Death on the Nile is the second Agatha Christie adaptation from director/actor Kenneth Branagh, the first being Murder on the Orient Express. Both of these films are far from the first to adapt these two mystery novels from one of the most prolific writers of her time.
Death on the Nile and its predecessor hold similar reviews. Which movie is better? That is up to the viewer to decide. What moviegoers should know before jumping in is that Death on the Nile is almost an airtight mystery. There are some small little details one could pick at, though, and that does mean there will be spoilers ahead.
7 Simon And Jackie’s Plan
Simon and Jackie’s plan to murder Linnet was banking on a lot of luck. The plan was seemingly simple. Linnet was to follow the party onto the boat and then cause a scene one night. This would prompt Linnet to go to bed early, followed by Simon confronting Jackie, thus forcing her hand to shoot him.
Now, the rest of the plan is where the luck comes in. How did Simon or Jackie know how Bouc or Rosalie would react? They could have just as easily shot Jackie by mistake or taken her to Poirot who would have begun his investigation earlier. The great detective was drugged, but he could have been awoken somehow. This is only one small detail that doesn’t make a lot of sense about their plan, but there are more.
6 Rosalie’s Confrontation Of Poirot
In his investigations, Poirot decides to reveal a secret case he had been working on. Euphemia had hired Poirot to spy on Bouc and his girlfriend Rosalie. Euphemia did not care for this girl and only wanted what was best for her son. That was her twisted logic.
Unfortunately for her, Poirot came up empty-handed on both Rosalie and her adopted mother-like figure, Salome. With his detective instincts, Poirot gave his full blessing to both Rosalie and Bouc. Perhaps investigating them was shady, but he was doing it for the right reasons. It’s odd then that Rosalie got mad at Poirot before storming off. He wasn’t the bad guy there.
5 Poirot’s Lock-In
At the end of Death on the Nile, Poirot makes a dramatic gesture by firing cousin Andrew’s gun into the air. Apparently, he had told the crew of his intentions when this happened. This causes the ship to anchor itself on the spot and all doors were locked in the bar area. The only way out was through Poirot, who was still holding a gun.
This was not a terrible plan on his part. In hindsight, Poirot should have locked everyone in one room, to begin with. Allowing the passengers to freely walk around the boat while he investigated this murder mystery was his biggest mistake in the case. This led to two deaths following Linnet. Had he decided to lock everyone in a room from the beginning, maybe things would have turned out differently.
4 Jacky And Simon’s Deaths
Jacky killing Simon and herself was foreshadowed earlier in Death on the Nile. She made it clear to the great detective that she would only part with Simon through death. Once the two murderers were cornered, with two guns pointed at them, Jackie knew what she had to do.
It’s another case of a lucky shot. Somehow, Jacky was able to perfectly aim at Simon’s heart through the back of his jacket. This also lined up with her heart, even though the two are very different sizes. This tiny .22 caliber bullet was enough to pierce through two bodies. It’s a romantic gesture in a way, but all of this is very hard to believe.
3 Cousin Andrew Should Go To Jail Too
Poirot points out in his investigations that cousin Andrew was trying to steal money from Linnet. He would have done this through some tricky wording in his documents. As a lawyer, he thought he had the upper hand. Unfortunately for Andrew, Poirot is much better.
This alone should have been enough to lock Andrew away. However, Poirot takes pity on him and makes Andrew commit to paying everything back while being a good lawyer to the family. That is a sweet deal, but Poirot should have had Andrew arrested anyway. Andrew admitted that he tried to kill Simon and Linnet at the Egyptian ruins. He said he wasn’t thinking straight. Even though it was an “accident” and no one was injured, he still tried to kill them. Attempted murder is indeed a crime.
2 Why Did Poirot Shave?
The very last scene of Death on the Nile shows Poirot back in London, admiring Salome’s singing talent. It is also revealed that he has shaven his iconic mustache. Why he does this remains to be seen, although the reasoning can be deduced.
He may have done it to disguise himself in front of Salome. After all, they didn’t leave on the best of circumstances. There wasn’t any animosity between them, but the situation on the Nile was indeed strenuous. It’s hard to believe Poirot would think Salome was dumb enough not to recognize him just because he shaved, though. He might have instead shaved to show to the world that he has nothing to hide anymore. Maybe his game in the detective world is now over.
1 Linnet’s True Villainy
Linnet is the first victim in Death on the Nile — the first murder victim, that is, but she is not the first victim of cruelty. Linnet was not a great person. It seems like she was the type that thought her beauty and money could get her anything. If she betrayed anyone in the process, then she assumed that person would understand because Linnet was Linnet.
That’s only a theory, but here is some support for it:
She was engaged to Dr. Bessner but gave it up to be with Simon. Let’s not forget that he was engaged to Linnet’s best friend, Jackie. How could a good person both leave her fiancé and then steal someone else’s? There is a lot of time in between the opening scene and the honeymoon phase in Egypt. Presumably, things are more complicated than Linnet cruelly taking what she wants from the world. Or, maybe she really that is selfish? This is one mystery that cannot be solved.