Review of Mr. Holmes (2015) by Dennis B — 23 Oct 2017
As a detective story, the film is largely lacking in mystery or ingenuity, suspense or thrill; but that is hardly what "Mr. Holmes" is trying to achieve. Rather, this is a subtle and quiet elegy, more about storytelling and memory-one and the same, for to tell a story is to remember it-than about solving a puzzle.
If there is any puzzle here, it's the character himself: That is to say, the character to himself, the question being, much as in a Borges short story, "who am I when faced with my more famous fictional persona?" Thus the mystery is all sleight of hand, produced for expectation's sake, for the viewer to get caught up in, while the real magic is happening elsewhere, in the shadows of remembrance-fact, fiction, it all blurs like the trace of a long lost scent or scene.
This review of Mr. Holmes (2015) was written by Dennis B on 23 Oct 2017.
Mr. Holmes has generally received positive reviews.
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