For most filmgoers, the name Michael Green probably doesn’t ring a bell — but I’ve had my eye on him since 2049.
Um — Blade Runner 2049, to be precise.
Green penned the ingenious screenplay for that 2017 title, creating a sequel almost as good as its groundbreaking predecessor. That same year, he also wielded his pen on Logan, the sixth Alien movie and a masterful new version of Agatha Christie’s famed whodunit Murder on the Orient Express.
Green’s credits likewise include 2021’s Jungle Cruise and, for TV, American Gods and the original Heroes; but his 2017 Christie adaptation, directed by Kenneth Branagh with a star-studded cast, was hit enough to kick off what seems to have become an official franchise.
Branagh — who also stars as Christie’s resolute Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot — followed Orient Express with Death on the Nile in 2022 and then, this year, A Haunting in Venice.
I found this new film the best-written among Green’s three adaptations of Dame Agatha.
Which is all the more remarkable, since he’s completely rewritten her 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party, on which the film is based. Shifting the setting from sixties Britain to 1940s Italy, Green retains a few names and one simple plot device; beyond that, he essentially builds a whole new whodunit — one that’s smart and scary, with a surprise solution which never feels artificial. By that, I mean Green’s ending emerges so organically from the characters that the viewer doesn’t feel duped or manipulated.
Better yet, once the solution to the crime has been unveiled, Green still has two more twists to reveal — and those feel likewise fully organic.
Set about 10 years after Nile, this new film has a weary Poirot settling into would-be retirement in the titular Italian town. But once he’s invited to a Halloween party followed by a séance, the seasoned detective finds himself swept into a murder-mystery involving his host’s long-dead daughter and (perhaps) her ghost — along with an entire gang of specters seemingly intent on vengeance against folks who once mistreated them in this haunted palazzo.
Branagh, who’s been nominated in more Oscar categories (seven) than any other person, is truly an actor’s director. As in his previous Christie efforts, he has a fine cast to work with here: Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh, Riccardo Scamarcio and young Jude Hill, who was so impressive in Branagh’s Belfast. Upholding one of Christie’s hallmarks, this is a film about real people, with real hurts and hearts; as such — and thanks in part to strong performances — it ultimately feels less like a supernatural whodunit and more like a full-fledged human drama.
Unlike the earlier Death on the Nile, this movie was actually shot on location — and it shows. A Haunting in Venice is beautifully filmed, with dark, moody cinematography that plays up the watery atmosphere of its canalled locale.
Made for a modest $60 million and now heading toward a handy $100 million worldwide, Haunting is certainly making enough money to greenlight Branagh for several more Christie adaptations.
Judging from her 70-plus titles, he and Green have plenty to choose from.
