Mr. Holmes (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
'Mr. Holmes' (directed by Bill Condon), based on a novel, is an exceedingly well acted, handsome drama which features a great performance by Ian McKellen as our aged, ailing, titular character. Famed English detective Sherlock Holmes (McKellen) has retired and, now at the ripe 'ole age of 93, lives in the picturesque Sussex seaside where he loves beekeeping. The year is 1947, and Holmes has just returned from Japan where he procured an herb called prickly ash which is said to amplify longevity & prevent old age decline. His host (Hiroyuki Sanada, always stellar) locates said herb when they go to a garden in a bombed-out region of Hiroshima to witness the devastation wrought by human destruction.
Holmes, who has always valued his reason & fleetness of thought, is troubled & bewildered by increasing loss of memory. He now writes things on the cuff of his sleeve so as not to embarrass himself in front of others. His doctor, who believes he should be in a nursing home, is dismissed by Holmes. Holmes' current housekeeper is Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney), a recent war widow with a young son named Roger (Milo Parker). The boy befriends the lonely old man who is pleased to be a surrogate grandfather-type; and to pass on his knowledge about the art of beekeeping. Mrs. Munro, who expects to leave for a new position in Somerset, worries about clever, awe-struck Roger getting too close to the increasingly ill Sherlock Holmes.
The legendary detective has one last mystery to solve -- a case that he was never able to close to his satisfaction. He is writing it down in order to overhaul & reassemble what happened some 50 yrs. ago. Roger is fascinated by this story, and it goes as such: Holmes is approached by a worrisome man named Thomas Kelmot (Patrick Kennedy) whose wife, Ann (Hattie Morahan, hauntingly lovely), is morosely depressed after the tragic deaths of 2 children during her pregnancy. Ann is acting bizarrely and, following her around to uncover her secrets, Sherlock Holmes has a direct encounter with her that really unhinges him. How so? It shows that his tried-&-true 'reason' proved to be an inadequate tool to gauge the emotional state of this woman.
Ian McKellen pours his heart into this portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. McKellen is in his mid-late 70s, but he's playing 93 often enough in this film and, he modulates his behaviors - as an older man - as an even older, elderly man who is bereft at his deterioration. The acting is all in his piercing eyes which reveal a wellspring of emotions varying from his youthful valor to his age old despair. Laura Linney is a great actress, so clearly, she impresses as cranky Mrs. Munro. I enjoyed little Milo Parker; his scenes with McKellen are most enjoyable. Other in the cast include: Frances de la Tour as the German music teacher Mme. Schrimer; Philip Davis as Inspector Gilbert; John Sessions as Mycroft Holmes; Sarah Crowden as Mrs. Hudson; and others.
Bill Condon's gentle direction & Jeffrey Hatcher's nuanced script vividly conveys the emotional work that must be done in someone's late stages of life; nothing comes easy. The screenplay also shows us a Sherlock Holmes who is, at once, a genius-in-his-youth at deducing the result of cases, the older man donning a deerskin hat & smoking a pipe, and also the elderly man haunted by the unsolved case; saddled with a lifetime of regrets, unfulfillment, & the inscrutable notions of existence. Some viewers might find this movie to be a bit too gentle for the 21st century cinema. Fans of Guy Ritchie's eclectic, fast-paced, Robert Downey Jr. movies may not appreciate the warm charm about 'Mr. Holmes' - a soft, slow, elegant meditation on aging & death.
Holmes, who has always valued his reason & fleetness of thought, is troubled & bewildered by increasing loss of memory. He now writes things on the cuff of his sleeve so as not to embarrass himself in front of others. His doctor, who believes he should be in a nursing home, is dismissed by Holmes. Holmes' current housekeeper is Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney), a recent war widow with a young son named Roger (Milo Parker). The boy befriends the lonely old man who is pleased to be a surrogate grandfather-type; and to pass on his knowledge about the art of beekeeping. Mrs. Munro, who expects to leave for a new position in Somerset, worries about clever, awe-struck Roger getting too close to the increasingly ill Sherlock Holmes.
The legendary detective has one last mystery to solve -- a case that he was never able to close to his satisfaction. He is writing it down in order to overhaul & reassemble what happened some 50 yrs. ago. Roger is fascinated by this story, and it goes as such: Holmes is approached by a worrisome man named Thomas Kelmot (Patrick Kennedy) whose wife, Ann (Hattie Morahan, hauntingly lovely), is morosely depressed after the tragic deaths of 2 children during her pregnancy. Ann is acting bizarrely and, following her around to uncover her secrets, Sherlock Holmes has a direct encounter with her that really unhinges him. How so? It shows that his tried-&-true 'reason' proved to be an inadequate tool to gauge the emotional state of this woman.
Ian McKellen pours his heart into this portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. McKellen is in his mid-late 70s, but he's playing 93 often enough in this film and, he modulates his behaviors - as an older man - as an even older, elderly man who is bereft at his deterioration. The acting is all in his piercing eyes which reveal a wellspring of emotions varying from his youthful valor to his age old despair. Laura Linney is a great actress, so clearly, she impresses as cranky Mrs. Munro. I enjoyed little Milo Parker; his scenes with McKellen are most enjoyable. Other in the cast include: Frances de la Tour as the German music teacher Mme. Schrimer; Philip Davis as Inspector Gilbert; John Sessions as Mycroft Holmes; Sarah Crowden as Mrs. Hudson; and others.
Bill Condon's gentle direction & Jeffrey Hatcher's nuanced script vividly conveys the emotional work that must be done in someone's late stages of life; nothing comes easy. The screenplay also shows us a Sherlock Holmes who is, at once, a genius-in-his-youth at deducing the result of cases, the older man donning a deerskin hat & smoking a pipe, and also the elderly man haunted by the unsolved case; saddled with a lifetime of regrets, unfulfillment, & the inscrutable notions of existence. Some viewers might find this movie to be a bit too gentle for the 21st century cinema. Fans of Guy Ritchie's eclectic, fast-paced, Robert Downey Jr. movies may not appreciate the warm charm about 'Mr. Holmes' - a soft, slow, elegant meditation on aging & death.