Movie Review: Death on the Nile

If you are a book reader like me, then the idea of a movie adaptation is a double-edged sword. On one hand, we are excited because the story was great and a favorite. On the other, however, history shows that not all adaptations are good, or even decent.

I really enjoyed Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express. Though there really isn't any room to make changes because of how the novel concludes. So, when it came to Death on the Nile with a few more favorite actors and actresses, I was so disappointed.

To start, the movie version added a love interest for Hercule Poirot. That in and of itself was fine, because it made Poirot more human. However, I wasn't sure why they added a scene from the war showing even when it gave us an idea as to why he grew his moustache. I just felt it wasn't necessary to the movie, but there is leeway for creative license.

Next, the introductory scenes between all of our characters. It was overly sexed like something from Magic Mike, and you meet almost every supporting character. I have always thought that the restaurant was more class than excitement. Poirot makes his observations only about Jackie. At this point, Linnet is simply a snatch of conversation. The others are separate, but again creative license.

My minimal issue with the movie was the acting. Most of the actors were fantastic, but I was not impressed by Armie Hammer (Simon Doyle). He was very over the top with emotional scenes that they felt forced and fake. When he was told of Linnet's murder and cried, I laughed because it was ridiculous loud crying that one fakes with toddlers or animals. I just didn't feel anything when the man was on the screen.

My major issue was how the secondary characters were changed. I didn't mind Colonel Race not being there, because he was replaced with Bouc (Tom Bateman). Bouc also replaced the novel character Tim Allerton, but his mother was still present. I loved Bouc's addition but hated his ending. This was along with Letitia Wright's Rosalie Otterbourne, who was supposed to be Salome's daughter, not her niece like in the movie. The whole premise of Rosalie and Tim was to be the healthier counterpart to Jacqueline and Simon, except they don't get their happy ending.

Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okonedo) is portrayed as a musician instead of a romance writer. Salome ends up playing a crucial role in the story, almost revealing the name of the murderer before she herself is suddenly killed by a bullet to the head, but the movie changes this. Rosalie keeps for most of the story (although it may in fact be an open secret), is that she’s an alcoholic. Rosalie suffers under the specter of her mother’s alcoholism. Which is why I was so unbelievably upset by the movie. Rosalie and Tim are given a second chance. Poirot and Race agree to "Hush-Hush House" and Tim's thievery of Linnet's pearls is kept quiet in favor of "human happiness". Salome's death and Rosalie's revelation of secrets and quiet suffering is meant to give her a second chance with Tim and his mother. The movie steals this thematic quality from the overall plot by causing Bouc being killed by a bullet to the head before revealing the name of the murderer. It also makes Poirot look less empathetic and unemotional to "human happiness".

Miss Marie Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders) was only accompanied by the nurse Miss Bowers in the movie, which again disrupts the themes of the novel. Cornelia’s impending marriage to Dr. Bessner offers a different view of romantic relationships from the others depicted in the novel—one that is founded less on actual romance than on shared interests and reliability. Marie is a snob and prejudiced to the point that she doesn't allow Cornelia to associate with Dr. Bessner even though he is a well to do doctor. She also doesn't like Mr. Ferguson until she realizes that the man is actually a Lord, which causes her to rethink her opinion. However, Dr. Bessner does assist Cornelia in gaining more confidence in herself to tell her overbearing cousin that she is marrying Dr. Bessner. All of this was lost in the movie adaptation, because Russell Brand's character was a combination of Dr. Bessner and Mr. Ferguson/Dawlish. No happy ending for him.

Overall, the movie lost the whole premise of Agatha Christie's novel Death on the Nile, which to me was a crime. I would like to beseech directors and producers in the cinematic world of one important factor. If you are going to create a story from a novel that has been read for 85 years, then FOLLOW THE STORY!! While these parts may seem to you as irrelevant, they actually are not, and are put there for a reason. Please leave our much beloved novels intact.