Mr. Holmes   3.5***

 

 

            It  is rare to find something new done with an old character, especially one that has been around for nearly 150 years like Sherlock Holmes, but that's exactly what the movie Mr. Holmes does. The movie is a very tender drama with some mystery elements to it, but there is no great whodunit here. There is no theft,  no murder, the only little bit of mystery comes in the form of Sherlock trying to recall his past. We want to know how Sherlock became  a recluse for 30 years? What happened on his last case that made him retire and retreat into a small house on the Sussex seaside with his housekeeper, her son and his bees? These questions all play into the ideas that I thought about the most while watching the film -- memory and mortality, and how we can/will  lose both.

 

Taking place after Dr. Watson has turned Holmes into a cultural icon with his series of novels, we get to see the world's greatest detective at two different points in his life. As a 93 year old man who has grown tired of his public image and attempts to change it by writing a more realistic story about his last case, and the masterful Sherlock Holmes 35 years younger, who is working that last case, and why it's his last. I like the concept of the 93 year old Holmes, who suffers from memory loss, but whose mind is still sharper that most people a fraction of his age   But the part where the younger Sherlock works his last case was interesting too, as it gave the character some interesting depth without changing who Holmes is.

 

Inevitably though, this movie belongs to the one and only Ian McKellan. As an aging old man with pride of person making  a final stab at redemption, McKellan strikes the perfect  balance between being an  annoying old codger and a lovable, heartbroken legend in his time; ultimately delivering a masterful performance to  relish. Those looking for the thrills of Cumberbatch's TV Sherlock or the action-packed nature of Robert Downey Jr's big budget Sherlock should be warned: this is as far removed from those renditions.. But those seeking an intelligent, contemplative tale of late-life concerns with a remarkable performance by McKellan and strong emotional resonance, will be well pleased.

 

I recommend  “Mr. Holmes” just to see how Sir Ian McKellan so skillfully plays the role.

Clark