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Mr. Holmes--fine swan song for Sherlock
Took my kids (9 and 13) to the movies today to get out of the ridiculous heat (I'm sorry, but living in Canada is not supposed to include "tropical heat waves"--grumpy "I can't wait for autumn" rant over 
). I did NOT select a loud, frenetic kids' movie (I don't frown on such movies on principle, just felt they could use something else).
Mr. Holmes is pretty much the opposite of anything Transformers or Terminator like. It is a quiet English film, with Ian McKellen playing a 93 year old Sherlock Holmes, long-retired to a nice bit of seaside near Dover, tending to his apiary. He has a housekeeper (Laura Linney) and her young son (can't recall his name, but he's good in the role) for company. Holmes is struggling with progressive signs of senility, with a half-remembered final case dating back 30 years tugging at the edges of memory. How he copes with his diminished powers, along with the help provided him by the boy (NOT a typically "cute boy genius" of so many American summer movies), is the central focus of the story. Flashbacks to his final case form most of the rest of the film.
I was proud of my children, especially my 9 year old son, for remaining attentive throughout. It is almost entirely a character study and, unlike most versions of Sherlock Holmes, the unsolved case is rather tangential to the story, existing primarily to provide Holmes with a necessary, albeit quite late, insight into the human condition. Those looking for Ah! Ha! moments or clever plot twists might well be disappointed and, in the hands of less capable actors, the film might have been a wasted effort. However, the calibre of the cast, with McKellen in particular, makes this a film I shall revisit. I found the experience somewhat bittersweet, as McKellen is superb in the role of an aged Holmes confronting what would have to be his worst nightmare (the "sweet", in the sense of no one could exceed his ability to play this role). However (the bitter), in the flashbacks to a Holmes in his late 60s, McKellen gives us a glimpse of how perfect he'd have been, decades ago, as a Sherlock Holmes at the height of his powers--something we shall never see.
A welcome break from summer blockbusters, yet still summery in weight (the joy lies primarily in the performances, rather than anything especially "momentous" about the story).
). I did NOT select a loud, frenetic kids' movie (I don't frown on such movies on principle, just felt they could use something else).Mr. Holmes is pretty much the opposite of anything Transformers or Terminator like. It is a quiet English film, with Ian McKellen playing a 93 year old Sherlock Holmes, long-retired to a nice bit of seaside near Dover, tending to his apiary. He has a housekeeper (Laura Linney) and her young son (can't recall his name, but he's good in the role) for company. Holmes is struggling with progressive signs of senility, with a half-remembered final case dating back 30 years tugging at the edges of memory. How he copes with his diminished powers, along with the help provided him by the boy (NOT a typically "cute boy genius" of so many American summer movies), is the central focus of the story. Flashbacks to his final case form most of the rest of the film.
I was proud of my children, especially my 9 year old son, for remaining attentive throughout. It is almost entirely a character study and, unlike most versions of Sherlock Holmes, the unsolved case is rather tangential to the story, existing primarily to provide Holmes with a necessary, albeit quite late, insight into the human condition. Those looking for Ah! Ha! moments or clever plot twists might well be disappointed and, in the hands of less capable actors, the film might have been a wasted effort. However, the calibre of the cast, with McKellen in particular, makes this a film I shall revisit. I found the experience somewhat bittersweet, as McKellen is superb in the role of an aged Holmes confronting what would have to be his worst nightmare (the "sweet", in the sense of no one could exceed his ability to play this role). However (the bitter), in the flashbacks to a Holmes in his late 60s, McKellen gives us a glimpse of how perfect he'd have been, decades ago, as a Sherlock Holmes at the height of his powers--something we shall never see.
A welcome break from summer blockbusters, yet still summery in weight (the joy lies primarily in the performances, rather than anything especially "momentous" about the story).
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