Sultry Michelle looks first class at Orient Express premiere
STARS of the hotly awaited remake of Murder On The Orient Express oozed old- school glamour at its London premiere last night.
Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley and Penelope Cruz, 43, led the parade as they posed on the red carpet at London’s Royal Albert Hall with co- stars Olivia Colman, Dame Judi Dench, Lucy Boynton, 23, and director Kenneth Branagh – who stars as detective Hercule Poirot.
Pfeiffer, 59, who plays a rich and outspoken widow in the mystery, sparkled in a dazzling silver gown while Depp, 54, lived up to his louche image by posing with his bow tie rakishly undone.
The lavish film boasts Oscar winners Dame Judi, 82, and Cruz.
Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley, 25, who plays the fierce- minded governess Mary Debenham, was resplendent in an emerald gown.
She admitted that she was so overwhelmed on meeting others on the set on the first day of filming that she blurted out a naughty word.
“I swore,” she said. “Well, it was Johnny Depp and Judi Dench. I couldn’t help myself.”
Olivia Colman, 43, confessed that she had watched the 1974 version of the film with Albert Finney as Poirot but said it was so long ago she could not remember who did it. She also admitted that she had never read an Agatha Christie novel.
“That’s awful,” said Olivia, who plays the loyal maid of Dame Judi’s haughty Princess Dragomiroff. “I do love a whodunnit, which again is remarkable why I’ve never read them.
“It makes no sense, I’m just as baffled as everybody else but I do love the ‘ I think I know, I think I’ve got it, I’ve totally got it’ and I never get it right.”
Taken from the novel by Agatha Christie, it tells of 13 stranded strangers on the famous train who are all suspects in the gruesome murder of a fellow passenger who has been stabbed multiple times.
Among the travellers is a Russian princess, a missionary, an Army officer and car salesman.
Branagh, 56, joked that the moustache he wore as the famous detective almost stole the show. “It was enormous, very bold,” he said. “It had its own dressing room.”
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS ( Cert 12A; 114mins)
DIRECTOR Kenneth Branagh clearly doesn’t shrink from a challenge. There have been at least four screen versions of Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express and you’ve probably seen at least one so you know how it all ends. Do we need yet another one? Can Branagh find a way to justify its existence? No pressure.
Against all the odds Branagh succeeds in delivering a stylish slice of vintage entertainment. He takes the material seriously but attacks it with enough energy and dash to bring it alive and ensure it never feels like a museum piece. He also finds an underlying sense of poignancy in the way a senseless murder touches many lives, leaving a legacy of unbearable grief.
To add to the challenge, Branagh also stars as the world’s greatest detective Hercule Poirot. Initially the signs are not good. Branagh seems to have borrowed his accent from Fred the maître d’ at the First Dates restaurant and that epic handlebar moustache looks like a show- stopper from pastry week on Bake Off.
But once we grow accustomed to his face and manner, Branagh’s dapper sleuth is as prissy and pernickety as we would expect from the Christie books. He also uses his little white fists as well as his little grey cells, making him more of a man of action than Albert Finney, David Suchet or Peter Ustinov.
In Istanbul passengers board the Orient Express. A weary Poirot is looking forward to three days free from crime or cares. But in the dark of night a passenger is stabbed to death. Then an avalanche traps the train in the mountains. There is a killer on board and a carriage full of likely suspects.
Could it be the deceased’s assistant Hector MacQueen ( Josh Gad)? Perhaps imperious Russian Princess Dragomiroff ( Judi Dench) or glamorous, garrulous American man- eater Caroline Hubbard ( Michelle Pfeiffer)? Fellow suspects include demure Spanish missionary Pilar Estravados ( Penelope Cruz), dashing British doctor Arbuthnot ( Leslie Odom Jr) and governess Mary Debenham ( Daisy Ridley) who seems desperate to conceal her relationship with the good doctor.
Murder On The Orient Express contains one of Christie’s cleverest plots and Branagh transforms it into lavish, razzle- dazzle escapism. There is luxury in everything from the costumes to the wonderfully fluid camerawork. And of the first- class ensemble cast, Pfeiffer stands out with an alluring mixture of charm and steel as Mrs Hubbard. At the end Poirot’s services are urgently required in Egypt. Given what he achieves with an old war horse like Murder On The Orient Express, who wouldn’t book a passage on Branagh’s Death On The Nile?
THELMA ( Cert 15; 116mins)
NORWEGIAN director Joachim Trier makes an unexpected move into Stephen King territory with Thelma, a stately but always intriguing supernatural tale that owes a lot to King’s classic novel Carrie.
Thelma ( Eili Harboe) has left her rural family home to attend university in Oslo and makes a friend in the beautiful Anja ( Kaya Wilkins).
But when their affection threatens to develop into romance it challenges Thelma’s strict Christian upbringing. It also coincides with Thelma having a series of epileptic seizures and seeming to develop telekinetic powers.
It is beautifully photographed, well- acted and keeps you guessing.
78/ 52 ( Cert 15; 92mins)
THE shower scene in Psycho is one of the most unforgettable moments
in cinematic history. This documentary examines the making of that scene in forensic detail and it illustrates the enduring genius of master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock.
Its title refers to the fact that there were 78 edits in the 52- second shower scene. There is plenty of archive footage of Hitchcock discussing the film but 78/ 52 also features expert witnesses including Marli Renfro who served as Janet Leigh’s body double, Leigh’s daughter Jamie Lee Curtis and Anthony Perkins’ son Osgood.
Director Guillermo del Toro, editor Walter Murch and actor Elijah Wood are among those explaining why every detail matters. Movie buffs and Hitchcock fans will adore this fascinating insight into a classic. THE SON Of BIGfOOT ( Cert PG; 92mins)
UNTIL the arrival of Paddington 2 next week, audiences will be happy to make do with animated feature The Son Of Bigfoot, an undemanding affair from the creators of Robinson Crusoe.
Thirteen- year- old Adam sets out to solve the mystery of his long- lost father and the discovery of a hairy, harmless creature living in a nearby forest answers a lot of Adam’s questions. It also propels him on an adventure to thwart the evil schemes of a multinational corporation. SORcERER ( Cert 15; 121mins)
SORCERER should have been a bigger hit when it was first released in 1977. Director William Friedkin had made The Exorcist and Sorcerer’s star Roy Scheider had recently appeared in Jaws. But their combined allure wasn’t enough to attract audiences to a tense, slow- burning remake of the French classic The Wages Of Fear.
Set in South America it follows four desperate men who volunteer to drive a cargo of explosive nitroglycerin across treacherous terrain.
This 40th anniversary reissue convinces you that Sorcerer deserves a second chance.