim of the case. Booker replaced Salome Otbourne, the last character to die in the finale of the story of The Massacre on the Nile.
Salome Autburne's character and destiny
Salome Otterburn is another character based on Christie's original book, and in the 2022 version of the film, this classic character plays the role of a jazz singer. This is very different from the story of the original "Massacre on the Nile", in which Otterburn is a lecherous alcoholic who is criticized by the world for writing pornographic works, and she inadvertently hinders Poirot's investigation. Otterburn was originally the last victim of the murder, but in this version, she gains her dignity and life, and at the end of the film, she sings for the beardless Poirot, and the two seem to rekindle the romance of love.
The relationship between Farsweiler and Mrs. Bowers
Branagh directed the film about Mrs. Bowles and Mary Van Schuyler's relationship as lesbians. While this retains the job of Bowles as a dutiful nurse in the original, it also enhances their relationship and makes the element between the two more fun, which is not found in Christie's original book. Although this character change was attacked by many critics after its release, it was a bold adaptation of the character characteristics of the novel "Massacre on the Nile".
Poirot's past
The contrast between Branagh's Massacre on the Nile and Agatha Christie's original is that it provides some introduction to Poirot's past. In particular, the trauma of the detective as a soldier in World War I has been excavated, as well as the origin of the iconic moustache, in addition, the film also inserts some dialogues and scenes about Poirot that cannot be found in the original book, and makes the whole story almost entirely from Poirot's point of view, which is not described in Christie's book.
Newly created Euphemia character
In addition to Booker's journey through The Massacre on the Nile through The Herculean Borough universe, his mother Euphemia was also a completely new character for the film. In the 2022 film adaptation, Euphemia is used as a narrative medium, and her suffocating personality is a key factor in Booker's eventual death. It was Euphemia's red paint that allowed Simon to pretend to be injured, while in the original book Simon used stolen nail polish to disguise. So this new character plays a very important role in the promotion of the whole story, which is also one of the important embodiments of the bold adaptation of the film.
A mixture of the main line of the murder and the elements of the adaptation
While The Massacre on the Nile isn't a so good adaptation of the original book, Branagh's film at least succeeds in interpreting the best elements of Christie's novel, namely that he still retains the key plot of Christie's murder suspense story, and also mixes Christie's original suspense film with the new characters. Jacqueline and Simon remain the ultimate murderers who attempt to steal Lynnett's property, the most perfect part of Agatha Christie's murder suspense story.
During an argument, it was still Jacqueline who pretended to shoot Simon in the leg, gave Simon time to commit the crime, killed Lynette, and then shot and actually wounded his own leg with the gun so that he had a perfect alibi. Jacqueline is also watched over for shooting Simon, and the cooperation of the two has both cleared them of suspicion. Poirot's negligence in the detectives causes Simon and Jacqueline to kill two more people in order to cover up their crimes, which is consistent with Christie's main story, first murdering Lynnett's maid as she tries to blackmail them, and then the first witness is killed at the last minute, this time the film cleverly changes the character to Booker.
Branagh's Massacre on the Nile is deficient compared to the 1978 John Gillemin film of the same name, but it still succeeds in incorporating the mysticism and awe of the original novel into the narrative, and also perfectly interprets the almost otherworldly claim of presenting Egypt in the pre-war background of the late 30s as seen by foreign tourists at the time, while accurately capturing the essence of Christie's murder mystery novel. Therefore, in the current extreme scarcity of overseas films, it is still worth going to the theater to experience the beauty and tension on the Nile.