Mr. Holmes

A nicely understated film, which has all the twists of a Holmes story that you might expect, wrapped up in a warm hearted kitchen sink drama about an aged detective, and the relationship between him, his housekeeper and her son. All linked in with bee keeping. The story has a number of strands, but they are all interwoven seamlessly, so you don't become so engrossed about one that you forget the others.

This BBC film has an aged Sherlock Holmes, in failing health, living in retirement in the country, and trying to remember his last case.

Shakespearian thespian and British Knight, Sir Ian McKellen, plays well, and convincingly, the eponymous detective, both in his later years, and in flashbacks to his last case. The veteran actor had to prepare for the role by learning bee-keeping.

Mr. Holmes lives with a house-keeper and her son. New Yorker Laura Linney plays the house-keeper, fitting in well with the British thespians, and easily, and believably, conveys the circumstances of her character's situation as she interacts with both Mr. Holmes and her son.

The son is played by Milo Parker. His performance is just so breathtakingly superb that it is difficult to sum this up in words. Truly astonishing! Truly great!

Hattie Morahan shows great emotion in her small role, whilst Frances de la Tour's foreigner-role is so brief, but so good! There is a foreign element to the plot, apart from Miss de la Tour that is, that seems superfluous, however it turns out to be a nice sub-plot. The period-detail throughout the film is very good. Sadly, the film is marred by bad lighting and also blurry camera shots as the camera moves. This detracts, and distracts, but not greatly.

Despite it's UK rating of PG, this is not a film for children, but rather is more suitable for adults. There are moving and poignant scenes, and the film deals with matters of life and death. It is also necessarily slow, as the subject matter is the great detective in the Autumn of his years. 8/10.

As a standalone film, one of the great charms of Mr. Holmes is that it can be viewed with equal level of enjoyment by two different types of people: the type who know nothing other than the basics regarding the character of Sherlock Holmes, and equally the people who have seen or read everything about him. It manages to appeal to both camps by being both a revisionist version of his stories, yet still keeping in the same spirit and not denying any of the prior literature.

Due to the fact that the film's metronome is a 93-year-old man losing his memory, the pace is unfortunately slow for the first half of the film. Having multiple flashbacks that omit information until necessary keeps the viewer guessing but also at times frustrated. In the meantime, the real entertainer is Sir Ian McKellen, who is not nearly as old as his character is in real life and yet captures the nuances of someone that age to precision, all while forming his own character of the titular Holmes. It's one I hope can make its way into the Oscar conversation yet is so much simpler I won't count on it.

The second half of the film picks up in pace as the 3 story lines all begin to start solving themselves, but more importantly Mr. Holmes (I don't think his first name is ever uttered in this movie) starts to realize a moral that he never quite came to terms with in all of his sleuthing regarding the truth and humanity. I've seen a solid handful of the countless Sherlock Holmes incarnations (he is the most commonly portrayed character in cinema) and there is something that becomes almost tragic about each one as you realize he is someone whose intelligence and wit makes him unable to live normally amongst other 'ordinary' people. As some subtext, it is perhaps a nice touch that Mr. McKellen is a proud member of the LGBT community, as there is reason to believe (although rarely outwardly said) that Sherlock Holmes may be gay himself. These are details you don't need to watch the story but can help enhance the nuance.

In terms of filmmaking, director Bill Condon and co. don't particularly do anything to motivate the situation other that just let the characters take care of business. Again, this is not a movie notable for having a quick pace, but it is never dull altogether either. The next movie I'll be watching is Gods and Monsters, the previous Condon/McKellen collaboration.

As you can see from how much I've written, I'm fond of the movie, enjoyed the numerous elements, and was left with a lot to think about. It's a small scale film and should be viewed as such, but is nonetheless enjoyable and is a nice spin on the iconic character.

When I first heard that Ian McKellen landed the role of Sherlock Holmes in a film about the end of the great detective's life, I knew he would be perfect for the part, and indeed, he was. "Mr. Holmes" (2015), based on a novel by Mitch Cullin called "A Slight Trick of the Mind", is a delightful film, full of humor and sadness as Mr. Holmes revisits his last case, and finds his memory isn't quite what it used to be. He has retired to his cottage by the sea and taken up his well known hobby of beekeeping or apiculture. With him are his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney) and her son, Roger (Milo Parker), a precocious young boy. The on screen dynamic between these three is astonishing. More is conveyed in one glance than could be said in lines of dialog.

The sets were detailed with precision, the scenery was vibrant and gorgeous (except one scene which was perfectly moody and dark), and the cinematography was stunning. The score was perfectly understated and captured the sentiment of the scenes with finesse.

"Mr. Holmes" is a very different kind of Sherlock Holmes story. It is sentimental without being saccharine and I believe it is a fair representation of the greatest detective in fictional history. The movie is set to be released in Great Britain on June 19 and in the U.S. on July 17. I recommend it highly.

What an awesome twist to a classic character. Very low burning to start and gradually boils to a blistering finale. I bet NOBODY sees the twist and if they do they are probably being untruthful. Brilliantly acted by the cast, including young Milo,who should become a regular screen presence( Let's hope he doesn't end up in a franchise mess).Beautifully filmed with little or possibly no over the top CGI,this should satisfy any serious movie fan. The use of close-up and panoramic camera work takes us right into the story and each character tells there own story to us. There were moments when I thought the plot was thinning but during the last 15 minutes all became clear.This movie shows us that any decisions we make can come back to haunt us but also that we may be over guilt-tripping ourselves.Storytelling at it's British best. This could not be made anywhere else in the world.At a time when the cinemas are full of so called "Blockbusters" this is a step to the side and proves that true art can be achieved without a clever computer programme.