MOVIE REVIEW - MR. HOLMES | The Movie Guys

ELIMINATING THE IMPOSSIBLE

Mr. Holmes

Review by Paul Preston

There are two things you generally want from a Sherlock Holmes adventure – a taut, complicated mystery and an indelible performance from the lead actor. Well, “Mr. Holmes” has at least one of those things.

Ian McKellen has picked up where SEVENTY other actors have left off, playing the world’s greatest detective, and in a story that is a fresh new take on the legend – re-entering the sleuthing world in his nineties for a second look at the case that caused him to previously quit the business. The story cuts back and forth between Holmes in his nineties and Holmes in his sixties, with McKellen expertly playing both ages authentically.

However, Holmes never ventures into a story quite as intriguing as the classic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle whodunits. He instead is simply trying to remember the details of a case where a guy…thought his wife was up to something? Yes, I wish it was murder most foul or a missing person, but instead it’s a guy who was curious about what his wife was up to, so…y’know…look into that, Holmes.

The case eventually had tragic consequences that have haunted Holmes for thirty-five years, but there’s not much sleuthing to be done. There aren’t many clues to re-examine, just a look deep inside Holmes’ memory. This may be a case of this film not being the one I thought it would be, which is often an unfair assessment of a movie, but I think that feeling, given what we know about Sherlock the brilliant deducer (and have come to love in Benedict Cumberbatch’s embodiment of the character), Holmes just kicking around being sad wasn’t as fulfilling for me.

There are other storylines that take place in the elder Holmes’ world involving his housekeeper (Laura Linney) and her son and a side plot involving Holmes’ trekking to Japan to procure a plant that has life-prolonging qualities. This plot involves actor Hiroyuki Sanada, who makes anything more watchable, but it’s definitely the lesser of all the stories and ultimately the least important to anything else going on.

“Mr. Holmes” is directed by Bill Condon, who made “Gods & Monsters” with McKellen and brings a slow, brooding feel to the proceedings. This movie has it’s top shirt buttons buttoned. Sherlock Holmes putters a lot, living out the last years of his life as many of us do. It’s an eye-opening display to be reminded that someone so lively and sharp lands at the same finish line we all do. But if you want to punish yourself watching the slow decline of unimportant people, watch the godawful misery inherent in the slow, time-wasting Oscar winner “Amour”.