Death on the Nile
FILM REVIEW
Finally, back with a review! It has genuinely taken me this long to find a decent movie to review. I had planned to do Kingsman, but I DO NOT recommend to anyone to see that. So here we are with ‘Death on the Nile’. Death on the Nile is the sequel to ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and the second movie based on the Agatha Christie novels… apparently (more of an audiobook man myself).
This film like the other follows famous detective Hercule Poirot., this time to a wedding. Not just any wedding though, a wedding for the illustrious and wealthy Simon and Linnet Doyle. Poirot is attending a destination wedding (the worst kind!) in a small village in Egypt. The wedding reception and festivities, however, are aboard a luxurious boat steaming up the Nile River.
It’s all fun and games, including an amazing excursion of a Pharaoh’s tomb, until one uninvited guest, Jacqueline, Simon’s ex-girlfriend, suddenly appears on board to spoil the fun. Determined to win back Simon’s love, Simon and Jacqueline get into a heated argument on board the Karnak, as Linnet retires to her room. Simon, once again, declares to Jacqueline, “I do not love you! Leave me be” before Jacqueline angrily fires a shot into his leg. Afterwards, the two of them are whisked away to different parts of the boat; Simon to tend to his injured leg and Jacqueline to a room where she can calm her nerves.
As the next morning approaches, however, Linnet’s body is discovered in her and Simon’s bedroom on the boat, a bullet lodged in her temple. Simon is beyond devastated! Who would want to hurt Linnet? There are plenty of guests and suspects aboard the ship: Bouc, Poirot’s friend, Euphemia, Bouc’s mother, Linnet’s cousin, Andrew, the ship’s doctor, Dr Windlesham, Marie Van Schuyler, the godmother, Mrs Bowers, the nurse, Louise, the lady’s maid, Salmone, the singer, Rosalie, Salamone’s niece and business manager. Everyone is a suspect!
You’re probably like me thinking, why on earth would you kill someone on a boat where there are only a few others on it …. Not exactly foolproof. However, Excusing that major flaw in Agatha’s plotline it’s a pretty good watch. It is fun to spot lots of famous actors/comedians in their roles in the film. And the climax is surprising and both shocking. I will say though that because you know there is a murder coming as soon as you sit on your seat in the cinema, the director has put lots of “near misses” just to build suspense however I felt it did take a while for the first one to finally happen, then once it started it didn’t stop! Kenneth Branaugh does a really good Poirot and Rose Leslie from Vigil does a really good but corny French accent.
Throughout watching the film, you can’t help but have Numbers 32:23 in your head “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.” On the boat, the killers think that they have done this excellent job covering up the murder, but they are found out and subsequently die as a result of being found out. We can’t help but relate that to ourselves, we constantly sin forgetting how serious it is forgetting how much it angers God. We go through life thinking “it won’t matter if I do this…”, “No one in church will find out …”. We try and hide our sins from others and God. We may pull the wool over other eyes but not our saviours. He knows what we have done and unless we are ready to repent and bring our sins to Jesus then our punishment is the same as the movie, death.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16