Review of Mr. Holmes (2015) by Patrick L — 07 May 2016
"The new twist on the legendary detective is an absolute delight".
DVD Movie Review: Mr. Holmes.
Date Viewed: December 8 2015.
Directed By Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Dreamgirls, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2 and The Fifth Estate).
Screenplay By Jeffrey Hatcher, Based on the novel by Mitch Cullin.
Starring: Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hattie Morahan, Patrick Kennedy, Roger Allam, Phil Davis, Frances de la Tour, Colin Starkey, Nicholas Rowe and John Sessions.
Bill Condon's "Mr. Holmes" is an absolute delight. It's a new twist on the legendary detective as he is now retired from solving cases. However, one unsolved case puts him back on the job, he also gets help from a little boy named Roger. Ian McKellen gives one of his best performances as the famous but now old Sherlock Holmes. After directing the disappointing "The Fifth Estate" and the two parts of "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn", it's nice to see Condon back on top of his form.
The year is 1947 and Sherlock Holmes (now 93 years old) has long-retried from his detective work. Having just came back from a trip to war-torn Hiroshima, Holmes has found the thing he was looking for, a rare plant with.
Strong restorative powers. Mr. Holmes (McKellen) now lives in a remote Sussex farmhouse with his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney) and her son, Roger (Milo Parker).
Even though he is facing the end of his ropes and fading memory, Mr. Holmes still has one last case to solve, the very case he failed to solve before he retired from the job. 35 years earlier, a man approached Holmes and asked him to find out why his wife changed after having two miscarriages. The wife forged checks, looked at train schedules and bought poison at a chemist's shop. She then committed suicide by stepping in front of an oncoming train.
After the husband blamed himself for his wife's death, Holmes decided to retire from detective work. McKellen is excellent in the role of Mr. Holmes, Laura Linney is luminous as always and Milo Parker is really good as the little boy who tries to help Mr. Holmes in solving the case. This movie isn't Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes", it's a mystery drama that disguises itself as a take-your-grandma movie.
Lovely, elegant and well-written, "Mr. Holmes" is in fact a better movie than Guy Ritchie's two "Sherlock Holmes" movies combined.
This review of Mr. Holmes (2015) was written by Patrick L on 07 May 2016.
Mr. Holmes has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
