Review of Mr. Holmes (2015) by Ginak — 18 Jul 2015

Mr. Holmes is a wonderful film, and I wish I could rate different elements of it individually. Sir Ian McKellen deserves a “10” – he was flawless, deeply moving and I guess the best word is mesmerizing.

You knew exactly what Mr. Holmes was thinking and feeling every second. He lived the character, and you believed him completely. Second best was Milo Parker, who, in my opinion, was also completely believable and held your attention whenever he was on screen.

He was a great foil and friend for McKellen/Holmes. I was going to say that I was not impressed with Bill Condon’s direction or with the script, but perhaps that’s too harsh – the director and writer were smart enough to get out of the way of the actors.

Perhaps my problem is that when I saw the film I was about two-thirds through the original book, which is very interesting and very different in approach from the film, so much so that I think translating the ideas of the book to the screen was very difficult, but the author and screenwriter were successful in doing it.

I would give them an “8”. If you are a thoughtful person or someone who loves cinema, this film is more than worth your time.