Mr. Holmes

This BBC film has an aged Sherlock Holmes, in failing health, living in retirement in the country, and trying to remember his last case.

Shakespearian thespian and British Knight, Sir Ian McKellen, plays well, and convincingly, the eponymous detective, both in his later years, and in flashbacks to his last case. The veteran actor had to prepare for the role by learning bee-keeping.

Mr. Holmes lives with a house-keeper and her son. New Yorker Laura Linney plays the house-keeper, fitting in well with the British thespians, and easily, and believably, conveys the circumstances of her character's situation as she interacts with both Mr. Holmes and her son.

The son is played by Milo Parker. His performance is just so breathtakingly superb that it is difficult to sum this up in words. Truly astonishing! Truly great!

Hattie Morahan shows great emotion in her small role, whilst Frances de la Tour's foreigner-role is so brief, but so good! There is a foreign element to the plot, apart from Miss de la Tour that is, that seems superfluous, however it turns out to be a nice sub-plot. The period-detail throughout the film is very good. Sadly, the film is marred by bad lighting and also blurry camera shots as the camera moves. This detracts, and distracts, but not greatly.

Despite it's UK rating of PG, this is not a film for children, but rather is more suitable for adults. There are moving and poignant scenes, and the film deals with matters of life and death. It is also necessarily slow, as the subject matter is the great detective in the Autumn of his years. 8/10.

As a standalone film, one of the great charms of Mr. Holmes is that it can be viewed with equal level of enjoyment by two different types of people: the type who know nothing other than the basics regarding the character of Sherlock Holmes, and equally the people who have seen or read everything about him. It manages to appeal to both camps by being both a revisionist version of his stories, yet still keeping in the same spirit and not denying any of the prior literature.

Due to the fact that the film's metronome is a 93-year-old man losing his memory, the pace is unfortunately slow for the first half of the film. Having multiple flashbacks that omit information until necessary keeps the viewer guessing but also at times frustrated. In the meantime, the real entertainer is Sir Ian McKellen, who is not nearly as old as his character is in real life and yet captures the nuances of someone that age to precision, all while forming his own character of the titular Holmes. It's one I hope can make its way into the Oscar conversation yet is so much simpler I won't count on it.

The second half of the film picks up in pace as the 3 story lines all begin to start solving themselves, but more importantly Mr. Holmes (I don't think his first name is ever uttered in this movie) starts to realize a moral that he never quite came to terms with in all of his sleuthing regarding the truth and humanity. I've seen a solid handful of the countless Sherlock Holmes incarnations (he is the most commonly portrayed character in cinema) and there is something that becomes almost tragic about each one as you realize he is someone whose intelligence and wit makes him unable to live normally amongst other 'ordinary' people. As some subtext, it is perhaps a nice touch that Mr. McKellen is a proud member of the LGBT community, as there is reason to believe (although rarely outwardly said) that Sherlock Holmes may be gay himself. These are details you don't need to watch the story but can help enhance the nuance.

In terms of filmmaking, director Bill Condon and co. don't particularly do anything to motivate the situation other that just let the characters take care of business. Again, this is not a movie notable for having a quick pace, but it is never dull altogether either. The next movie I'll be watching is Gods and Monsters, the previous Condon/McKellen collaboration.

As you can see from how much I've written, I'm fond of the movie, enjoyed the numerous elements, and was left with a lot to think about. It's a small scale film and should be viewed as such, but is nonetheless enjoyable and is a nice spin on the iconic character.

I genuinely had no idea what to expect from this film as I knew so little about it. OK, so it has Sherlock Holmes as the lead character and I naturally assumed that it would be some crime solving caper. Boy was I wrong, but pleasantly so. The premise of the film is simple - what happens to the famous Sherlock Holmes in his twilight years, if he were to suffer from senility... and no it's not a comedy nor is it a depressing film. It's an evenly-paced, gentle, well-written character study of a fiercely intelligent man trying to hold on to the use of his brilliant mind to recount the details of his final case. If I could use one word to describe this film - contemplative. It's a series of vignettes, each with its own little mystery, all seemingly unconnected at first, until it gradually all comes together. Ian McKellen is, as always, fantastic and perfectly cast in the titular role but the most intriguing character is the subject of Holmes' final case, wonderfully portrayed by Hattie Morahan as Ann Kelmot. Also love the moody soundtrack by Carter Burwell. Very good film, thoughtful with striking images of the British countryside.

