There is homicide, for sure, in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, but the hirsute splendour of the consulting detective could necessitate the renaming of the caper to Moustache on the Orient Express.
Taking his cue from his character’s creator, Kenneth Brannagh gathered all written descriptions of Poirot’s moustaches by Agatha Christie, using the extensive resources of the Agatha Christie Estate. After which began the nine-month process of research and development for the requisite face furniture that would live up to what Miss Christie described as “the most magnificent moustaches in all England”.
Walrus handlebar may be a fitting description of this top lip, cheeks and chin concoction.
Apparently, the design of Poirot’s moustache was a key component in finding the character. Branagh says: “It took many months to design the moustache – Carol Hemming [Hair and Make-Up Designer] was behind it, and she came up with a brilliant reference. We began with this line of Agatha Christie’s where she referred to Poirot as having the most magnificent moustaches in England. So “moustaches” was a clue. We know she meant it in the old sense, but Carol’s idea was that there should almost be this double-moustache effect. It had to be, because Christie kept using the words “majestic, immense”. It was almost like a mask. It was Poirot’s superpower. It kept people at a distance. It needed to be in itself, structurally and luxuriously pleasing in appearance, and it needed to make a big impression.”
It certainly makes a big impression, luxurious and luxuriant, a veritable Medusa of a mo. There’s so much mo, so much so, that the Academy may have to create a new category – Best Performance by a Moustache- which he will win by a whisker.
Costume Designer Alexandra Byrne’s impeccable eye for this precise look dramatically enhanced Poirot’s presence on screen. “The first discussion was about the moustache, so that started with Ken and Carol Hemming and helps to define the character,” says Byrne. “Then I joined in, with Ken being very keen that Poirot had a military background. We did a lot of research on what that meant, to be a Belgian with a specific military background.
“We worked towards his vanity being a “vanity of precision” rather than a peacock vanity— we felt that Poirot would have developed a style of suit that worked only for him. He’s not interested in fashion – he has his style, he has his tailor, and that’s who he goes to. He has two suits and an evening suit, which is about right for a man of his class. They’re beautiful, they’re honed down to the precision of what he feels is right, and there’s this absolute symmetry and tidiness, so that when he’s in a fight and his collar gets disarranged or a button comes off, that is deeply distressing and unacceptable to him.”
In bringing Branagh’s version of Poirot up to date, there was room to make him more nimble than previous incarnations. Equally brainy and brawny, with an agility of body that equals the agility of mind.
Taking film making liberty, the opening of this latest big screen incarnation of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, rather than Aleppo, as in the book, and the first problem Poirot has to solve is potentially one involving a religious dispute, or that which may turn out to be such a dispute, in a very vibrant, noisy, crowded place. It works as a pre title device to set up Poirot’s pernickity persona and his superiority as a sleuth and strategist.
From there, it’s all aboard the Orient Express with its slew of usual suspects given crystal characterisations by Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Olivia Coleman, Penelope Cruz, Derek Jacobi, Michelle Pfeiffer and Willem Dafoe.
The story is an old chestnut, but a perennial favourite, and Brannagh the director has brought in a fine looking version. There’s a clamour of glamour, a nuance of ennui, a surplus of star power and that MO!
One could say Brannagh is the herder of the entertainment express.