The film debuted in theaters on September 14. Murder in Venice (review here), a new feature film by the director Kenneth Branagh in which the actor returns to the role of detective Hercule Poirot, having already done so in Murder on the Orient Express AND Murder on the Nile. Based on the novel by Agatha Christie. Poirot and the Massacre of the Innocents (which has many differences from the film currently in theaters), Murder in Venice takes the investigator to a beautiful lagoon city, forced to hire a bodyguard(Riccardo Scamarcio) to be able to drive away troubles and force an old writer friend (Tina Fey) take part in a seance that will have dire consequences, prompting Poirot to investigate more than one murder. It was on the occasion of the release of a new film in the saga dedicated to Hercule Poirot that we decided to compile a list of the best roles in the career of Kenneth Branagh, the great British actor who partly inherited the legacy of Laurence Olivier and whom we also recently saw in a blockbuster Oppenheimer (here’s our review).
Films by and with Kenneth Branagh that are worth watching at least once in your life
Gilderoy Lockhart, Harry Potter And The Chamber of secrets
Let’s start with perhaps one of the actor’s most famous performances, since it takes place in one of the most famous sagas in the world. In the second chapter of the film series Harry Potter, in fact, Kenneth Branagh plays Lockhart, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who, as his name (from the first translation) suggests, is a brown owl. A man who is able to brag about deeds and missions that he has never completed, presenting himself as a pure hero, although he is just an egoist who really likes to be adored by crowds of people who see nothing more than appearance. For this role, Kenneth Branagh somehow stripped himself of the dramatic aura worthy of the Shakespearean actor that he is, and also demonstrated his special penchant for comedy.
Hamlet, Hamlet
As for the fact that he is a deep actor Shakespeareanwe can’t make this list without mentioning Hamlet, a 1996 feature film that is undoubtedly one of the best transpositions of William Shakespeare’s tragedy. The film stars Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet himself, a prince of Denmark seeking to avenge his father’s death as tragedy strikes his life and all the people he loves. The film has a very solid cast, which also includes Kate Winslet like the melancholy and fragile Ophelia. This is one of those films that is truly worth watching at least once in your life.
Laurence Olivier Marilyn
A few lines above we explained that Kenneth Branagh is to some extent the heir to Sir Laurence Olivier, one of the most beloved actors in the history of English theater and cinema. So it’s perhaps no coincidence that Branagh ended up starring as Olivier in the 2011 film. Marilyn. The film chronicles the making of the film. The Prince and the Dancer a film in which Marilyn Monroe played a dancer who spent the night in the house of the monarch, seducing him with her beauty and strange and unexpected naivety.
Hercule Poirot, Murder on the Orient Express
If you want to make a list of Kenneth Branagh’s most iconic roles, you can’t exclude the one in which he first sported the Hercule Poirot mustache. Murder on the Orient Express is a mystery that, as you can tell from the title, takes place entirely on a luxury Orient Express train that crosses Europe on a dream trip that only a few can afford. A journey that, however, turns into a nightmare when one of the most unpleasant passengers (played by Johnny Depp at the height of the storm after Amber Heard) is found dead. Using his technique of rationality and lists of exceptions, as well as his keen powers of observation, Poirot must shed light on the mystery and bring the culprit to justice.
Victor, Frankenstein Mary Shelley
Although the 1994 film did not convince audiences and critics unanimously, the interpretation Kenneth Branagh d Victor Frankenstein’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous Gothic novel is undoubtedly worth watching. This is the story of the “modern Prometheus”, this scientist who wants to go beyond the limits imposed on humanity, defeat death and bring back to life a creature created from human debris, which will soon be perceived as a real monster. Being a transposition of a very famous book, Frankenstein Mary Shelley it doesn’t offer God knows what plot or visual twist, but Kenneth Branagh’s skill is undeniable. Moreover, it is in the film. Robert DeNiro take on the role of the Creature.