No spoilers, I promise The first thing that struck me about this movie was how different it is to other adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. It is very far from Robert Downey Jr's interpretation, which I thought was very good. It is so similar to Conan Doyle's books (even with Watson's romanticised twists on things) that I would advise fans of the BBC's Sherlock to steer clear, as it is a very different Holmes to the one they love.

I would recommend this for a 10+ age group, as anyone younger may not understand the complex messages that are being conveyed - they also might find two scenes in particular too frightening.

Ian McKellen is an outstanding actor, and this performance shows it. He is engaging throughout the entire run time and provides us with some very touching moments that leave us thinking long and hard. The story is very intriguing, and the ending very satisfying, even if it is a little heart-breaking.

I conclusion, I suggest you go and see this film if you are a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

When I hear the word 'detective', the first name that always comes to my mind is 'Sherlock Holmes'. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's great sleuth is without a doubt the most celebrated and renowned fictional detective of all time. Naturally we have had a lot of screen adaptations of this famed character in cinema as well as on television. Great actors through the decades have portrayed this character. We've had portrayals by Basil Rathbone, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Jeremy Brett(my favourite Holmes), Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch to name a few. But this new portrayal of the character in 'Mr. Holmes' by Sir Ian McKellen is a very unique and interesting one. It is different from the other portrayals that I mentioned above. The stylish, brilliant and charismatic Holmes gets replaced by an aged and weary Sherlock Holmes who is battling memory loss triggered by senility instead of criminals and murderers. Laura Linney, Hattie Morahan, Hiroyuki Sanada and Milo Parker make up the rest of the cast.

Probably the most admirable aspect of this film is the fact that I believed in Ian McKellen's Holmes. I actually believed that Sherlock Holmes in his old age will probably act and behave in the way McKellen portrays him. A man who was celebrated for his cerebral capabilities will find it immensely difficult to cope with old age and the memory loss that comes along with it and probably even more so than the rest of us. The screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher is based on the book 'A Slight Trick of the Mind' by Mitch Cullin. It has a non-linear pattern as we follow three time lines. The direction by Bill Condon is very good and the transition from one time line to the next in the non-linear screenplay is seamless and Condon never allows that to confuse the viewer.

This is one of the best Ian McKellen performances I have seen. He is pretty much flawless. He plays Holmes in his 90s as well as in his 70s and the distinctions in his physicality while playing these respective versions are very apparent. The Holmes in his 70s is a little more upright, more active and more verbally eloquent. While in his 90s, McKellen gives the character a slightly hunched posture and a somewhat blank facial appearance. Apart from the physical transformations, McKellen expertly gets under the skin of this character and brings some heart, charm and likability that is undeniable. We helplessly feel sorry for this man trying to cope with his deteriorating health. Holmes in this film desperately tries to ward off his memory loss by using 'Royal Jelly' or the Japanese 'Prickly Ash'. This desperate attempt by Holmes to stay relevant in his own eyes reminded me to some extent of Woody Grant's attempt to stay relevant in the film 'Nebraska' by actually believing that he had won a big lottery which will win him a lot of money. Laura Linney, the young Milo Parker and Hattie Morahan are all very good too.

The theme of the film basically dealt with Holmes' transition from being a professional detective driven solely by logic to an old man who finally realises the virtues of kindness and care and actually comes to identify how he has benefited from the kindness showered on him by people around him including his old friend and colleague John Watson. The whole concept of an old man becoming friends with a kid and evolving because of it is not new. But Bill Condon's direction and Sir Ian McKellen's acting made me believe in the chemistry between Holmes and Roger.

The makeup work on McKellen was fantastic. He looked like a believable 90 year old. The cinematography is good. Condon uses picturesque wide angle shots of the ravishing greenery of the English countryside. The production design is good for the most part except for a brief spell when Holmes spends some time in Japan. Unfortunately Japan looked a little too much like England. Another minor flaw for me was the dialogue in one or two scenes which felt a little artificial like when Laura Linney's character talks about the kid Roger's father.

So overall this is a very charming film with a good screenplay, good direction and great acting. The film humanises the character of Sherlock Holmes in a unique way without diminishing his brilliance as a detective. People who love the Holmes stories and the different adaptations of the characters will love this, and people who aren't big fans of the character will probably find this film impressive too.