I recently went to the movies and watched the new version of Murder on the Orient Express. This is the murder mystery that is based on Agatha Christie’s novel that was published in 1934. The main character is a detective by the name of Hercule Poirot. Poirot’s character is often shown to be “obsessive-compulsive” in her writing, as well as the movies and tv shows that are adaptations of Christie’s writing. There have been several Poirot portrayals over the years. I appreciate the handful of shows and movies that I have seen over the years that are based on Christie’s writings. Her body of work speaks for itself. I am not an expert on her writing, but I have noticed that this character is often tied to discussions about being “OCD.” I obviously can’t speak for Christie on her creation of Poirot. In this current version of the film, Poirot makes some comments about symmetry while eating his breakfast as well as commenting on how a man’s tie is crooked. At one point, the character steps in something while walking down the street. He comments about needing the balance on the other shoe as well, after he accidentally stepped in the mess with just one foot. He purposely stepped in it again with the other foot then seemed okay at that point to literally keep moving. This character seems to appreciate cleanliness, symmetry, and feeling: “just right.”
There is more and more OCD awareness that is being spread throughout our society. We still have a long way to go but this is great news! More and more articles and discussions are happening regarding the term “OCD” being thrown around so casually in our society. Examples include: “I’m sooooo OCD about my car.” Or,”She’s so OCD, she doesn’t let anyone walk in her apartment with their shoes on.” As we know, the term “OCD” is often said inaccurately. We know that OCD is much more that wanting “cleanliness” and symmetry. OCD can be pure torment, it often wreaks havoc and we know it goes much further than this. Poirot is a fictional character and I don’t know if he has “OCD” or not, I really can’t be certain.:) In my opinion, the actor who portrayed Poirot, Kenneth Branagh, did an excellent job.
I can’t help but tie music and movies into talking and writing about emotional health. Listening to music and watching movies have been helpful coping skills of mine for many years. There is a part of the film where Poirot explains that life is not always fair regarding justice being served. He explains that he will try to: “learn to live with the imbalance.” Learning to live with the “imbalance” is exactly what we want to do with OCD. We try to get it “just right” and we see that getting it “wrong” or “imbalanced” is what leads to more freedom in our lives. LESS RITUALS CAN LEAD TO MORE PEACE!! I’m with Poirot on this one, I’m going to continue to try and live with the “imbalance.”
Jeremy Rudd