WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Death on the Nile, in theaters now.
In the new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, there are quite a few murders at the heart of the mystery on the Karnak barge. It left the detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) stumped, realizing there was more at play than just Linnet’s (Gal Gadot) fortune. Her death kickstarted a domino effect of lies being covered up, but thankfully, the genius investigator solved the case on the Egyptian river. Unfortunately, it came at a high cost and resulted in Death on the Nile‘s biggest victim being someone who wasn’t even murdered.
This was none other than Rosalie, one of Linnet’s closest friends from school. She got Linnet to hire her aunt, Salome, to sing and play piano on the Karnak, but Rosalie was also in a secret relationship with Bouc, one of Poirot’s closest friends.
Sadly, Poirot spilled the beans that Euphemia, Bouc’s mom, hired him to investigate Rosalie to see if she was worthy of marrying Bouc. It felt classist and, at times, a tad racist, with Euphemia determining that no matter how good Rosalie was, she could never be good enough. Even Poirot came to her defense, declaring that she was pure of heart, a good person and someone who loved Bouc unconditionally. Moreover, she wasn’t after the money Euphemia was withholding because Rosalie was a self-made woman.
Rosalie was also the bigger person, wanting Euphemia’s approval and nothing more. She knew Bouc was struggling with money due to the wealthy Euphemia trying to control him via his inheritance, but despite all that, she needed the mother to sign off on them to make Bouc content. Unfortunately, he got killed on the Karnak when he saw the killer trying to cover up Linnet’s shooting. Bouc was only in the wrong place at the wrong time because he was trying to steal Linnet’s necklace, which he intended to pawn so he could get money for marriage. It was a tragic ending, but what was most heartbreaking was Death on the Nile‘s finale when everyone left the barge.
Rosalie, showing great humanity and understanding, took a grieving Euphemia off, consoling and hugging her. Without Rosalie, Euphemia wouldn’t even have been able to walk, which shocked Poirot. He was disgusted by his employer’s attitude, so to see Rosalie being so benevolent spoke volumes about her character. This conclusion was even more tragic because, in the Death on the Nile novel, Rosalie got a happy ending with Tim, Bouc’s original inspiration, and also garnered his mother’s blessing on the boat.
In the film, even the feisty Salome couldn’t believe how strong her niece was while in mourning, taking care of the woman who put Bouc on this path. Had Euphemia not berated them, Bouc wouldn’t have attempted to pocket the necklace and subsequently landed in trouble. Rosalie wanted to honor her beloved, but caring for such as classist and twisted person didn’t feel like the ending a good person deserved.
See how Rosalie was left to pick up the pieces in Death on the Nile, in theaters now.
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