RageLite review - Murder on the Orient Express (David Suchet - Marathon 2/3)

We return to the Murder on the Orient Express Marathon with Agatha Christie’s Poirot.

Agatha Christie’s Poirot was a long-running series for ITV that covered almost all the Agatha Christie stories, although many of the shorter ones were loose adaptations. They allowed us time to develop a small supporting cast, including Poirot’s compatriot Captain Hastings, the Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Japp and ever-loyal secretary Miss Lemon. The show had the opportunity to flesh out Poirot’s distinct mannerisms for both comedic and humanising effect. 70 episodes were produced over 24 years, adapting pretty much every Poirot story there was, but we come close to the end with the 2010 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express.

Since this isn’t a film, no Rotten Tomatoes rating worth anything, but it has 7.9/10 on IMDb right now, so make of that what you will, let’s get to the point

All 3 of these films open with Poirot solving some case or another. This one immediately sets a much darker tone than the others as Poirot makes a revelation about a soldier who was lying about being with a victim, this soldier goes on to shoot himself.

The next oddity I remember is that Poirot had nothing to force him back to London like he did in the book and the other two films. The train being full is an important part of the plot, but there’s no reason in this he couldn’t catch another train, something Poirot himself even admits.

This seems to be the first film where M Bouc actually Belgian, well done on that front. But I think the more important thing to note is Poirot’s attitude in this is very different. He’s a lot colder and angrier than he seemed in the book or in either of the other adaptations. We seem him pass a woman being stoned for adultery, he later more-or-less says the woman deserved that for knowing the consequences and doing it anyway. I find it hard to believe the Poirot in either of the other adaptations would agree.

Much like with the Albert Finney version, a lot of time is spent on the setup and the initial interviews, most of the revelations that came out gradually through the book are reserved for the final reveal, where Poirot’s reaction is quite visceral. It’s a good speech he makes and it’s set up properly, there’s a lot of focus on his Catholicism but there’s a problem. As in the book, he initially offers an alternative solution where an outside party committed the murder, if he truly believed that the murderer on the train was deserving of punishment, he would never have brought it up, especially since he both knows that its false, and that it doesn’t fit all the clues.

I understand the Catholicism element was polarising for viewers at the time, whilst Poirot was born Catholic in the books, it was never given the kind of attention it was given here. But I don’t think it entirely derails the narrative, as this is kind of a moral grey situation and both sides draw to religion to justify themselves, which is an interesting conflict for the climax. Poirot’s reaction to the deaths early on may seem cold, but this is season 12 of the show, he’s seen everything and isn’t fazed by any of this anymore. 

David Suchet makes a great Poirot, with 20 + years of experience by this point, I don’t think there’s any more to be said about it. He’s the definitive version of Poirot across generations for good reason. Toby Jones ended up being a fantastic Ratchett, he’s made a career of playing villains and house elves for good reason. Even if some of the movies he’s been in have been sh*t (looking at you Fallen Kingdom) he’s easily hateable and smarmy.

One change that’s interesting is the loss of power on the train, meaning the passengers, stuck in the snowdrift have the bare minimum when it comes to food and heating. This serves as a way to keep the passengers together rather than scattered throughout the train most of the day, and adds to a sense of dread about the whole situation.

The David Suchet version of Murder on the Orient Express has issues when it come to the tone, the stoning felt in rather poor taste, even if thematically relevant. And whilst the anger from the reveal is well foreshadowed it doesn’t quite work when you’re incorporating Christie’s original ending. It’s not the best directed but has a decent cast, including the definitive version of Poirot for many, including myself.

Rating 70/100