Mr. Holmes

Starring: Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hattie Morahan
Directed by: Bill Condon
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, Mystery
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) reflects on his life as his mental faculties start to abandon him. He reflects on his last case while befriending a young fan (Milo Parker).

Review:

Tim: At this point, I've seen enough of Bill Condon's films to know that they're usually decent or good, but not much more than that. Mr. Holmes would fall on the higher level of that scale- this is a good movie. But, it's an unremarkable one. It has some strengths, it has some drawbacks, and ultimately, outside of Ian McKellen's performance, there's not a ton here that is memorable. This is a good movie, but that's it.

I really like the idea of taking a very different look at Sherlock Holmes. There's been so many iterations of the famous detective on screen that it feels like you need to find a new twist for it to work. You could make it an action movie like Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes or set it in the modern day like Benedict Cumberbatch's "Sherlock". This film keeps the detective in his original time period, but it looks at Holmes near the end of his life. He's elderly, suffering from the early stages of dementia, and far, far past his prime. This is a fairly unique lens through which to view this famous character. I liked that aspect of the film. What is it like when a brilliant man loses some of his brilliance due to the ravages of old age? It's an intriguing character study and represents one of the biggest strengths of the film.

The other big strength is the always good Ian McKellen. He's such a fantastic actor and I love that he's been able to continue to get meaty roles even in the twilight of his career. He's remarkably talented and brings that to this role. McKellen hits the right notes with the character- he comes across as brilliant, a bit cold, yet kind underneath it all. His performance is worth checking this movie out to see.

I also liked seeing Laura Linney, although I was bit frustrated she didn't have more to do. Linney is one of the best actresses out there, but I feel like she's continually undervalued. She gets a few nice moments to shine here, but she should have been given more. I always enjoy seeing Linney, but I did lament that her role was relatively small. The rest of the supporting cast was solid.

Perhaps my biggest complaint about the film is that it never really tells an incredible story. The story is fine, there's enough to hold our interest. However, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote some incredible Holmes stories- maybe we've been spoiled as viewers. The story here just doesn't hold up. There's really two different intersecting stories. Both are fine. We get flashbacks to Holmes' final case as he tries to write his true account of it. We also get a story about Holmes' housekeeper and her son. That story is more powerful than the mystery of the case. That's okay, but Holmes' final case should have been more. It tugs the heartstrings a bit, but it wasn't as powerful as I would have liked. This movie is certainly a slow burn- there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that when we do reach the conclusion, we get a sparkler when we wanted fireworks. This is a character study, but there's just not quite enough oomph to the story. Hence, you get a good movie that's not as memorable as needed.

I certainly enjoyed Mr. Holmes and admit that director Bill Condon put together a solid movie. He usually does. However, out of the five movies of his I've now seen, none even remotely approached greatness. I don't know if his talent extends that far. I don't want to knock him or this movie too hard- it's a worthwhile, effective movie. While we wanted more, you can't complain too much about getting something good like this.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Gods and Monsters