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Branagh redeems himself. For now.

I hated Kenneth Branagh's portrayal of Hercule Poirot in the 2018 Murder on the Orient Express botch-job. In one of the worst Christie adaptations I've ever seen, Branagh did nothing to improve on the action or the dialogue. However, his Shakespeare has definitely won me back.
    This is from the man I LOVED in Frankenstein.
    What worries me more is the impending release of Death on the Nile with a reprise of the moustache, one assumes.
    However, the preview screening of All Is True - written by Ben Elton - gave me a hint, once more, of the actor I know Branagh to be. He makes an excellent William Shakespeare in what is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. It's like something from an art gallery, interposed with pastiches - that just about work - of great movies of the twentieth century.
      No-one minds driving to Cambridge when you can enjoy the Arts Picturehouse on a windy Wednesday in February. Comfy seats for a screening of the film and then a Q&A led by Mark Kermode.
    Both Branagh and Elton were at their wittiest, but then intelligent questions from Kermode always help. Elton was especially interesting, shedding light on his research and writing process. His imagining of the bits in between the facts really is quite extraordinary. He explained in depth how he took the moment of the fire that destroyed The Globe in 1613 and developed a bewildered Shakespeare returning home, to never write another play.
    The film itself was a complete joy - Judi Dench makes a great Anne Shakespeare.
    But the most surreal moment comes when Sir Ian McKellen sits in front of a fire and banters with Shakespeare. Because that's what it feels like: McKellen is himself and Branagh is the bard. The candlelight helps with the surreal nature of the setting and their 'Sonnet-off' is simply sublime.
    The date for the release of the new Death on the Nile keeps moving further and further away. Long may that process continue. Mia Farrow excelled in the 1978 version and I doubt there's a better cast than Peter Ustinov and David Niven investigating Bette Davis, Maggie Smith and Angela Lansbury. But Branagh might prove me wrong. Let's hope he loses the moustache.
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