Ariadne Oliver is a character featured in the 2023 film A Haunting in Venice, based on the 1969 novel "Hallowe'en Party" by Agatha Christie and portrayed by American actress Tina Fey. She is a mystery novelist and a friend of Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective played by Kenneth Branagh.
Background[]
Ariadne Oliver is a middle-aged woman who writes detective fiction. She is handsome, albeit untidy, with a habit of changing her appearance regularly. Mrs. Oliver considers herself a feminist and often remarks that a woman should be in charge of Scotland Yard. Despite public murmurs to the contrary, Ariadne Oliver is a teetotaler. Ariadne's favorite food is apples, a fruit Christie herself was partial to.
Ariadne is a successful and popular writer of detective fiction, whose most famous creation is Sven Hjerson, a vegetarian Finnish sleuth. She often complains about the difficulties of writing and the demands of her fans and publishers. She also expresses her frustration with Hjerson, whom she regrets creating and knows nothing about. She has a fondness for apples, which she eats constantly and leaves the cores everywhere.
As a feminist and supporter of women's rights, Ariadne believes that women are more intelligent and capable than men and that they should be in charge of everything, including Scotland Yard. She is outspoken and confident, but also kind-hearted and loyal. She has a close friendship with Poirot, whom she admires and respects, despite their occasional disagreements.
Role in film[]
In the film, Ariadne Oliver is invited by Poirot to join him in Venice, where he is living in self-imposed exile after the events of Death on the Nile. She arrives on Halloween night and asks for his help in cracking the secret behind an established medium named Joyce Reynolds. Oliver believes that if Hercules Poirot can be stumped by this possible supernatural performance, then she just might have her next book idea. She then attends a séance at a haunted palazzo, where one of the guests is murdered. Ariande assists Poirot in his investigation, using her knowledge of the criminal mind and her feminine intuition.
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