For those who love a good mystery, take a thrilling ride with the latest film released last Friday, “Murder on the Orient Express.”
This film takes place on a transcontinental train from Asia to Europe and revolves around the murder of one of the passengers on the train. As someone caught on the train in the midst of a snow-in, the detective is hired to then solve the case.
Director and actor Kenneth Branagh, also known for directing “Thor” and “Cinderella (2015),” did an excellent show of cinematography by using the glass panes of the train to show the double-sided stories of each character’s truths and lies.
Not to mention the beauty of the movie with its wide landscape shots and show of the train. Of course, character design between personality and costume is perfected to the T since each passenger is a completely different person from the next.
This movie was stocked with big name actors, including Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Josh Gad and Willem Dafoe.
The movie plot reminded me much of “Clue” with the stock character stereotypes and the reason to believe one’s more guilty than the next. The detective himself reminded me too closely of Sherlock Holmes with his wit, his emotional isolation and his keen eye for details.
What struck me most though was the end. SPOILER ALERT. The end had me baffled but not too surprised as the detective tied everything together in the sequence of events. I was so bent on finding one murderer, I completely overlooked the overlapping lives these passengers had and how they “coincidentally” found themselves together.
It was an excitedly twisted end that I had foreseen and kicked myself for not tying the ends together. Something a true detective must remember is to forget any conventional ways of crime and to seek the truth of reality. The detective had an eye for imbalance, and he knew something was off about everyone he interviewed.
I was left jumping between passengers by measuring each person’s mental strength and motive to want this man dead. What I didn’t expect was for all of them to have killed the man. He was a liar, a thief and a murderer. The detective knew he had many enemies but didn’t realize that all of them had a hand in his murder.
I certainly can’t be disappointed in the turn of events. It was an excellent mystery movie that changed the end to leave everyone in the right and wrong. It’s not too often when a mystery leaves all of the suspects at fault. Maybe my detective skills need some honing, but I guess I’ll leave it to you to decide if you guessed it right.
