Mr Holmes - directed by Bill Condon
Starring: Ian McKellan, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hiroyuki Sanada, John Sessions, Roger Allam, Frances de la Tour, Hattie Morahan, Patrick Kennedy, Philip Davis, Hermione Corfield, Nicholas Rowe
Running Time: 104 minutes
Rated: PG - Some adult themes but no profanity, nudity or violence
This movie was a mix of spur of the moment and word of mouth for me.
I wasn't overly interested then I heard that it was McKellan playing a latter years Sherlock Holmes.
Sounded good to me - great actor and obviously a great and iconic role.
Then there was some chatter about it being pretty damned good.
And finally a busy and draining day at work combined with a convenient session time convinced me that this might be just the tonic that I required.
And you know what? ... it was.
This is a slowly paced perfectly nice movie with no swearing, sex, violence or anything too dark and horrible about it.
Yes- there is some smoking which these days warrants a note from the MPAA for God's sake but otherwise this is a pretty inoffensive, decent romp.
The angle on this story is that Sherlock Holmes advancing years is robbing him of his primary weapon - his mind.
He struggles to remember details from his last case some thirty years previous.
He knows that something happened that made him decide to retreat from the detective game to live in the country alone aside from a housekeeper and her young son.
He has flashes of memories - a man recruiting his help with a problem with his wife and the wife herself- troubled in some way.
The frustration is apparent and it becomes his mission in life to solve this one last mystery before he dies.
"Mr Holmes" re-teams Sir Ian McKellan with his "God's and Monsters" director Bill Condon.
Condon 'merely' directs this time- he wrote the screenplay for the previous collaboration.
It is a pairing that clearly works because this is again typically fine work from McKellan.
His Sherlock is of advanced years- he is in his early nineties when we meet him.
There are frequent flashbacks to a slightly younger version and the makeup in both instances combined with some subtle colour grading sells the differences well.
McKellan does the bulk of the heavy lifting in this regard however with a physical performance that presents very well both the sprightly younger Holmes and the immobile, considerably older manifestation.
In fact so well does he with the latter that it is rather sad to see the great character in such a state.
The supporting cast is increasingly impressive as the movie progresses with the great Hiroyuki Sanada ("The Last Samurai", "Ring", "The Wolverine"), John Sessions as Mycroft Holmes, Hermione Corfield (the record shop girl from "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation"), Frances de la Tour ("Rising Damp", "Hugo") and Roger Allam ("V For Vendetta")
I was delighted to see Nicholas Rowe who starred as Holmes in the terrific 1985 "Young Sherlock Holmes" playing a movie screen version in this movie.
And then there is the always reliable Laura Linney.
Playing Holmes latest housekeeper and the target of some of his most biting barbs she does a great job revealing more about the character than the dialogue provides.
I have enjoyed her work for many years but I think that this may be one of her finest performances yet.
Milo Parker as her son Rodger is also very, very good.
The boy becomes Holmes friend and understudy and in doing so helps the memories come back.
The joy in any Sherlock Holmes tale is the deductions and the second guessing that we as an audience can enjoy as we 'play along at home'.
Whilst "Mr Holmes" is nowhere near the level of any of the current TV series in this regard there is still plenty on offer.
It's icing on the cake stuff though- the main concern here is the humanising of Sherlock Holmes.
What could have caused him to quit?
Could the flawless, legendary detective really have messed up so badly?
The answers are subtly revealed and I liked what writer Mitch Cullin does with Holmes.
No one wants the great figure brought down to the level of a mere mortal but the manner in which the mysteries of his past are revealed is very well done.
The scenes in Japan just after the second world war are some of the best but those with Hattie Morahan are certainly my favourites.
The lovely Morahan skirts around Holmes for much of the movie but the final meeting is a gem.
As the layers of the mystery are peeled away we see more and more of it and it really is a nicely done scene - or more correctly scenes as it is played out over time.
All in all this is a very pleasant diversion filled with wonderful performances centred of course by the great Sir Ian McKellan.
Frequently the cinematography is stunning and some of the production design is top notch- particularly in the scenes in Japan.
