Facts about 'Death on the Nile'

28/05/2023

27/05/2023

🤍

27/05/2023

Jackie’s Backstory - Interesting Yet Forgotten

Considering the important role Jacqueline “Jackie” de Bellefort (Emma Mackey) plays in the story, it is a shame how little of her backstory is shown in the film. The only thing provided outside her relationship with Simon is when she mentions meeting Linnet in a school play, where their teacher switched the two girls’ roles, giving Linnet a bigger role than Jackie.

The film fails to mention that Jackie is a good shot, having been taught by her grandfather. This information is vital for the story’s latter half, helping the audience piece together her involvement in the crime.

27/05/2023

Miss Van Schuyler and Miss Bowers’ Relationship - Two Different Secrets

Several changes were made to Miss Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders), one of which being her relationship with Miss Bowers (Dawn French). During his investigation in the film, Poirot discovers that Van Schuyler and Bowers are secret lovers however, this was not the discovery he made in the book.

Linnet’s stolen necklace is seemingly returned by Bowers, who reveals that Van Schuyler has a habit of “taking things”, with the character Colonel Race (missing from the film) describing her as “a kleptomaniac.” Bowers admits that this is the reason she always accompanies Van Schuyler, to stop her from pinching things.

25/05/2023

Bouc and His Mother, Euphemia - Should've Kept the Book's Duo

In 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, Poirot was assisted in his investigation by his friend Bouc (Tom Bateman), as is what happened in the novel. In the sequel film, Bouc reunites with Poirot in Egypt, this time accompanied by his artist mother, Euphemia (Annette Bening).

Neither of these characters were in the original novel. Instead, they have replaced the characters of Mrs. Allerton and her son Tim. The problem is that with Bouc replacing Tim’s role, he has to take on that character’s actions resulting in several story and character changes that end up cluttering the film.

23/05/2023

Changed Key Items - Paint or Polish

As with a lot of who-done-its, Death on the Nile uses several seemingly random items as clues for both Poirot and the audience to piece together the truth of the crime. Those items differ between book and film.

In order for Simon to fake his initial gunshot wound, in the book he uses a bottle of nail polish whereas in the film he used a stolen tube of paint. Linnet’s stolen pearl necklace is also changed to a diamond necklace. These changes are largely inconsequential but feel odd.

21/05/2023

21/05/2023

Poirot's Reason for Being in Egypt - And Everyone Else's Too

In the film, Poirot claims to merely be on holiday in Egypt until he later reveals that he has been on a secret investigation on top of the main mystery since the start. This was never the case in the book, as Poirot was genuinely on holiday and just happened to be on the Karnak when the murder occurred.

The other characters, save a few, were similarly on the boat by chance. The film, however, takes a different approach, with all the characters having been invited by Linnet and Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) to celebrate their wedding.

21/05/2023

The Mustache Backstory - Did This Need to Be Here?

This film opens up not with the introduction of wealthy socialite Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) as with the book, but instead with an entirely original sequence involving the origin of Poirot’s eccentric mustache. The scene depicts Poirot in World War I where his observations save his troop but a b***y trap mutilates his face, prompting his then-fiancée to suggest he grow a mustache to cover it.

Not only does this have no bearing with any of the little backstory Christie provided for her character, but the whole sequence is a drag to get through, especially on a repeat watch.