Review of Mr. Holmes (2015) by Dawdlingpoet — 27 Nov 2021

This is a mystery drama film covering themes including independence, memory, anger and seniority. It is a somewhat under stated film, with a slow plot pace and an emphasis on atmosphere, of its historical nature, with fairly quiet classical/instrumental musical pieces played in the background, as we watch Holmes trying to remember details of the case he attempts to solve before things get worse for him.

I found his relationship with the young boy, Roger, quite endearing. He seems to be quite thoughtful in terms of what he says - he seems quite an observant person, which makes sense. I was almost surprised that Roger managed to understand some of what Mr. Holmes said, given he used some particularly long words which I may have struggled to fully understand at Rogers age (around 10 years old or thereabouts, at a guess).

There is a sombre, foreboding feel to it at times, which obviously added to its sense of mystery, an element of darkness perhaps. I liked the dialogue, some of it is relatively witty and it did feel like the script had been thought through relatively well.

Cast wise, Ian McKellen stars as the title character, Mr. Holmes. He comes across as quite dour, a strict person, although not without his redeeming features at times. He is shown to be very thoughtful, a philosophical type, which is (of course) to be expected - I felt that McKellen did well in playing the famous role in his later years. Meanwhile, Milo Parker plays Roger, the young boy who seems quite fascinated in Holmes and keen to learn what he can from him, while being quite witty in himself. Other cast members include Laura Linney, who plays Mrs. Munro and Frances de la Tour who plays Madam Schirmer, plus Phil Davies as Inspector Gilbert.

Content wise, the film contains some mild violence and the topic of suicide is brought up and discussed, although nothing especially graphic is shown as such. There are scenes which show characters smoking and drinking alcohol, although not perhaps excessively. There is one scene which shows a character having suffered from numerous insect stings, which could perhaps frighten young viewers but otherwise it isn't particularly likely to offend or otherwise. It has been given a PG rating to reflect this.

I felt like I mostly enjoyed it, although it seemed, to me, perhaps more like a long TV show, rather than a film, as such. It was an enjoyable watch but it was maybe a little bland - im not sure how to explain that in any more detail really. In any case, the highlight for me was definitely the friendship between Holmes and Roger - the older generation passing on some observations on to the younger generation. I like the fact that it tackles a somewhat taboo issue, that of social care, of how older people deal with the knowledge that they'll likely lose a fair amount of memory in the not-too-distant future. I've always felt like its good to discuss things that maybe make some people feel uncomfortable - such things ought to be addressed more. This isn't a medical film by any means but it does make you think about what it may be like, if the viewer were to be in Mr. Holmes' shoes and the likes - in a sense, its a bit sobering. One other downside is that I noticed some dialogue was quite hushed, so if you struggle to hear things clearly on TV then that may well frustrate you. Its a thoughtful watch - by no means extraordinary of anything like that but for what it is, it is good.

Yes, overall I'd recommend this film. I felt Ian McKellan did particularly well in his role as the title character and it features some good dialogue, interesting characters and its generally an enjoyable watch. However, if you don't much care for slow paced films and are looking for something that has lots of special effects and the like, then you'd be better looking elsewhere.