It's nice to see something new brought to the Holmes character and "Mr Holmes" above all does that.
This was just the tonic after a hard day at work.
RATING: 72 / 100
CONCLUSION: An interesting new take on an iconic character. It's a pleasant 100 minutes in the cinema
Running Time: 104 minutes
Rated: PG - Some adult themes but no profanity, nudity or violence
This movie was a mix of spur of the moment and word of mouth for me.
I wasn't overly interested then I heard that it was McKellan playing a latter years Sherlock Holmes.
Sounded good to me - great actor and obviously a great and iconic role.
Then there was some chatter about it being pretty damned good.
And finally a busy and draining day at work combined with a convenient session time convinced me that this might be just the tonic that I required.
And you know what? ... it was.
This is a slowly paced perfectly nice movie with no swearing, sex, violence or anything too dark and horrible about it.
Yes- there is some smoking which these days warrants a note from the MPAA for God's sake but otherwise this is a pretty inoffensive, decent romp.
The angle on this story is that Sherlock Holmes advancing years is robbing him of his primary weapon - his mind.
He struggles to remember details from his last case some thirty years previous.
He knows that something happened that made him decide to retreat from the detective game to live in the country alone aside from a housekeeper and her young son.
He has flashes of memories - a man recruiting his help with a problem with his wife and the wife herself- troubled in some way.
The frustration is apparent and it becomes his mission in life to solve this one last mystery before he dies.
 |
| Sir Ian McKellan as the younger and older Mr Holmes and far right with Hattie Morahan |
Condon 'merely' directs this time- he wrote the screenplay for the previous collaboration.
It is a pairing that clearly works because this is again typically fine work from McKellan.
His Sherlock is of advanced years- he is in his early nineties when we meet him.
There are frequent flashbacks to a slightly younger version and the makeup in both instances combined with some subtle colour grading sells the differences well.
McKellan does the bulk of the heavy lifting in this regard however with a physical performance that presents very well both the sprightly younger Holmes and the immobile, considerably older manifestation.
In fact so well does he with the latter that it is rather sad to see the great character in such a state.
The supporting cast is increasingly impressive as the movie progresses with the great Hiroyuki Sanada ("The Last Samurai", "Ring", "The Wolverine"), John Sessions as Mycroft Holmes, Hermione Corfield (the record shop girl from "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation"), Frances de la Tour ("Rising Damp", "Hugo") and Roger Allam ("V For Vendetta")
 |
| Nicholas Rowe as a Holmes within a Holmes |
And then there is the always reliable Laura Linney.
Playing Holmes latest housekeeper and the target of some of his most biting barbs she does a great job revealing more about the character than the dialogue provides.
I have enjoyed her work for many years but I think that this may be one of her finest performances yet.
Milo Parker as her son Rodger is also very, very good.
The boy becomes Holmes friend and understudy and in doing so helps the memories come back.
The joy in any Sherlock Holmes tale is the deductions and the second guessing that we as an audience can enjoy as we 'play along at home'.
Whilst "Mr Holmes" is nowhere near the level of any of the current TV series in this regard there is still plenty on offer.
It's icing on the cake stuff though- the main concern here is the humanising of Sherlock Holmes.
What could have caused him to quit?
Could the flawless, legendary detective really have messed up so badly?
The answers are subtly revealed and I liked what writer Mitch Cullin does with Holmes.
No one wants the great figure brought down to the level of a mere mortal but the manner in which the mysteries of his past are revealed is very well done.
The scenes in Japan just after the second world war are some of the best but those with Hattie Morahan are certainly my favourites.
The lovely Morahan skirts around Holmes for much of the movie but the final meeting is a gem.
As the layers of the mystery are peeled away we see more and more of it and it really is a nicely done scene - or more correctly scenes as it is played out over time.
 |
| Excellent support abounds and Laura Linney, Hiroyuki Sanada and Milo Parker are merely three examples |
Frequently the cinematography is stunning and some of the production design is top notch- particularly in the scenes in Japan.
It's nice to see something new brought to the Holmes character and "Mr Holmes" above all does that.
This was just the tonic after a hard day at work.
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