Mr. Holmes (2015)

Simply A Masterpiece

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

It's not what you might expect from a Sherlock Holmes movie, and sometimes you think the BBC is just milking the brand for every last ounce, but this movie is worth a watch.The Roger character played by Milo Parker is truly outstanding. Fantastic acting. He gets a 10.You can always count on Ian McKellen and Hattie Morahan.Very poignant piece. Some good Life introspection.

While Robert Downey Jr is absent from the iconic role of the World's Greatest Detective on the big screen, legendary British actor Ian Mckellan steps in those shoes. From achieving international success and critical acclaim from playing franchise-favourite roles like Erik Lensherr/Magneto (X-Men) and Gandalf (Lord of the Rings Trilogy/The Hobbit Trilogy), Mckellan has just about what fans or moviegoers might expect from taking on the role of Sherlock Holmes. Mckellan fits the role brilliantly, but if one was expecting a crime thriller they may be disappointed. The story takes off with an elderly Holmes, age 93, as he lives under a roof of a countryside house and cared for by a housekeeper and her intriguing son. The point is: Holmes is old and unable to come out of retirement to solve one last crime, as fans may have hoped for; but he suffers from memory loss as he tries to recall a recent case he was working on several years prior. This is followed by flashbacks from that case, which may give fans a bit of comfort, but the real attraction is the performance of Mckellan and his relationship with the boy, which develops a situation of importance to the story. In comparison to other recent adaptations of the World's Greatest Detective like BBC's Sherlock, Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and the 2009 movie Sherlock Holmes and its 2011 sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, both starring Robert Downey Jr, Mr Holmes probably isn't the crime thriller most were hoping for, but shines a bit of light with great performances and a heart-warming story.

I had my doubts about MR. HOLMES when I saw that it was based on a book by an American novelist and had a screenplay by an American writer. I've nothing against our American cousins, but when I sat down and watched the movie my worst fears were confirmed: although the film occasionally plays lip service to the works of Conan Doyle, this is utterly unlike any kind of Sherlock Holmes I've seen before. I didn't recognise him. It's like some American literary novelist's idea of what Holmes should be rather than an attempt to connect with the great man himself. And I know for a fact that there are American pastiche authors whose work will be forever ignored by Hollywood who can write much better Holmes than the one depicted here.The film's idea is to posit Holmes as an elderly man in his final years. The slow-moving narrative mixes together three separate story lines, two from his past and one set in the present day. And the problem with this film? It's so slow! Everything is dragged out to the most minute detail and none of it is interesting, at all. Ian McKellen is a good actor - although Bill Condon is a bit lazy, making almost exactly the same kind of film as his GODS AND MONSTERS from a couple of decades ago - but he doesn't play Holmes here, just some kind of wise old man.Each of the stories has flaws and faults. I was primarily interested in seeing Hiroyuki Sanada (one of my favourite actors) in the Japanese storyline, but it's very weak and simplistic and Sanada only shows up in a couple of scenes. The main mystery back story is depressing and unlike any of the cases that the literary Holmes investigated. The present day stuff is better, but the kid is annoyingly wise and chirpy, and Laura Linney's presence is a big distraction given her awful accent, which is all over the place. Overall, MR. HOLMES is a real bore, something that none of the original stories and few of the earlier adaptations were.

This was a very enjoyable film, and one that brings back the Holmes character for other reasons than to play around with his powers of deduction. And the times it references to tropes and plots from Holmes books, it's not made a big deal of. Instead, this is an exploration of some very human themes and emotions, using a familiar character as a tool to explore these.Ian McKellen is, as always, exceptional at being tender and intense at the same time. The make up is spot on, and aided by his acting you can clearly tell when each scene is set. The supporting cast also does a great job.The highlight of the movie is the way it explores human connection, growing old and memories in a sad, but warm way. The sentimentality does not feel forced, and you can relate to the characters on a pure human level.The "mystery" never gets all that interesting, and while it is in no way the center of the movie, it's still given enough time for it to be a bit more interesting than it is. But the movie still works well.