Mr. Holmes (2015)

Genre

Drama | Mystery

Director

Bill Condon

Country

UK | USA

Cast

Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hattie Morahan, Patrick Kennedy, Roger Allam, Phil david, Frances de la Tour, Colin Starkey, Nicholas Rowe, Frances Barber, John Sessions

Storyline

In his remote seaside farmhouse, Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) faces the end of his days tending to his bees, with only the company of his housekeeper (Laura Linney) and her young son, Roger (Milo Parker). Grappling with the diminishing powers of his mind, Holmes comes to rely upon the boy as he revisits the circumstances of the unsolved case that forced him into retirement, and searches for answers to the mysteries of life and love.

Opinion

My first approach to the Sherlock Holmes world has been the BBC's "Sherlock", and it has been love at first sight with Benedict Cumberbatch's vibrant and intelligent Sherlock. When I heard the great Sir Ian McKellen would have played Holmes, I couldn't wait to see it. Last night I finally did, going against the advice to steer clear from it if a "Sherlock" fan, and I do not regret it.

Beautifully shot, Mr. Holmes is an interesting, and touching new twist on the famous detective born from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's pen.

Offering an elegant and irreverent Sherlock Holmes, Bill Condon shows the hidden side of the character, aware that his life is coming to an end, and that rationality and intellect cannot make up for loneliness.

Mr. Holmes is not your usual Sherlock Holmes also because there wouldn't be no mystery if it wasn't for the dementia that is taking over his memories, and that forces him to rummaging in his mind the details of a case, his last case, that forced him into retirement.

The screenplay, written by Jeffrey Hatcher and based on Mitch Cullin's novel, is very well done. The dialogue feels natural, and leaves room for the actors' expressivity when needed.

The makeup work really deserves a mention because it was fantastic: Ian McKellen genuinely looked like a 93-year-old man.

Ian McKellen is an outstanding actor, and delivers another brilliant performance, and the film is worth watching for his acting alone. Laura Linney does a good job as the disgruntled housekeeper, but Milo Parker really stands out, and manages to hold his own against the two previously mentioned.