Death on the Nile

It's 1937, and newlyweds Linnet and Simon Doyle (Gal Gadot and Arnie Hammer) are on their honeymoon, but things aren’t quite going according to plan. Simon’s arranged a little get-together of friends and family in order to celebrate their recent nuptials. However, Simon’s ex-fiancée, Jackie (Emma Mackey – Sex Education), jealously refuses to let go of him. Stalking them across the world just to stare angrily, persuade Simon that he’s still in love with her, or just to make a scene…

Even after they book an entire steamship just for their party, Jackie has somehow managed to weasel hold of a ticket so she can join them. On the first night out, the wealthy heiress Linnet is shot dead in her sleep. The gun matches Jackie’s but there’s one problem – Jackie has an iron-tight alibi. Sedated with morphia and watched the entire night, she couldn’t have done it! This leaves only her nearest and dearest to point the finger of suspicion at… Fortunately, Poirot (Shakespearian actor, Kenneth Branagh) has been onboard throughout the whole affair, accompanying one of the guests, his good friend Bouc (Tom Bateman – Murder on the Orient Express). It’s now down to him to start questioning the guests and identifying the culprit. However, once he starts looking closer, all had a secret and any of these could have been motive for murder – love, inheritance, hate, jealousy, resentment, not to mention her $1 million necklace…

Kenneth Branagh is always charming as the Belgian detective, and in this film, we get to explore a little more of his past, and his heart. There’s a ridiculously star-studded cast – Gal Gadot, Arnie Hammer, Annette Bening, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Ali Fazal, and even Russell Brand, in his most buttoned-down role to date. Some artistic license has been taken with the film, so there are some new characters and nuances, making this adaptation feel fresh and new.

Natalie Tyldesley-Marshall