☺☺ _ _ _
I was motivated to read this classic mystery after watching
the newest film version of the book. In this story, detective Hercule Poirot is
called on to investigate a murder while riding on the famous train. In this
interpretation of the famous novel, Kenneth Branagh, who stars and directs,
portrays M. Poirot as having a crisis of morality. The character is forced to
choose between what he feels is just and what he knows is lawful. Having read a
few of Agatha Christie’s novels, I was having a hard time reconciling what I
know of her writing with what was presented in the movie.
I really enjoyed the film, but it made me wonder. How much of
that crisis of conscience came from Agatha Christie? She has always presented a
black and white world view in her novels. The more I thought about the movie,
the greater the incongruity between it and what I knew of her writing. So, I
went back to the novel, and unfortunately, the book lived down to my
expectations.
I love mysteries, but I want more than just a puzzle. I want
a book that explores character. One that goes beyond archetype. That is why I
gave up on Christie’s books years ago. Having watched this and the other versions
of the Orient Express, I thought that maybe I missed something in this novel.
I was wrong. Christie shaped Poirot’s character in his first
novel – The Mysterious Affair at Styles,
and it never changes. In the book, Murder
on the Orient Express, there is no crisis of conscience. Poirot goes about
solving the mystery step by step, and when he gets to the end, he just goes
along with the decision made by other people, opting for a unilateral and
conventional reaction.
There have been two film versions and two tv English language
versions of Murder, and while they
all present some internal conflict for the Belgian detective, none is as heart
wrenching and nuanced as in this newest version. Mr. Branagh has never been shy
on camera. His portrayal of Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander is a tour de
force of a man falling into despair and eventually dementia. Poirot also wrestles
with his view of the world.
In this movie Branagh forces Poirot to look at the gray areas
in between positions he has always viewed as black and white. I give a large “thank
you” to Mr. Branagh and writer Michael Green for creating a Poirot with more
depth and nuance than ever existed in the novels. As for reading any more books
by Agatha Christie, well, let’s just say I am waiting for Branagh’s upcoming
version of Death on the Nile.
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